what the !@#! is wrong with my van?!?

Question

we gota 1991 ford econoline e150 with the electrical problem from hell.about 10 months ago,the van kept popping fuses and turning off electrical stuff,starting with interior lights,then radio,then blinkers,and finally taillights. we put a new alternator in,and the van stranded us with a dead battery.then we changed the voltage regulator and it seemed to fix the problem for a while

now,over the past month,we've gone through,no exaggeration,about 11 batteries.at first,if we let it sit for a week or so it wouldnt start-dead battery.then it started getting worse....couple of days,then overnight,then couple of hours,and then last night it died while i was driving. we just kept swapping batteries

so today we took it to a shop and they told us it was either the alternator or the voltage regulator. we took it to autozone and they tested the alternator and they told us it was bad and we got a new one.then on the way home it died again-dead battery.the regulator is less than a year old.

help!

we also did some ****

we also had to replace the spark plug wires, as both exhaust manifolds were cracked and the heat melted 'em. i dont know if this is relevant, as the problem started before we replaced them, but i firgured it wouldnt hurt to add. we're supposed to leave on an 8 day trip tomorrow. we're gonna replace the voltage regulator, but we're skeptical that it is the problem. please help!!

Answer 1

you must have a short somewhere that's draining the battery. like a bare wire touching metal or something. i would not go to far until its fixed.

Answer 2

First test your alternator output by testing battery voltage while running. it should be at least 13.4 volts minimum with no accessories on. if you dont get at least 13.4 you can have voltage regulators and alternators tested at auto zone and advance. test both at the same time. before you hook anything back up check the entire length of the possitive cable to make sure it is not worn through and touching any metal. ( i had a cable touching metal intermittently on my towtruck. it fried 13 alternators before I found it because when it was sitting still it never faild a test. it only toucked while driving.) if your cables are corroded at the battery with green or white stuff replace them. they are cheap enough to not have this agrevation. take the old ones out to measure. get cables that are heavy duty. ( thicker than 4 guage, go with 2 or 0 guage if available. now that you have good cables and alt. and regulator. Install everything like you were going to drive it. leave 1 batt. cable disconnected ( either one). connect a test light between the battery post and the cable. with everything off, key out, doors closed, lights off, etc., the test light , on a good system, should glow bright for about 1-2 seconds while the computer memory charges then glow dim to maintain the charge. If the light glows bright constantly then you have something drawing power. to get a baseline idea of brightness, connect the test light from poss. to neg on the battery. That is full brightness. I'll assume the battery is good and charged at this point. Now if you have a current (power) draw. you will need to start pulling fuses to isolate the circuit that the problem is in. you will need to do this with the doors closed or pull all the dome lights so they dont give you a false reading. ( nothing will light or work when the test light is connected through the battery, you must watch the glow of the test light to see what is going on and it is so much easier with 2 people) if you get through all the fuses and nothing chages, pull the main harness going through the firewall to eliminate all the interior wiring. if it comes down to it, pull the main power wire off the alt and starter. Somewhere you should find a circuit or accessory that is drawing power. Even a dome light will burn for about3-4 days before killing a battery. you have a major draw or a bad alt. Also if it is a work van check to see if any of your talilight wiring is damaged ( from equipment moving around).

Answer 3

It is not uncommon to have rebuilt aternators out of the box to be defective now days since most rebuilders don.t do a good job. I have had to go through as many as five or six alternators before I could find a good one from autozone. Any more I usually get the new alernator tested before I take it home. That way I have a better chance of getting a good one and not have to make extra trips to the store. Since this is a manufacturing problem just about all the part stores have the same problem. hope this helps

Answer 4

First I'm a retired subway mechanic (electrical)

What you have is a problem from hell, an intermittent short to ground. ( causes all the problems you described and you didn't get bad parts it $%^&* them up) It is almost impossible to find but once found simple and cheap to fix (under a buck).

As the process is long (but not difficult, and you already have clues believe it or not) email me and I will write as detailed a letter as you need. Just 2 questions do you have a voltmeter and do you know how to use it? Don't get worried if you don't it can be worked around. (If you want to run out and get one get a very inexpensive one but also pick up a couple of aligator clips)

I've been up all night with insomnia so won't get back to you until this eve. I am going to try to sleep

Answer 5

i could initiate via looking an invaluable mechanic. Then have him test the equipment to work out what the blunders codes are, appropriate the matters and reset the easy. in case you have a difficulty code for an O² sensor and you do no longer appropriate the undertaking, incorrect alerts will bypass into the laptop inflicting your engine to run way too wealthy. The battery is probable a sparkling undertaking. How long have you ever had the battery interior the motor vehicle? you're able to choose a sparkling one. yet do get the different undertaking mounted so which you're able to have extra useful rigidity-skill and gasoline financial equipment lower back.

Answer 6

Welcome to the club. I owned a 1994 Chevy conversion van with electrical problems. Every time I fixed something, a problem popped up elsewhere.
The most difficult to find problems were a corroded plug for the plug in computer module. That took two weeks.
The second most difficult: The conversion company ran wiring under the chassis. Wiring got frayed and corroded from exposure to the elements. The mechanic invited me to take the van to the Chevy dealer for any future electrical problems. I sold it to my cousin.

Answer 7

WELL THE FIRST PLACE YOU DID WRONG YOU WENT TO AUTO ZONE I HAD NOTHING BUT BAD LUCK WITH THEM,I REPLACED ABOUT 5 ALTERNATORS BEFORE I WENT SOME WHERE ELSE.I HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE TELL ME SAME THING ABOUT WHAT THEY BOUGHT THERE TOO.SO TRY A ALTERNATOR FROM SOME WHERE ELSE

Answer 8

See if your problem is listed here.
http://www.familycar.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=5

Answer 9

REMOVE THE TRAILER WIRING adapter.

Answer 10

The short answer, IT"S A FORD!!!