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Alternator not charging

Turns out that slip rings link isn't for my 2002 Explorer XLT 4.6L V8 and the seller has advised that he will change it as fitting my alternator because, he says, I have a 4G alternator.

Which appears to be correct.

See here:

How to Identify Your Ford 3G, 4G & 6G Series Alternator

https://alternatorparts.com/ford-type-3g-4g-6g-series-high-output-alternators.html

My alternator is shown in the top 2 pictures of the "4G Series Alternators" and does indeed have the "black metallic cover on the rear."

I note that the above ebay listing has now been corrected to reflect that it fits only the 4.0L V6 and not the 4.6L V8

Interestingly, I took the alternator off again yesterday to see if I would be able to install those slip rings, and thus also removed the brushes/regulator assembly. I found that there was no way I would be able to install the slip rings so I put it all back together and back on the truck.

Whereupon I found that it was actually putting out about 13 volts, as opposed to putting out nothing previously.

Must have been due to having "reseated" the front brush such that it was now making some contact with that very worn slip ring.

I've ordered a new alternator because this one is beyond my ability to repair it.

I hope you ordered a Motorcraft or Bosch...
 






...I've ordered a new alternator because this one is beyond my ability to repair it.

I put the new alternator on last week. It's putting out 14 to 14.5 volts depending on how charged up the battery is at the moment, so it's working fine.

I have driven the Explorer for the last few days and found that I got a very interesting side benefit from the alternator replacement; which is that my "Service Engine Soon" light went out (and has stayed out) as soon as I put the alternator on.

As I think I said already, the SES light has been on since I bought this ride last August, and actually was on even before I bought it because it was on when I first started it up back when I was first looking at it.

As I also said before, I got this ride with one plug (#7 ) having been "spat out." It also had an unsuccessful helicoil put in (which I wasn't told) and it spat that out as well. So I purchased the oversized Time-Sert kit and that has solved that problem thus far, and hopefully will continue to do so.

But I kept getting a P0357 code which is "Ignition Coil G Circuit Malfunction" ("G" is cylinder #7 ) and I figured that since the #7 coil had been knocked around twice, it probably had an "iffy" wire that wasn't working 100% of the time, and that was keeping the SES light lit.

But it apparently was the alternator that was the problem, so it must have been going bad from the first day I looked at the truck.

So if your SES light is on and you can't figure out why, you might want to check your alternator. Mine seemed to be charging fine until about 5 weeks ago, as far as I knew.
 






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