Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and 
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2010
- Messages
- 1,921
- Reaction score
- 17
- Points
- 38
- Location
- Omaha, Ne
- Vehicle Year
- 1985 1987
- Make / Model
- Duh
- Engine Size
- 5.0L, 2.9L
- Transmission
- Manual
2003 Escape Idle Issue After Battery/Alternator Replacement
Ok, I have a 2003 Escape, 2 wheel drive with the 5 speed and 2.0 4 cylinder (Zetec motor), it has 209k miles on it. On the way home from work the other day, the battery light came on for a brief second, according to the owners manual this means the battery is not being charged correctly. So I took the alternator and battery to get check, and both tested bad. Ordered a new alternator from Rockauto (A new Remy one), so the Escape sat for 4-5 days with no battery or alternator.
Fast forward to yesterday, got new alternator, put it in and started it up. It would idle terribly, between 1k and nearly zero, it would continuously try to die and did die once. So i thought the battery was trashed, so i got it replaced and it does the same thing. Found a thing about resetting idle in the owners manual and followed it. After driving it for 10 miles, it still does it. The idle will smooth out if I turn on the AC, but I cant run around with the AC on the entire time.
So will this go away? I am scared it will ruin both the battery and alternator as when it surges, the lights dim and brighten. Also, what kind of driving was I suppose to do after driving around for the reset procedure, all city, mixed?
Thanks
Ok, I have a 2003 Escape, 2 wheel drive with the 5 speed and 2.0 4 cylinder (Zetec motor), it has 209k miles on it. On the way home from work the other day, the battery light came on for a brief second, according to the owners manual this means the battery is not being charged correctly. So I took the alternator and battery to get check, and both tested bad. Ordered a new alternator from Rockauto (A new Remy one), so the Escape sat for 4-5 days with no battery or alternator.
Fast forward to yesterday, got new alternator, put it in and started it up. It would idle terribly, between 1k and nearly zero, it would continuously try to die and did die once. So i thought the battery was trashed, so i got it replaced and it does the same thing. Found a thing about resetting idle in the owners manual and followed it. After driving it for 10 miles, it still does it. The idle will smooth out if I turn on the AC, but I cant run around with the AC on the entire time.
So will this go away? I am scared it will ruin both the battery and alternator as when it surges, the lights dim and brighten. Also, what kind of driving was I suppose to do after driving around for the reset procedure, all city, mixed?
Thanks
Last edited:
