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Electrical Issue

exploder2002

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Joined
October 11, 2012
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City, State
Cleveland, Ohio
Year, Model & Trim Level
2002 Ford Explorer
Hi Everyone, here is my problem. My battery light keeps flickering and the battery is not keeping charge. I have replaced the battery,alternator and battery terminals. Still the same. I had it on the charger over night and got a reading of 13.2v before i left for work. I checked it when i got home and it was at 12.04v. The only other thing I have had to replace recently is the blend door actuator. I have checked all fuses under the steering wheel and the box next to the battery. I am not sure where else to go from here. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 



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update

I checked to see if the PCM is giving the alternator the 9v signal to turn on and it does.
 






If you already replaced the battery / alternator my guess would be excessive current draw when vehicle is off. i took the following from my factory service manual to check for battery drain.


Component Tests

Battery — Drain Test

WARNING: Do not attempt this test on a lead-acid battery that has recently been recharged. Explosive gases may cause personal injury. Failure to follow these instructions may result in personal injury.

CAUTION: To prevent damage to the meter, do not crank the engine or operate accessories that draw more than 10A.

NOTE: No factory-equipped vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) draw.

Check for current drains on the battery in excess of 50 milliamps (0.050 amp) with all the electrical accessories off and the vehicle at rest for at least 40 minutes. Current drains can be tested with the following procedure:

NOTE: Many electronic modules draw 10 mA (0.010 amp) or more continuously.

NOTE: Use an in-line ammeter between the negative battery post and its respective cable.

NOTE: Typically, a drain of approximately one amp can be attributed to an engine compartment lamp, glove compartment lamp, or interior lamp staying on continually. Other component failures or wiring shorts may be located by selectively pulling fuses to pinpoint the location of the current drain. When the current drain is found, the meter reading will fall to an acceptable level. If the drain is still not located after checking all the fuses, it may be due to the generator.

NOTE: To accurately test the drain on a battery, an in-line digital ammeter must be used. Use of a test lamp or voltmeter is not an accurate method due to the number of electronic modules.

NOTE: When the battery has been disconnected and reconnected, some abnormal drive symptoms may occur while the powertrain control module (PCM) relearns its fuel trim. The vehicle may need to be driven to relearn the strategy.

Make sure the junction box(es)/fuse panel(s) is accessible without turning on interior or underhood lights.

Drive the vehicle at least 5 minutes and over 48 km/h (30 mph) to turn on and activate the vehicle systems.

Allow the vehicle to sit with the key OFF for at least 40 minutes to allow modules to time out/power down.

Connect a fused jumper wire between the negative battery cable and the negative battery post to prevent modules from resetting and to catch capacitive drains.

Disconnect the negative battery cable from the negative battery post without breaking the connection of the jumper wire.

NOTE: It is very important that continuity is not broken between the negative battery post and the negative battery cable when connecting the meter. If this happens, the entire procedure must be repeated.
Connect the tester between the negative battery cable and the post. The meter must be capable of reading milliamps and should have a 10 amp capability.

NOTE: If the meter settings need to be switched or the test leads need to be moved to another jack, the jumper wire must be reinstalled to avoid breaking continuity.

NOTE: Amperage draw will vary from vehicle to vehicle depending on the equipment package. Compare to a similar vehicle for reference.

NOTE: No factory-equipped vehicle should have more than a 50 mA (0.050 amp) draw.
Remove the jumper wire.

If the draw is found to be excessive, remove fuses from the central junction box one at a time and note the current drop. Do not reinstall the fuses until you are finished testing. To properly isolate each of the circuits, all of the fuses may need to be removed and install one fuse, note the amperage draw, then remove the fuse and install the next fuse, etc.

If the current draw is still excessive, remove the fuses from the battery junction box (BJB) one at a time and note the current drop. Do not reinstall the fuses until you have finished testing. To properly isolate each of the circuits, all of the fuses may need to be removed. After removal of all of the fuses, install one fuse, note the amperage draw, then remove the fuse and install the next fuse until each circuit has been tested. When the current level drops to an acceptable level after removing a fuse, the circuit containing the excessive draw has been located.

Check the wiring schematic in the wiring diagram for any circuits that run from the battery without passing through the junction boxes. If the current draw is still excessive, disconnect these circuits until the draw is found. Also disconnect the generator electrical connections if the draw can not be located. The generator may be internally shorted, causing the current drain.
 






FIXED! Thanks to all for the help.

Here is what the problem was. The alternator had 12v coming in but when the car was running it would drop down to 6v. There is a problem with the supply voltage wire which has 1 or 2 fusible links. There is continuity on that line but it must be corroded enough to cause the voltage to drop. For now I ran my own fused line from the battery and everything is ok. Hopefully this helps someone else track down a crazy issue.
 






For now I ran my own fused line from the battery and everything is ok. .

On the new fused line you installed, what did you connect the other end of the line to?
 






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