Check Charging System after installing new alternator

[Kevin_MichiganExplorer]

Local Ford dealership identified the alternator bearings as the source of a sound I had been hearing on my Explorer with 100k miles, quoted $1200 to replace. That sounded like a lot so I picked up a remanufactured part from a local auto parts store that fits my vehicle. After the (long) process of swapping out the alternator and reconnecting everything, I am receiving a Check Charging System fault about 20 seconds after startup, although everything appeared to be running fine.

Took a short test drive down my street and back, and while driving, electronic assist systems progressively began shutting down: starting with the power steering assist (no fault or error message, but definitely no assist; turning the wheel was very heavy); collision avoidance system fault, brake assist fault, and SYNC went into "battery saver" mode and shut down the screen.

Is there something that has to be flashed in the computer to recognize the new alternator?
Have double checked the connections on everything and the pulley is spinning fine with no slipping. I'm at a loss.

 

[BrooklynBay]

Welcome to this forum! You have several possibilities. The main alternator fuse might have blown, the replacement alternator might be defective or one of the wires isn't connected.

 

[Kevin_MichiganExplorer]

Thanks for the reply, and the welcome to the group. I forgot to check the main alternator fuse so will check that tonight. I'll also go over and recheck the wire connections. Would be very disappointed if the replacement alternator was defective.
At the least, I do have a service appointment tomorrow morning at the same dealership for them to assist diagnosing the issue.

 

[JAPeterson]

Check the voltage at the battery with the engine running with a digital volt ohm meter to see what it is.

I have had rebuilt alternators bad right out of the box. The last time I dealt with them I went through 3 of them before I actually got one that worked. I have also had some that would charge at low RPM's but once you got above 2000 RPM's they would quit charging.

After that I decided that I would purchase new ones if at all possible.

 

[Kevin_MichiganExplorer]

battery was at about 12.5V (analog multimeter in my dark garage) this morning with the engine running for a couple of minutes.

 

[imp]

battery was at about 12.5V (analog multimeter in my dark garage) this morning with the engine running for a couple of minutes.

@Kevin_MichiganExplorer

Not high enough, IMO, unless battery fully charged, which seems unlikely given having run without adequate alternator output previously. I would look for a blown fuse link feeding the alternator-battery main, or link to stator/rotor. If good, check each battery cell with a hydrometer---cheapest ($10.00) most reliable means to single out a "good battery" with one bad cell! imp

 

[Kevin_MichiganExplorer]

Good stuff, thanks for the advice. I've got a list of things to check when I get home tonight

 

[BrooklynBay]

Check the battery terminals for corrosion. Sometimes corrosion under the ground connection terminal end on the body might cause issues. Clean everything with a wire brush then apply an antioxidant cream.

 

[peterk9]

Welcome to the Forum Kevin.
It appears that the alternator is not charging and that results in some electrical systems shutting down to preserve what little electrical power there is.
Usually you would get the warning message below when this happens.

FEATURES TEMPORARILY TURNED OFF
Displayed when the battery management
system detects an extended low-voltage
condition. Various vehicle features will be
disabled to help preserve the battery. Turn off
as many of the electrical loads as soon as
possible to improve system voltage. If the
system voltage has recovered, the disabled
features will operate again as normal

Peter

 

[JAPeterson]

A good thing to do would be to put a battery charger on the battery overnight and then take the readings the next morning.

Also anymore a analog meter is not good enough if you are performing maintenance on these newer vehicles. A tenth of a volt or ohm could mean the difference between good and bad.

You can pick up a good digital volt ohm meter for less than $20 at stores that sell them.

 

[Adrian Gitch]

I assume you got the correct alternator. 200A and there’s a 175A

 

[KayGee]

Reman auto parts are a real crap shoot. Hindsight being 20/20, you would have been better off taking your alternator off and having new bearings put in to address the noise if the alternator itself was still good.

battery was at about 12.5V (analog multimeter in my dark garage) this morning with the engine running for a couple of minutes.

Just to be clear - you got 12.5 volts with engine running or you ran the engine for a couple of minutes, then shut it off and measured 12.5 volts? If running, it sounds like you got a bad reman alternator or bad install/ground/etc... If engine off, 12.5 volts is fine from the battery.

Also, there is nothing wrong with an analog multimeter for checking battery voltage. Cheap digital voltmeters are going to have a 20V accuracy range of + or - at least .5% which would equate to + or - .1 volts. If a tenth of a volt is the difference between good and bad, a $20 digital multimeter isn't going to be any better than what you already have.

 

[stuarto]

FWIW, I would go with if you're measuring 12.5v with the engine running, immediately after starting, then the battery isn't getting charged. So, either that's the alternator not charging or the battery not taking it.
Because of ease, I would check the alternator fuse first. You may want to replace it just to be double-sure.
Then, I would check the termination of the alternator charge wire to your +ve battery terminal. Take it off, give it a rub, maybe give is a squirt of WD40 and then put it back on.
Lastly, for now, if you have a battery with the screw caps at the top of each cell, take the cap off, shine a flashlight in and make sure the lead metal plates are below the level of the acid.

There are more steps but I want go thru them here unless one of the above addresses your issue.

Let us all know!

 

[Kevin_MichiganExplorer]

Thanks everybody for the insight. I took it back to the dealership for diagnosis and they determined I got a defective remanufactured alternator, but that it was installed correctly (WHEW!). Was glad they confirmed it was installed correctly. The service advisor said both he and the technician would have gone with the reman route or repair the old one due to the high cost of the OEM part from the dealership.
Alas, I am leaving for a 400 mile trip up north tomorrow and ran out of time to do the uninstall and reinstall a new part myself. So, getting a brand new Ford part installed today. Yay.

 

[JAPeterson]

Glad it got figured out, if there is one thing that I hate and that is electrical problems on a vehicle.

Just as a FYI for others who may come upon this thread, if your local parts store does not carry new manufactured parts you can always look at Rock Auto. They list 5 new alternators for our Explorers.

 

[KayGee]

So you went to the dealer for a diagnosis and were presented with a $1200 repair bill for a new alternator. You then bought a reman and installed it yourself only to find out it was bad. Then you took it back to the dealer and had them do another diagnosis and perform the original $1200 repair?

I'm pretty sure this was the subplot of a Seinfeld episode or something similar...

 

[KayGee]

Glad it got figured out, if there is one thing that I hate and that is electrical problems on a vehicle.

Sometimes electrical problems are some of the easiest to resolve. Other times, if dealing with modules and CAN, they can be more difficult and time consuming. So, really depends on the vehicle and the type of electrical problem.

Just as a FYI for others who may come upon this thread, if your local parts store does not carry new manufactured parts you can always look at Rock Auto. They list 5 new alternators for our Explorers.

I would take that a step further and stress to pretty much stay away from reman parts from the local parts stores.

For others that may come upon this thread that have a functioning alternator with noisy bearings, the cheapest and best option is to simply replace the bearings. Either replace them yourself or find a local shop that will do it for you. It will be far cheaper than spending $300+ for a new alternator from rockauto (+core charge) and then paying $15-20 to ship your core back to recoup the core charge.

 

[JAPeterson]

I would just keep the old alternator and have it rebuilt by a local shop. But the problem with that is finding a shop to rebuild it. They are getting quite scarce

 

[KayGee]

I would just keep the old alternator and have it rebuilt by a local shop. But the problem with that is finding a shop to rebuild it. They are getting quite scarce

I have maybe ten or so that I know of within an hour or so drive (Detroit, MI).

There's a handful or so that I know of in Grand Rapids, MI.

Google shows 10 or so in/around Denver, CO.

They aren't as plentiful as they may have been 20-30+ years ago, but I wouldn't say they are scarce.

 

[JAPeterson]

It depends on how far you want to drive.

I used to have one 30 miles away, noe the closest is over 100 miles