Car stumbles or dies under load

Asked by psycho89 Dec 17, 2012 at 11:14 PM about the 1997 Mercury Tracer LS Sedan FWD

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I noticed this problem the other day, I turned the radio, defrost, headlights, and wipers on and noticed my dash lights started to dim. Then going down the highway it acted like it was gonna die. So I press on the accelerator and it ran fine the rest of the way home. Well I took it to autozone and they said the battery and alternator were both good. So now I'm back to square 1. And I'm not sure what else to look at.

1 Answer

175,805

Check the belt on the alternator. It might be slipping and causing a low voltage condition with the accessories on. Next time it happens, try turning some things off to see if the condition improves.

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