usn.mustanger
New Member
- Joined
- October 28, 2018
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 1
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2004 Explorer, 2WD, 4.0L
So my 2004 XLT Explorer just recently started misbehaving.
3 times in the last week, the engine simply quite while driving at low speed (25-30mph), but never at higher speeds. Engine would restart immediately, no problem. No other issues or symptoms were observed...until yesterday.
Now, while it hasn't stalled in a few days, I'm getting the dreaded "Check charging system" error message. At first, it would go away when I accelerated, and didn't come on at all on the freeway, but now it's nearly always on, cycling on and off rapidly (I guess as alternator voltage seems to be hovering around the alarm threshold), until it locks in at speed.
I hooked up a cheap OBD II reader yesterday, and with the engine running at idle, DC voltage was reading 11.9V +/- .1V. Revving the engine in neutral never got me above 12.1V tops. With the ignition switch off, I get a solid 12.2-12.5V, so I'm pretty sure the battery is good (and it was just replaced several months ago).
The V meter in the instrument cluster is a tad lower than normal, just below the mid-mark.
There is no noise coming from the belt, idler pulley or tensioner.
So the initial stalls originally led me to think the ignition switch was bad, but now the voltage issues lead me to believe that the alternator is going bad. Surely these two problems are related, but I have a hard time believing that both the ignition switch AND the alternator are going bad *at the same time*.
1) Can the stalls be caused by an alternator starting to go south? Or...
2) Can the "Check charging system" issues be caused by a faulty ignition switch? Or...
3) Is it something else altogether?
Thanks in advance for any help!
3 times in the last week, the engine simply quite while driving at low speed (25-30mph), but never at higher speeds. Engine would restart immediately, no problem. No other issues or symptoms were observed...until yesterday.
Now, while it hasn't stalled in a few days, I'm getting the dreaded "Check charging system" error message. At first, it would go away when I accelerated, and didn't come on at all on the freeway, but now it's nearly always on, cycling on and off rapidly (I guess as alternator voltage seems to be hovering around the alarm threshold), until it locks in at speed.
I hooked up a cheap OBD II reader yesterday, and with the engine running at idle, DC voltage was reading 11.9V +/- .1V. Revving the engine in neutral never got me above 12.1V tops. With the ignition switch off, I get a solid 12.2-12.5V, so I'm pretty sure the battery is good (and it was just replaced several months ago).
The V meter in the instrument cluster is a tad lower than normal, just below the mid-mark.
There is no noise coming from the belt, idler pulley or tensioner.
So the initial stalls originally led me to think the ignition switch was bad, but now the voltage issues lead me to believe that the alternator is going bad. Surely these two problems are related, but I have a hard time believing that both the ignition switch AND the alternator are going bad *at the same time*.
1) Can the stalls be caused by an alternator starting to go south? Or...
2) Can the "Check charging system" issues be caused by a faulty ignition switch? Or...
3) Is it something else altogether?
Thanks in advance for any help!