Quote:
Originally Posted by Smitty550
Your voltage regulator should be changed whenever the alternator is changed. Was this done?
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Just a quick FYI: This is good advice for an older car, but... by the mid/late-1970s, most car companies had made the voltage regulator an internal part of the alternator. This practice continued through the 1990s. By the early 2000s, the function of voltage regulation had generally been incorporated into the car's ECU.
Although it would almost certainly carry a greater initial expense, I'd advise having the car tested by a Ford/Mercury dealer. If there has been a failure of one of the ECU circuits, their evaluation equipment would be more likely to find it.
It's also VERY possible that the problem that caused the two alternators to fail was poor electrical grounds. Rusty/corroded grounds can put extreme loads on the alternator because it has to work so much harder to charge the battery. Bad grounds (both at the two ends of the negative battery cable, as well as the other chassis grounds) can reduce the current flow in the charging system. Imagine the flow of electrons coming out of the alternator as water flowing from a garden hose. When ground terminals get rusty or corroded, it's like trying to force all that water through a soda straw! That will give you an idea of how hard the alternator has to work in those conditions. Many mechanics/techs overlook ground connections when servicing cars... it's just one more thing that car owners need to learn to watch for themselves.