Weird charging problem(possibly electrical)

[ramm]

Hi all,
I am the FNG here, but have been browsing the forums for a while trying to find an answer to my problem.

05 Explorer -
Last week was driving into the office, and the lights started going dim(both internal and external) eventually the lights went out, I then drove the car for a mile. It started sputtering, so I pulled over when I started breaking it died. Had someone jump it off, as soon as the cables were hooked up all lights came on as bright as could be. Was able to drive it to Oreilly's had them test the alternator pushing out 14.33v. Went ahead and replaced the battery as it's about 6 years old now, also the positive terminal was very corroded when I removed the cover, so we brushed it off. Drove fine for a couple days then same thing started happening again.
Got it home, took the alternator off and had it tested off the car, all stages passed.
Hooked up the new battery to the charger and got it back to full. Drove it all day yesterday(for errands), about 4 hours of drive time; had all the lights, heater, radio going all is good. Then was pulling out of a parking spot, when turning the steering wheel the "check charging system" light began flashing and the ding sound. Made a couple turns like this and same thing. I reached down turned off the heater, and made a few turns no problem. Pulled it up in the garage, turned the wheel with heater on again and problem was re-created.
Hooked the charger back up to the battery, and only showed to be 65%.

So now I am at a loss at what it can be, multiple tests on the alternator show it as good. I don't want to run out and buy a new one and that not be the problem.

Any suggestions or if you have experienced this and found the correct diagnosis please help!!!

 

[briwayjones]

Without being an expert it sounds like it may be a ground problem to me. Check the main ground cable. They like to corrode from the inside out, although being a 2005 I wouldn't expect to have any corroding but you never know. Or maybe it's coming loose from the chassis. That's where I would start though.

 

[jrford]

been there done that.
I was installing a stereo and and to jump the batt a few times. Figured i killed the battery in doing this but after getting a new battery, mine did the same thing, ran fine for 2 weeks then it started to act funny, radio and lights would turn off yet it would still run. My guess its the Alt. even though it checked out ok. It may put out 14.3 volts but what about the amps?
Thing i found was engine off i got 12.8volts running i got 11.8 volts.
Replaced the Alt with a Reman and it was fine. 12.8 volts off, 14.3 running with everything on.

 

[Opera House]

There is an inline fuse or link from the alternator to the battery. This may have blown if there was a shorted cell in the battery. That means the new alternator though working was not connected to the battery and you were running off battery charge. This is a good example of Reserve Minutes listed for many batteries, how many minutes the battery will last with a 25A draw. Typical draw for a car running with no alternator.

Another possibility is the regulator fuse circuit, main block under hood. Corrosion or loose connection at fuse prevents charging.

 

[bultprf]

possible charging problems

Years ago when I was managing a automotive electrical facilty, I ran across a similar problem where the lighting on an explorer would go bright, then dim and kept repeating itself. It also had dead battery conditions intermittently as well. The repair shop took the alternator off the vehicle for us to test, it it was fine. There was no excess AC voltage, it checked fine under load and upon disassembly, was pristine. They put it back on and I went to the shop to start checking the charging circuit. What I found was that the main fusible link (a metal strap) - just follow the main charging lead to the fender area where the main fuses and relays are located, was loose and coroded. I cleaned it up and everything was fine after that. A real easy thing to do was to check for voltage drops (resistance) in the charging circuit. That is whole other discussion though!

Good luck!

 

[ramm]

Thanks for the responses, I will check those when I get back to the house this evening.

 

[ramm]

Update(Not good)

Finally got around to working on the Explorer - I checked and replaced the fuseable link, checked the relay, replaced the alternator (battery 100% charged) when I hooked everything up. Still no go, the battery is still not getting charged by the new alternator. tests show it's pushing out around 13.5 volts.. Not sure what else can be the problem. If you have had a similar issue and found the culprit please respond with help, thanks..

 

[Xplor54]

How did you make out with this problem? I don't see that you have solved it yet, and I may have the same problem with my 2003 Sport Trac.

 

[ramm]

I replaced the main power cable and terminals after replacing the alternator and, so far so good.

 

[pet575]

I've found this late, obviously, but my suggestion is that you have a cable issue. Hope that you have it solved-not so I can be right but so that you have no more problems.

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Any one have this problem ? My 99 Mounty sat for a while, maybe 3-4 weeks. Battery went dead. After I jumped it all the lights were pulsing bright and dim very quickly. It only does this for a short while, after its on for a while it stops. Alt is new and battery is about 6 mnth old. Any ideas? Also if I monitor voltage it jumps from 12.?? to 14V constantly. When the lights stop dimming the voltage stabilizes at 14v. Thanks.