The alternator in my '98 Grand Marquis failed the other day on my drive home. My digital dash went out along with the EATC and turn signals. After a short time, my dash thankfully came back online and I was able to see my speed, temp, etc. During diagnostics I found that the alternator was putting out 16.9V and the battery had boiled over. My drive home from work takes about 30 mins so it seems likely that the alternator was that high during the whole trip. I replaced the alternator, battery, and a cracked battery connector and had it back up and running again. The next morning on my drive to work, the temp gauge sat at the bottom for the longest time. Usually it hits the 50% mark just outside of town. I chalked it up to an unusually cool morning until, a few seconds later, the temp gauge jumped up to 50%. It behaved itself all the way to work but as I was pulling into the lot, the temp gauge went up to display 5 of 8 bars. I've never seen it any higher than 4 bars. The cooling fan was roaring away as I parked the car.
When I left work last night, it was much warmer out and about half way home the temp gauge hit 5 bars again. Shortly thereafter the transmission started shifting strangely. It struggled between gears and occasionally would shift down suddenly when going up a hill. The car bucked something fierce when I put it in reverse. By the time I was close to home the transmission was getting much worse, refusing to shift up when coming off of a stop and the temp gauge was warning of overheating. By the time I got to my driveway the guage was up at 8 bars and beeping up a storm. It had hit that level a few times in the last few blocks but each time it went down again.
It seems pretty likely to me that something else didn't survive the alternator high-voltage issue, but I'm not sure where to start looking. I'm tempted to presume that the PCM has crapped out but I'd hate to go down that road and find out it was something much simpler. Has anyone got any advice for me?
When I left work last night, it was much warmer out and about half way home the temp gauge hit 5 bars again. Shortly thereafter the transmission started shifting strangely. It struggled between gears and occasionally would shift down suddenly when going up a hill. The car bucked something fierce when I put it in reverse. By the time I was close to home the transmission was getting much worse, refusing to shift up when coming off of a stop and the temp gauge was warning of overheating. By the time I got to my driveway the guage was up at 8 bars and beeping up a storm. It had hit that level a few times in the last few blocks but each time it went down again.
It seems pretty likely to me that something else didn't survive the alternator high-voltage issue, but I'm not sure where to start looking. I'm tempted to presume that the PCM has crapped out but I'd hate to go down that road and find out it was something much simpler. Has anyone got any advice for me?
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