How much will it cost to repair/replace the alternator on my 1999 Ford Ranger?
by Monkey Wrench on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 | 10 Comments
I know that the alternator is the reason why my car is not starting…is this a part that IU can just repair or will I need to get a new one? Where can I get the parts I will need to get my car running again fairly cheaply so that a friend of mine can do the repair?
Murrarys auto parts 60$ but they want your old one(core deposit)
$50-200. You can take your alt’ AND battery into an auto parts store and have them test BOTH. If faulty, you buy a rebuilt alt’ from them and give them your old one – you should get $$$ for your old one (called a core charge) or a discount on the new one. Sometimes it’s the battery, so they can test that while you’re there.
Both are an easy fix – 2 hours total fix time.
Ok first lets be shure it is the alternator.
Get a voltage meter and check the battery output. It should be 12.5.
Ok lets say it is not. Have the battery charged( auto-zone will do it for free and check to be shureit is a good battery)
Ok now lets assume it is ok. Next does the car crank. If it does it is NOT the alternator. All the alternator does is keep the battery charged.
If it does not crank and the battery is 12.5 then you have a bad starter.
Now lets assume it does crank but does not start.
Get a screwdriver, and pull off 1 spark-plug wire. Next put the wire in the screwdriver and while holding the handle not the metel part place the screwdriver about 1/4 of and inch from somr metel. Have someone crank the car and see if there is a spark.
If there is then it haas to be a fuel problum.
Ok lets assume there is no spark. Check the dist cap and be shure there is voltagethere.
you will need to buy a new one that will cost you anywhere from 50 to 100 dollers
autozone…..has most of your alt. parts…..your voltage regulator is probably bad. and on a 99 ranger I can’t remember if its mounted on the inside or the outside of the alt…if it’s on the inside it’s real easy to change, once you take the 4 bolts to the housing off. voltage regulator should cost about $15.00
Well you better have you’re battery checked too. Ive seen altenators gone bad and killed the batter too. For a new altenator it could cost 50 to 200 depending where you buy it and what warranty you get. If you need new batter I would go to Walmart and buy one there cheap and good batterys. For the altenator I would suggest you get one at Auto zone. Hope I helped some
If the alt. is the source of your trouble, it’s not a broken wire or bad belt and you have time, you can go to the rebuild shop for about $25 and rebuild it. If you don’t want to mess with it, O’Reily’s can set you up for about $55.
It may just need the brushes, It is cheaper to put it in then then the alt.
It’s not a difficult task to change the alternator if you know the basic safety elements when working with electronics. Important thing to remember is to disconnect the negative cable or terminal. Second is to mark or label the wiring or cables.
The alternators varies in price…according to their out-put rating in amps. If your puppy(Ranger Truck) has all the goodies..like AC,P/Windows and other electronics then you’ll be looking at the premium end…any where from $95.00 to $285.00 + this all depends on rebuilt or new of-course.
before you go and change the alternator have it checked out for out put test on it or if the diode’s are gone. If your battery is not holding the charge then new alternator is not going to solve your initial problem!
you can get one at just aboult any parts house for aboult $ 60 buck and it is very simple to replace . just un hook your battery cables for safty and you will see some wires on the altanator and then you unplug them qnd un do the two bolts and put the nwe one on just like you took rhe old one off… hope this helps