How to Replace an Alternator on a 2002 Focus
- 1). Raise the hood and disconnect the negative battery cable with the battery terminal wrench. Put the belt tensioner tool into the serpentine belt tensioner. Move the tensioner pulley off the belt with the tensioner tool and then move the serpentine belt off the alternator pulley with your left hand. Remove the belt tensioner tool.
- 2). Loosen the lug nuts with the lug wrench, jack the right front end into the air with the jack and lower it onto the jack stand. Remove the wheel and tire by hand.
- 3). Disconnect the wiring harness from the alternator. You may need the pocket screwdriver to release the retaining tab on the harness connector. Use the socket set to remove the ground wire from the alternator, also.
- 4). Use the socket set to remove the inner fender skirt from the inside of the wheel well to gain access to the front of the engine.
- 5). Go in through the wheel well and use the socket set to unbolt the alternator. Once the bolts are out, remove the alternator by hand and compare it to the replacement alternator. Make sure the bolt pattern is identical and the wiring connectors are in the same place. If not, take both alternators to your place of purchase and get the correct alternator. It is not uncommon for an auto parts catalog to have misinformation when it comes to alternators.
- 6). Put the new alternator in position and thread the bolts back in by hand as far as you can. Tighten the bolts down with the socket set.
- 7). Reconnect the wiring, reinstall the inner fender skirt, put the wheel and lug nuts back on and then lower the car back onto the ground. Reinstall the serpentine belt, reconnect the negative battery cable and start the engine. Watch the serpentine belt for a moment to make sure it is traveling across the pulleys properly.