I have a 2000 Mountaineer and I killed the battery Friday leaving the ignition on. When I tried to jump it, something happened and the horn started honking. I redid the jumper cables per the manual and it was fine, but couldn't get it jumped. I replaced the battery since it was original, but now the voltage is low. I've been testing and over the last couple days it has been around 12.25-12.5. I was getting like .3 volts at the alternator terminal. I replaced the negative cable to the battery after cleaning the terminals. The positive looks fine, everything is tight. Per an old post I found, I checked the volts at the fuses in the distribution box. They all check out fine except the one for the alternator and another one for the EGR and some other stuff, both read like .3 volts. They don't look blown, but would the reading indicate bad fuses?
I did a pretty extensive search for a fusible link with no luck. I did have the system checked at Advance and he said the alternator was putting out 28 amps but would be OK to drive for a while. That was Sunday, and I let the truck sit Monday except for a 15 minute drive that night with the lights on and AC. Up to that point it was holding around 12.25 and not going down. So today I figured I would drive it to work, but a mile from the house I noticed the ABS light on, and the voltage meter was a little lower. Another half a mile and I noticed bad acceleration, and the tach wasn't working except for jumping when I shut the lights off. I managed to limp it home at that point.
I'm planning to pick up a new alternator on the way home, but does anyone have any ideas if that doesn't fix the issue? What else can I check? I'm not very good with electrical stuff, so treat me like a five year old. I do have a volt meter.
I did a pretty extensive search for a fusible link with no luck. I did have the system checked at Advance and he said the alternator was putting out 28 amps but would be OK to drive for a while. That was Sunday, and I let the truck sit Monday except for a 15 minute drive that night with the lights on and AC. Up to that point it was holding around 12.25 and not going down. So today I figured I would drive it to work, but a mile from the house I noticed the ABS light on, and the voltage meter was a little lower. Another half a mile and I noticed bad acceleration, and the tach wasn't working except for jumping when I shut the lights off. I managed to limp it home at that point.
I'm planning to pick up a new alternator on the way home, but does anyone have any ideas if that doesn't fix the issue? What else can I check? I'm not very good with electrical stuff, so treat me like a five year old. I do have a volt meter.
