I read somewhere that in the later model cougar they had a recall on the cable running from the altenator to the starter. It said that the cable would get hot or stretched running back behind the motor causing a "short" problem. The previous owner on my car had it taken car of before i bought mine. It is a recall item I believe so it may be free. I know these cars have issues with alternators...may want to get a high output one if you do need to replace it. Hope this helps.