Check Charging System

[Tyleryac]

I was driving home today, and the Check Charging System and battery light kept making noises and flashing. I posted the YouTube link below. The bstreet and alternator are less than 3 years old...

What's going on?

http://youtu.be/m9uMAXj5zHg

 

[Mrooney322]

i would start by checking and cleaning all of the main electrical connections between the battery, alternator and fuse box.

even though your alternator isnt that old your regulator could be bad and outputting a higher unsafe voltage, a simple test with a volt meter should resolve that. just test your battery with the car off, the voltage should be 12 volts, with the car on and engine running the battery voltage should be between 13.7 and 14.4 volts..

if your voltage is spiking higher than 15 volts you could run the risk of frying your electronics, but by the video i would say that it might just be a loose connection

 

[Tyleryac]

I checked everything this morning and it looked ok to me.

Maybe it's a short?

 

[lincolnshibuya]

looks like a loose connection, have you tried tugging/pulling the wires if they are still secure? could be a bad ground wire somewhere too.

 

[Tyleryac]

The main connections I saw seemed secure. I find it odd that this problem would occur out of nowhere.

 

[BobRob]

N00b chiming in here...

I just bought an 02 and one of the first things I found was a bad alternator, symptoms were a bit different in that mine was causing the dash lights to dim--brighten--dim--brighten. Never got a light or other indication but from my experience, it had voltage regulator written all over it.

As Mrooney said, put a voltmeter on it and see if you're getting a swing in voltage. Could be that you have an impending failure inside the alternator.

 

[Tyleryac]

So i'm looking at a price for an alternator...not sure which to good with. New or reman? Brand?

 

[BobRob]

I bought mine at Advance. It's a Driverworks reman 130 amp with a 1 year warranty for $145.00 + $25.00 core. Order online and pick up at the store using the discount code at the top of their webpage and save 15% ($21.75)

It takes about 15 minutes to change it, but I'd definitely make sure it's acting up first by putting a meter on it.

 

[Tyleryac]

I just spoke to someone at the store. I'm stopping by after work and they will test the battery and alternator for free.

 

[BobRob]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[wataboy]

Go to Advanced Auto and they will run a full test on your charging system and even give you a nice pretty print out. Free, so I would atleast start there before breaking out the check book

 

[Tyleryac]

I went to Advance about an hour ago. Alternator is good. Battery was a little low. I'll start with a battery.

 

[Tyleryac]

I'm going to stop by Ford and get a Motorcraft battery tomoroow. The price is pretty reasonable.

 

[boominXplorer]

Check the alternator feed going to the fuse box. It routes behind the power steering and a/c accessory bracket. I remember you having your timing chains done by a ford dealer and had a ton of issues, this could be related. The alternator feed has a plastic bracket that screws into the drivers cylinder head and someone rushing can easily snap the tab of the bracket letting the wire able to be pinched by the accessory bracket. Or they could of put the bracket on and forgot to put the wire behind it and routed it into somewhere where it would get cut or pinched.

Also I wouldn't bother with a ford battery, there are WAY better options out there and they don't have the best track record.

 

[D Hook]

My experience with Motorcraft batteries has been excellent, after trying all the discount store batteries. Motorcraft is the only battery I've ever owned that actually went the full distance of the warranty and beyond. I've had DieHards that died within 90 days. I only buy Motorcraft now for all my vehicles.

 

[Tyleryac]

Check the alternator feed going to the fuse box. It routes behind the power steering and a/c accessory bracket. I remember you having your timing chains done by a ford dealer and had a ton of issues, this could be related.

I am heading back on Tuesday for the oil leak. I'll ask my friend to check it, Thanks!

 

[Tyleryac]

I picked up a new Motorcraft battery today. Everything seems to be working as it should.

 

[Tyleryac]

Issue is back...I'll have to check for loose connections.

 

[Atlanta007]

I've also had the repeated "check charging system" issue intermittently over the last year+ on my '05 Explorer.

My alternator is about 3 years old - I put in a reman from Advance when the original went bad. The charging system issue continued to occur after I recently put in a new battery.

I bought a little voltmeter off Amazon that plugs into the cigar lighter on the console. Even when the check charging system was going off repeatedly it was reading steady around 14.4 volts.

I thought it could be related to some less than stellar battery connections that were used when I put in aftermarket stereo and amps. But after redoing those connections to where I was satisfied, the problem still occurs.

I still don't know what is causing it. All connections and grounds look good.

 

[Tyleryac]

I just realized that this only happens when it's either raining or snowing. So that means a wire must be getting wet.