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I think I'm gonna answer my own question in this post, but I want to ask just to make sure. I started my Mustang (97) up this morning and all was fine for a few seconds and then it sputtered, died, and restarted itself. No warning lights came on, but my electrical system (lights, radio, etc....) faded on and off. It did this about three times and then all was fine. I headed out and stopped at a traffic light and my RPM's dipped down to 500 and sputtered but didn't die. I have never replaced the alternator before, so I'm assuming that's what the culprit is. Am I correct?
The alternator could completely stop providing charging current and your engine should run just fine because the battery will supply power to all the electrical devices for an hour or so depending on the electrical load.
How can an engine "die" and start again by itself without turning the ignition key to engage the starter? If you were talking about a C4 with an idle problem I would first investigate the I.A.C. valve.