Hi Scottie and everybody,

I have a 2010 Town Car V8 4.6L with 110,000 miles. Yesterday while I was driving, the battery light went on, so I rushed my home and checked the battery and alternator.

I found that the battery is fine, but the alternator does not work (I get 12V whether the engine is on or off). I have made sure all the connections are clean and tight, and that there is not any blown fuses. I did not have a chance to check the alternator as the car shut off completely. When I tried to jump start the car, it runs for 20sec and shut off, so I assume I have a bad alternator (I even smacked it a bit with a hammer, but nothing happened).

My 2 questions are:

1) Is it OK to buy aftermarket alternators? I found one for 100 Canadian dollars which has no warranty, and an ACDelco one that costs double with 2 years warranty. The OEM one costs more than 400 CAD and I could only find refurbished. Is it worth buying the cheaper one? the brand name is Premier Gear. Or should I buy a better quality one? what are good aftermarket manufactures of alternators?

2) After this incident, I would like to buy a battery charger (in addition to my booster), so I can at least move my car around until I fix the alternator. Any suggestion on a good cheap car battery charger?

If you think that I missed something or misdiagnosed something, please let me know. No my car just seats there until I replace the alternator, or charge the battery with a charger.

Thank you very much!