Solved If This Mountaineer Were A Horse I woulda Shot It Already

[MAS Tequila]

Charging system issues.

Ok, living here in hell, or south Florida, batteries take a real beating from the heat.

I put a new battery, from Advance, in the Mountie back in Sept of 16.

Last Monday the battery discharge light started coming on.

Since it wasn't supposed to rain I rode the MeanStreak to work Tuesday.

You know it's going to be a great day when you stop at Walmart at 6:30am for dry clothes.

Since the batt was only a few months old I bought a NEW alternator from Advance, they're less than 1/4 mile from my warehouse.

After installing it guess what, no F'n charge.

I have the same voltage as the batt on the yellow wire and the green/red wire shows 4ish volts with the engine running, which I believe is within spec.

I jumped the alternator case to the negative batt terminal with a jumper cable and no change, the same for the b+ and the positive terminal.

The 30 amp fuse is good, voltage at the yellow wire, I hardwired the 175 mega fuse, and still nothing.

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[MAS Tequila]

Advance tested everything last night and swapped the battery under warranty, still no charging.

The IDIOT kid who worked there told me everything was good.

I asked him how that could be, then hit the key and click click click.

There was less than 6 volts and a bad cell.

Am I missing something or is this NEW alternator a POS?

 

[Turdle]

Bad cell in battery could have damaged the new alternator. I agree with you.

 

[koda2000]

It could be a bad alternator, but it could also be a wiring/plug issue. Unless you have a GM style 1-wire alternator an alternator needs to be turned on in order to charge.

To remove the possibility of a bad alternator, remove it and take it in to have it tested.

 

[MAS Tequila]

On the way to my warehouse this afternoon, the battery light would go out and come back on.

I pulled the 'New' battery and out on the charger which read 67% charged.

I followed all of the suggestions in all of the old threads I could find.

I didn't find any wiring issues.

I'm open to any reasonable suggestions.

 

[CDW6212R]

Beyond the typical charging culprits, it's possible I think that the wire to trigger/feed the alternator is damaged/open as it goes through the dash. On many Fords, if you remove or unplug the wire leading to the dash indicator, the alternator will not charge. I don't know that the Explorer wiring is that way, but I would find and test that wire.

 

[MAS Tequila]

Well, the alternator tested good.

I'll see what happens once it's all back together.

The battery is up to 80% charged now.

 

[CDW6212R]

What has the running voltage been each time you've checked it? If you see less than 13.5-14.5v, then it's going to be the wiring circuit. Are all three bolts in the alternator? The wrong alternator will only have two line up.

 

[koda2000]

I believe that the charge/batt light on the dash must work or the alternator will not be switched ON. Battery voltage goes to the batt light when the key is turned ON. IIRC The (GRN/WHT?) wire goes from the batt light to the alternator. The voltage regulator on the back of the alternator opens the ground circuit for the batt light once the alternator starts charging, turning the light off.

As the alternator tested as good and the battery is new/good you must have a wiring problem. It's the only thing left.

 

[MAS Tequila]

Green with red stripe and it's now showing right around 3 - 3 1/2 volts.

I'm showing 12.2 at the battery and alternator now.

What's left, besides the wire to the starter?

 

[MAS Tequila]

I'll tell you, 0% on a new Edge is starting to sound good.

 

[MAS Tequila]

Ok, with everything back together there is now nothing, 0 on the gr/red wire.

I know it works off/with the battery light, but where to start troubleshooting?

 

[SWIGIN]

Negative battery cable checked?

 

[CDW6212R]

The 12.2 volts you are seeing now is just the battery, don't run the engine as that will simply drain the battery.

What does your dash battery light do as you turn the ignition to ON, and then when the engine is running? That might be the indication of what to trace next.

 

[MAS Tequila]

Go back and read the whole thread, the problem has been found.

Now I know where it is.

I followed the gr/r wire back to a large connector on the firewall that uses a bolt to hold it together.

After a very very small wiggle and pushing the connector together, the battery light went out.

Now I just have to make sure the 17 year old connections are good without buggering any up.

This may go in the solved column tomorrow.

 

[CDW6212R]

Very good. My next question was going to be what has been worked on related to the dash or the wires of the engine and bay harness. You're there.

 

[MAS Tequila]

Solved!!!

There is a large connector on the firewall above the 5-8 cylinder bank that uses a bolt to hold it together.

After cleaning the connections and tightening the bolt, all is well.

So boys and girls, let's go back to the basics and do like we're supposed to and check ALL of our connections, not just the ones right in front of us.

Another Homer Doh moment!

 

[Turdle]

Solved!!!

There is a large connector on the firewall above the 5-8 cylinder bank that uses a bolt to hold it together.

After cleaning the connections and tightening the bolt, all is well.

So boys and girls, let's go back to the basics and do like we're supposed to and check ALL of our connections, not just the ones right in front of us.

Another Homer Doh moment!

That is the 3rd issue I have read in a week that was solved by either tightening or re-seating that connector. Glad it was a simple thing.

 

[koda2000]

So the original alternator wasn't bad? Did you have them test it before you bought a new one?

 

[1998Exp]

Sounds like the connector he tightened was the PCM. I know that at some point the alternator voltage regulation came under PCM control. Might have been as early as MY 2000. There were good reasons to do that (adjusting the voltage according to load, temperature, etc.), but it adds another layer of complexity.