Alternator stopped working (5,000 miles)

[Werkedperformance]

Placement on the 2.3 is terrible, proven issue. Go over on the ranger boards if you need proof.

avoid water if possible.

Sponsored

 

[BrentC]

“What I claim”?? I am relaying with the dealer told me. Internal failure of the alternator (not the connectors).

On the positive side, Ford reached out to me via private messenger on this site. Called me within 24 hours. Called the dealer to get an update. Tried to get me a loaner from the dealer (they didn’t have any) and called Enterprise to see about a loaner. I appreciate the effort but still have an underlying concern.

“Statement” would have been a better choice of words. My bad.

 

[kimmnen]

Unfortunately, I did go through muddy water. Alternator failed within a week. Was not submerged and vehicle was never stopped in water. Up to this point, I was absolutely loving the Bronco. Now I am really concerned about its potential limitations (and pissed that I am stranded for our family Thanksgiving trip).

I think you should have included your experience in the initial posting.

 

[Tonka Bronka]

Every vehicle that I own gets a yearly engine bay detail starting with Gunk foamy engine bright followed by low pressure hose down, engine start and dry. Never had a problem. Could it be a faulty alternator?

 

[colintrax]

Water won't cause issues, it's the dirt and other crap in the water.
Down low is not ideal, and offroading is hard on all equipment. Regardless, a water crossing shouldn't kill your alternator. Just leads to an earlier death, as it does to multiple parts.

 

[flip]

Interesting. Could've just been defective too. I know there's a TSB out for a charging system concern and it was due to water intrusion in the grille shutter connector.

I guess if there's a bright spot, alternator failures seem to be less common than 2.7 engine kabooms right now Sorry you had this problem and glad it was resolved. Totally understand your concern with the vehicle but want to think this was a fluke more than a design flaw.

 

[flip]

Unfortunately, I did go through muddy water. Alternator failed within a week. Was not submerged and vehicle was never stopped in water. Up to this point, I was absolutely loving the Bronco. Now I am really concerned about its potential limitations (and pissed that I am stranded for our family Thanksgiving trip).

Oh crap, missed the stranded part! Is the issue availability or service backlog?

 

[zgoods]

The alternator is located on the bottom of the engine. My understanding is that Jeep and the Land Rovers have them on top of the engine. Apparently if the alternator gets wet, it will fail. Ford advertised a 33.5” Water Fording ability but the alternator sits below 33.5”. This is a major problem for those that bought a Bronco with the thought of taking it off-road. The Bronco is a very good trail vehicle but any mud, puddles, water that reaches the bottom of the chassis should not be attempted. This is very frustrating. I sold my Defender 110 and purchased a Badlands to be my new daily driver/trail vehicle. I don’t even know if there is a way to fix this as it is not likely to have a new mounting location for the alternator. I presume we will see the water fording numbers to significantly decrease.

My dealer told me not to go through a good amount of water at any speed. He already had to replace his alternator after a day at Holly Oaks.

 

[geoking]

The alternator is located on the bottom of the engine. My understanding is that Jeep and the Land Rovers have them on top of the engine. Apparently if the alternator gets wet, it will fail. Ford advertised a 33.5” Water Fording ability but the alternator sits below 33.5”. This is a major problem for those that bought a Bronco with the thought of taking it off-road. The Bronco is a very good trail vehicle but any mud, puddles, water that reaches the bottom of the chassis should not be attempted. This is very frustrating. I sold my Defender 110 and purchased a Badlands to be my new daily driver/trail vehicle. I don’t even know if there is a way to fix this as it is not likely to have a new mounting location for the alternator. I presume we will see the water fording numbers to significantly decrease.

As a newbie with ZERO experience, I like to learn from the forum members posts. As such, I research the posts subject matters to learn what I can. Like many of the posts here have stated, water isn't as bad as the trash or mud that might make it's way into your alternator and cause damage. There are marine rated alternators, there are procedures after your adventure to rinse and lubricate for some folks. Additionally you can add a clam shell to surround your alternator. Some Heavy duty guys relocate them higher as well as some guys using rubber
proof baffling such as a rubber flap to help. There is an enormous amount of information and I appreciate your bringing up the issue. Thank you.

 

[Beach_Bum]

Extremely hard to believe if Ford screwed the pooch on something this obvious…

It was discussed last fall. People dismissed any concern that the designers wouldn't make such a mistake and everything would be fine. I mentioned my recollection on the OP's original thread.

I think you should have included your experience in the initial posting.

The OP's post on the failure is here.

@Administrator Can this thread be merged with the OP's original thread as the concern expressed is directly related to his Bronco's failure?

@Theherofails As a followup to our responses in the OP's original thread, he has confirmed that it was the alternator failing.

 

[Theherofails]

Very interesting. My alternator is fine after taking a long bath. Never even hesitated to work. The starter motor, on the other hand, had me a bit timid to leave the house for a few days. Maybe its a double whammy, or maybe OP just had a bad alternator..? I didn't even see the alternator when looking for the starter motor so it must be on the other side of the engine.

My advice to all is to make your crossings quick and keep it to about 25" of water unless you want the potential for a lot of work after.. You CAN do 34", but I would not do it again personally. Save it for the "must" cross situations and avoid it otherwise.

Also, your DC to AC converter is right at max fording depth and is completely unprotected (under the center console) if you were to actually ford 34" of water. Yes, it's under the center console.. but 34" is MUCH higher than the door sills, so water is going to get into your vehicle. Its unavoidable. Where it goes from there is hard to plan for..

Your other weak spot at 34" is going to be the connectors up behind the glove box. They are technically sealed against water intrusion, but I found water in one regardless. A little WD-40 to dry it out and some dielectric grease solved that problem.

 

[divedog101]

I have had water going over the hood many times in my K5 blazer and the starter was on the bottom of the engine. Never a problem. Was it salt water that the OP was crossing? I would worry more about getting water in the diffs, transfer case, transmission etc. If you haven't ran the vent tubes for each I would avoid deep water.

 

[ELKS1]

Every vehicle that I own gets a yearly engine bay detail starting with Gunk foamy engine bright followed by low pressure hose down, engine start and dry. Never had a problem. Could it be a faulty alternator?

Same except I do it more than once a year. Never had a problem either.

 

[topher3134]

Well my first edition has the same issue. I for sure didn’t go in any water deeper than maybe 6-8 inches and that was just puddles on a muddy road people take their cars down daily... I guess we will see what ford does. The bad thing is it didn’t fail when we went thru water. It was many hours later on drive home. When it shuts down it’s not just the alternator. U lose all power to everything and don’t even have hazard lights.

 

[topher3134]

Also is there a sticker where we can post all the alternator failures in one spot sort of like the 2.7 engine failures?

Sponsored