volt guage not steady | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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volt guage not steady

blacklake

Member
Joined
July 21, 2005
Messages
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City, State
New York
Year, Model & Trim Level
93' explorer
Battery guage on my stock EX is acting funny. The needle wavers from the M to the L in a very fast flicking motion. This only seems to happen when the engine is just started and cold. a quick rev to 2000 rpm's stops it for about a seound or two. The problem goes away after I start driveing. I can tell it's mot just a faulty guage because the lights flicker in the same way the guage does. This does not seemto affect the engine at all it idles normally.


Just off the top of my head I think the aternator was replaced 4 years ago.

What could be wrong??
 



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I have the same problem when at idle. I know it's not the battery because that is new in mine. Usually what happens to me is at idle I wil push the window button up or down, or turn on the wipers. Needle jumps a little. But I only noticed it after installing aftermarket accesories (fog lights, more powerful radio). Truck runs fine & starts on these cold New England mornings, so I blow it off.
I believe the problem is the stock alternator does not put out enough juice for all the extras. My plan is when the alternator starts to go, I will get the next one up as I did with the wife's minivan (120v standard, bought a 140 volt).
In short, I would not be concerned unless it stays low. Then the battery is not getting recharged & there is an issue.
Hope this helps
Walter
 






It's normal. The volt gaugue reads low after you first start it up cause it's starting to recharge your battery. If you notice after you drive a while the gauge should read higher. this indcates the battery is charged. The needle movement with windows & your lights, causes a drain, then the battery has to charge again.
Buying a bigger alt, like a 200 amp helps a great deal.
 






its normal for it to move when accessories are turned on and off, but it shouldnt be 'flicking' back and forth unless stuff is being turned on and off rapidly. It is possible it could be the altranator, there are some parts places that will test them for free, so that may be worth a try.
 






sometimes mine will flick back and forth a couple times just when i'm cruising around... not making any changes in what electronics are running...

i dont worry about it too much...
 


















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