'98 Ford Windstar, 3.8L, battery? alternator?

Looking for a detective to solve a mystery. I have a 98 Ford Windstar 3.8L and on the way to work I noticed the hot air was not working. And then the check engine light started flashing, the low fuel light came on even though the tank was full, one or two other lights came on and then all the panel lights started going dim. The vehicle then slowed down and started sputtering and would not go more than 20 mph. I stopped at a light and for some reason I decided to switch on the lights to see if they worked. That killed the engine and the van was dead and wouldn't start or even turn over. Later that day, I got a new battery and put it in to see if it would drive home and it did. So I logically concluded that if it works now, then it must be the old battery or possibly the alternator. So I took the old battery and the alternator to advanced auto parts and had them checked. Both tested fine. Now I'm puzzled. If I was able to drive home with a new battery but now my van is running fine with the old battery and alternator . . . what on earth happened on the way to work? Was it a short or a badly connected wire or something that works now but might come loose again? Any ideas? Incidentally, when it broke down, I had it pushed into an auto place where the guy checked it out and called me later that day and told me that both the battery and the alternator needed to be replaced with two hours of labor for a grand total of $536.

Could have been as simple as bad battery terminal connections.

The 2 items can fail together.....bad battery placing a load on the alternator, burnining it out.
Or....bad alternator failing to charge the battery and the level of discharge combined with battery age......new battery needed.

HOWEVER.....as DeltaP mentions.....connections.....Battery terminal connections may need cleaned/tightened.
Also very critical are the other connections.....like down on the starter.....clean/tighten
Ground connections are equally critical....to the engine, starter, body......etc.

The fact that your battery and alternator checked out as being good at the store is not 100%, particularly the battery.....I am guessing that they load tested the alternator...
However, even though the test is not 100%, it points you to verification of the connections, fuses etc.
Many part stores will do a "in vehicle" check for you also.

I've had a time or two on a 98 Windstar. And another thing it COULD have been, was the plug in the alternator. If a tab was broke off or the connector was only loosely in, it would produce the same symptoms. But one thing is for certain, don't go back to that original auto place.

Looking for a detective to solve a mystery. I have a 98 Ford Windstar 3.8L and on the way to work I noticed the hot air was not working. And then the check engine light started flashing, the low fuel light came on even though the tank was full, one or two other lights came on and then all the panel lights started going dim. The vehicle then slowed down and started sputtering and would not go more than 20 mph.

The same happened to me once right after I had driven through a large puddle of slushy water. Mine is a second-generation Winnie but afaik engine is the same so it could be relevant. On top of what you describe, I had also lost power steering and nearly broke my arms wrestling the steering wheel. Van would not start after I managed to limp it into a parking lot so I called tow and waited, but when tow arrived van started right up before any assistance was provided. Tow guy said he sees this commonly and is caused by wet drive belt slipping and failing to properly drive alternator and PS pump. Once belt dries problem goes away. He assured me the van probably did not require any servicing but made me pay for the tow anyway :iceslolan

Perhaps your problem is not due to belt but sure sounds to me like alternator fault was somehow involved. Whether fault is temporary or requires fixing is hard to tell. One thing for sure, most shop owners will think that a motorist pushing his vehicle into their lot is probably an easy mark for repair bill inflation. :mad:

I had the same last week. The alternator has a connector plugged into it apart from the 12 volt wire.
This connector is not plugged properly or you have to change that piece. Mine is also a 98 Windstar with 3.8 liter engine. It is the piece on alternator with carbon brush and the voltage regulator.