Volt gauge fluctuating, flickering lights | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Volt gauge fluctuating, flickering lights

New2fixing

Active Member
Joined
July 20, 2018
Messages
53
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5
City, State
Detroit, MI
Year, Model & Trim Level
2001 Explorer Sport Trac
I just want to say thanks in advance for any advice or help you guys can share . I've gotten a lot of great info from this site. But the issues I'm having are confusing the hell out of me. I'm new to trying to fix my truck so I don't know tons about how everything works but I'm learning.

Anyway, so I have a 2001 Explorer Sport Trac 4wd .

The voltage meter has been dropping pretty low almost to nothing .it would drop every time I use the AC, roll down the windows or run my headlights .took it to AutoZone to get a volt test and I feel like they knew what they were doing about as much as I did. I was trying to get a volt reading on my battery, then see how much voltage I got from my alternator with the truck running. But the AutoZone person said "well your battery is at %65 so it's gotta be your alternator" . I tried to clean my old one first in case the coils were just dirty . didn't work. Money's tight so I bought a DB electrical "new" alternator. Seems like it ran better at first but I'm still having the same issue. Rough idle, headlights flicker, AC slows down and dash lights dim. So i'm guessing it's not a bad voltage regulator on the new alternator, so what could it be? Bad wiring? Loose tension on the serpentine belt? Bad serpentine belt? I just don't know.

Thanks again for taking the time to to read and answer my post guys! Have a great day!
-Al
 



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If you haven't already done this, check the main cables at the starter, make sure they are tight and secure. The + cable goes to the starter first, then to the rest of the truck.

also, are you sure the idle is stable? Have you cleaned the IAC valve? Believe it or not low idle speed could be causing low voltage.

Voltage reading engine off? engine on?
 






Thanks! You know, it didn't look bad but that was the first thing I tried . I used one of those brush tools for the connections and the post. I just did that again this time using some battery terminal cleaner. I'll try anything at this point haha
Welcome to this forum! You might have corrosion on the battery contacts, terminals or faulty cables. Clean the ground connection where the cable meets the body.
 






If you haven't already done this, check the main cables at the starter, make sure they are tight and secure. The + cable goes to the starter first, then to the rest of the truck.

also, are you sure the idle is stable? Have you cleaned the IAC valve? Believe it or not low idle speed could be causing low voltage.

Voltage reading engine off? engine on?

Thanks for replying! Well I put the new alternator on and it seems like all the connections are good and tight . Nope, haven't tried cleaning the aic valve yet. I'll do that next. I don't have a multimeter or a voltmeter so I'm not sure about the voltage .they weren't very helpful at AutoZone when I went to get my battery and alternator voltage tested .they just said "yup, battery is at %65 so it's the alternator". The engine was off. I'm not sure they really knew what they were doing . I'll either go somewhere else or just get a cheap multimeter .
 






Thanks for replying! Well I put the new alternator on and it seems like all the connections are good and tight . Nope, haven't tried cleaning the aic valve yet. I'll do that next. I don't have a multimeter or a voltmeter so I'm not sure about the voltage .they weren't very helpful at AutoZone when I went to get my battery and alternator voltage tested .they just said "yup, battery is at %65 so it's the alternator". The engine was off. I'm not sure they really knew what they were doing . I'll either go somewhere else or just get a cheap multimeter .
Good. Now, underneath the truck. Check the connections on the starter as I mentioned above.

This multi meter is not bad, Welcome to Sears.com

You might consider this as an add on to it

Welcome to Sears.com
 






Great! Thanks for the advice . I'll check the connection to the starter as well. I appreciate the multimeter links too!
 












Wow that's awesome! Thank you for the heads up!
 






I have one of them. It's not a top quality test instrument but for the price (free) it serves the purpose. Make sure that it's set on the correct range before you take a reading. They burn out very easily on the wrong range when you apply voltage. Better quality testers have built in protection for this.
 






I have one of them. It's not a top quality test instrument but for the price (free) it serves the purpose. Make sure that it's set on the correct range before you take a reading. They burn out very easily on the wrong range when you apply voltage. Better quality testers have built in protection for this.

Gotcha, thanks for the tip! Much appreciated
 






Good. Now, underneath the truck. Check the connections on the starter as I mentioned above.

This multi meter is not bad, Welcome to Sears.com

You might consider this as an add on to it

Welcome to Sears.com
Sorry, I forgot to ask if you know any good how to videos or articles on how to properly clean the AIC valve. From what I'm seeing you can use throttle body cleaner and just remove the AIC and spray inside of it? But then I saw that there's a black plastic cap that came off with a felt filter inside and to clean that too? Sorry, I'm easily confused haha
 












Thanks! Gonna clean it out as soon as I get a chance. Quick question. So can a bad IAC or a bad throttle body cause a low or fluctuating voltage reading issue? Just today I noticed I was idling at 500rpm so it seems like something is going on there too. I forgot to mention but I'm having some leaking from the head cover gasket .is that causing some of the issues I'm having?
 












Thanks! I will. From the videos I've seen it looks like such a pain to even get to them and to replace the gaskets . Haven't checked the manifold gaskets yet. I'll check it out. Thanks again!
 






I've experienced the lights flickering at idle thing on other vehicles in the past. If your SOHC ST is idling at around 500-550 RPM that's about normal and your lights shouldn't be flickering. In my case it turned out to be a bad voltage regulator that was causing the flickering. Just throwing it out there.
 






Thanks for the reply! I just put in a new alternator and I'm still getting dimming lights and voltage gauge fluctuating .and it seems like the voltage even drops when I break and the same happens when I roll up my windows plus the engine revs lol lots of things to check short on time
 






Thanks for the reply! I just put in a new alternator and I'm still getting dimming lights and voltage gauge fluctuating .and it seems like the voltage even drops when I break and the same happens when I roll up my windows plus the engine revs lol lots of things to check short on time

Did you also replace the connector/plug at the alternator? Sometimes they don't make good contact or get a little fried.
 



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I didn't. I figured it was either the alternator itself or a bad voltage regulator. This is getting complicated haha
 






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