jlrohio
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- August 10, 2004
- Messages
- 176
- Reaction score
- 26
- City, State
- Virginia
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 1999 Ford Explorer XL
1999 Ford Explorer XL - OHV Engine - 180,000 miles - Original Owner - Sorry, long story...as I want to get all the facts in that I can...
Recently, my son called and said, that after he started the Explorer, that the backlighting on the dash was "pulsing", the voltage indicator on the dash was less than 1/2 (normal position) and was moving between low and 1/2 way. It had just started turning dark so he had the headlights on and he said they were pulsing as well. He pulled the vehicle over in a parking lot. I went out there with my tool bag and a simple digital multimeter, initially thinking he may be having a battery related issue, an alternator issue???
As soon as I arrive, I had him start it up and I too witnessed the headlights pulsing dim and bright. I then had him turn off the car and open the hood. I used my digital multimeter and checked the voltage on the battery - it was sitting around 12.5 or so. I wiggled all the visible battery related wires and verified they were tight and there did not appear to be anything broken somewhere. Corrosion was non-existent as well.
I had him start the car to measure the voltage at the battery with the vehicle running. Instantly, I saw 14+ volts at the battery. Then the voltage slowly rose past 15, 16, 17 in the matter of about 20 seconds. I told him to turn it off. I then did some physical checking of the wiring at the alternator and saw nothing visibly wrong there.
I had him start the car again and this time, the car started and it the pulsing of the electrical items (dashboard lighting, headlamps, etc) stopped. I put my digital multimeter on the battery and it was showing 14.3 or so volts and steady. I then had him follow me home (5 miles away) and everything seemed fine. I never saw the lights pulse and he said it all seemed normal. I put it away for the night.
The next day I had a few minutes to check it out and started the vehicle. As with the prior night, the voltage needle on the dash was immediately pulsing between low and 1/2 way and it again was pulsing the headlights. All pulsating stopped in a minute and returned to normal operation (including the battery needle on the dash moving to 1/2 way). By the time I got my multimeter on the battery, it was again reading 14.3 volts while running (I guess I should have been better set up). I never saw the actual "battery looking icon" illuminate on the dashboard, other than the initial illumination for about 2-3 seconds after starting the vehicle. That's all I could do at that point.
Later that evening, I had to take the vehicle out for a quick trip and again, the vehicle's dash lighting and headlamps were pulsing. As I was initially driving, for the first time, I saw the "battery looking icon (inside the tachometer portion of the dash) intermittently light up while I was driving - it was not steady. I quickly got to where I needed to be within a couple of minutes and the pulsing stopped, the Battery looking icon extinguished itself, and the vehicle seemed to run normal. It was a quick trip back home and everything was fine.
Yesterday, I was finally able to look at some quick YouTube video's on alternator testing/troubleshooting. I then went out and took off all of the battery connectors, cleaned them up good, disconnected and cleaned up the negative cable on the firewall, and proceeded to remove the alternator - this is the original alternator - 24+ years old, 180k miles. Other than knowing an alternator puts out 14+ volts while running to keep a battery charged, I didn't know anything else about them. I do remember, when I was a kid, if an alternator or starter died, you took it to a place in town and it would be rebuilt for you in a day or two for around $20-30 - this was back in early 80's. Those places rarely exist anymore.
After removing the alternator, everything looked fine on the outside except 24 years worth of dirt and patina! I then took off the voltage regulator (again, I never knew what this was the day before). I could instantly see that the Brushes (I think that's what they are called - the two metal things on a spring that ride against a spinning shaft on the alternator) were vastly different in appearance. One seemed normal wear, while the other seemed to have had a break of some sort at some point. I also inspected the shaft where the brushes ride against. The two Slip Rings on the shaft were also very different. One appeared nice and copper colored, while the other had some issues with it. The rest of the alternator seems fine, I don't hear any bearing noises in it and other than 24 years worth of grime and dirt, it appears that these alternators are in fact well built. Oh, I also, somewhere along the way, figured I had a Gen 3 - 130 Amp alternator.
After reading many threads up here - I seem to be at a crossroads of what to replace to even begin troubleshooting my original issue. I know I have issues with the alternator than need addressing and am seeking opinions. One consistent theme, is that a remanufactured Advance Auto/Autozone alternator is going to be hit or miss - yes, it may come with a lifetime warranty - but that may involve changing the alternator every 6months/two years it seems. Voltage regulators seem to be priced between $20 for something cheap on Amazon (with many low quality reviews) and $80 on Advance Auto/Autozone. I could just buy the brushes for $10 from NAPA (thanks to @Evan L ) and replace those but I'm not sure how easy that would be (any soldering required) to install on the voltage regulator???
Anyways, that's my long-azz story... Thoughts on possible other things to check or the below pictures of the alternator, brushes, slip ring condition?? Again, I didn't know anything about alternators prior to this issue...other than they needed to put out more voltage (14+) than the battery normally stores (12.5+)
Recently, my son called and said, that after he started the Explorer, that the backlighting on the dash was "pulsing", the voltage indicator on the dash was less than 1/2 (normal position) and was moving between low and 1/2 way. It had just started turning dark so he had the headlights on and he said they were pulsing as well. He pulled the vehicle over in a parking lot. I went out there with my tool bag and a simple digital multimeter, initially thinking he may be having a battery related issue, an alternator issue???
As soon as I arrive, I had him start it up and I too witnessed the headlights pulsing dim and bright. I then had him turn off the car and open the hood. I used my digital multimeter and checked the voltage on the battery - it was sitting around 12.5 or so. I wiggled all the visible battery related wires and verified they were tight and there did not appear to be anything broken somewhere. Corrosion was non-existent as well.
I had him start the car to measure the voltage at the battery with the vehicle running. Instantly, I saw 14+ volts at the battery. Then the voltage slowly rose past 15, 16, 17 in the matter of about 20 seconds. I told him to turn it off. I then did some physical checking of the wiring at the alternator and saw nothing visibly wrong there.
I had him start the car again and this time, the car started and it the pulsing of the electrical items (dashboard lighting, headlamps, etc) stopped. I put my digital multimeter on the battery and it was showing 14.3 or so volts and steady. I then had him follow me home (5 miles away) and everything seemed fine. I never saw the lights pulse and he said it all seemed normal. I put it away for the night.
The next day I had a few minutes to check it out and started the vehicle. As with the prior night, the voltage needle on the dash was immediately pulsing between low and 1/2 way and it again was pulsing the headlights. All pulsating stopped in a minute and returned to normal operation (including the battery needle on the dash moving to 1/2 way). By the time I got my multimeter on the battery, it was again reading 14.3 volts while running (I guess I should have been better set up). I never saw the actual "battery looking icon" illuminate on the dashboard, other than the initial illumination for about 2-3 seconds after starting the vehicle. That's all I could do at that point.
Later that evening, I had to take the vehicle out for a quick trip and again, the vehicle's dash lighting and headlamps were pulsing. As I was initially driving, for the first time, I saw the "battery looking icon (inside the tachometer portion of the dash) intermittently light up while I was driving - it was not steady. I quickly got to where I needed to be within a couple of minutes and the pulsing stopped, the Battery looking icon extinguished itself, and the vehicle seemed to run normal. It was a quick trip back home and everything was fine.
Yesterday, I was finally able to look at some quick YouTube video's on alternator testing/troubleshooting. I then went out and took off all of the battery connectors, cleaned them up good, disconnected and cleaned up the negative cable on the firewall, and proceeded to remove the alternator - this is the original alternator - 24+ years old, 180k miles. Other than knowing an alternator puts out 14+ volts while running to keep a battery charged, I didn't know anything else about them. I do remember, when I was a kid, if an alternator or starter died, you took it to a place in town and it would be rebuilt for you in a day or two for around $20-30 - this was back in early 80's. Those places rarely exist anymore.
After removing the alternator, everything looked fine on the outside except 24 years worth of dirt and patina! I then took off the voltage regulator (again, I never knew what this was the day before). I could instantly see that the Brushes (I think that's what they are called - the two metal things on a spring that ride against a spinning shaft on the alternator) were vastly different in appearance. One seemed normal wear, while the other seemed to have had a break of some sort at some point. I also inspected the shaft where the brushes ride against. The two Slip Rings on the shaft were also very different. One appeared nice and copper colored, while the other had some issues with it. The rest of the alternator seems fine, I don't hear any bearing noises in it and other than 24 years worth of grime and dirt, it appears that these alternators are in fact well built. Oh, I also, somewhere along the way, figured I had a Gen 3 - 130 Amp alternator.
After reading many threads up here - I seem to be at a crossroads of what to replace to even begin troubleshooting my original issue. I know I have issues with the alternator than need addressing and am seeking opinions. One consistent theme, is that a remanufactured Advance Auto/Autozone alternator is going to be hit or miss - yes, it may come with a lifetime warranty - but that may involve changing the alternator every 6months/two years it seems. Voltage regulators seem to be priced between $20 for something cheap on Amazon (with many low quality reviews) and $80 on Advance Auto/Autozone. I could just buy the brushes for $10 from NAPA (thanks to @Evan L ) and replace those but I'm not sure how easy that would be (any soldering required) to install on the voltage regulator???
Anyways, that's my long-azz story... Thoughts on possible other things to check or the below pictures of the alternator, brushes, slip ring condition?? Again, I didn't know anything about alternators prior to this issue...other than they needed to put out more voltage (14+) than the battery normally stores (12.5+)
