Changed the alt twice.volt regulator is within alt.Still draining bat. could it be a short or one of them diods or did someone mess with my truck? Someone not me ran it into a ditch while a tow dollie was on it pleaSE HELP. iTS A 4 CYLENDER.
2007-03-28 13:53:46 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Ford
I forgot to say the first alt was fried I mean the brand new one.
2007-03-28 14:19:00 · update #1
Has any one bothered to check the main fuse for the alternator?
It is the most over looked part. On a Ford it is usually mounted on the side of the fuse box under the hood. Its usually a 60 or 80 am mega fuse. It is possible when the tow dolly was hooked up to the trucks wireing the fuse blew. If you follow the thinner red battery wires you should find that fuse block if its not obvious. If you test the alternator out put at the alternator you will see its working, if you test the regulator you will see its working, however the "charging" is not reaching the battery because of the blown fuse. You might not have had a bad alternator at all.
2007-03-28 14:06:11 · answer #1 · answered by asccaracer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ok define draining battery... Is it draining it going down the highway, or is it draining if you leave it parked for a few days.. Need more of a definition....
If the battery is draining going down the highway, I think I had posted a few days ago on another post to you.. there is a big 175 amp fuse that leads from the battery (actually the starter solenoid if I remember the 2000s) to the alternator, if it's blown, it won't charge.... another is the fact that the alternator needs two powers... One as a reference voltage to the alternator, the other from the gauge on the dash... no voltage (fuse could have blown due to bad alternator also like your 175 amp fuse) to the pins means no charging...
If it's draining due to a wreck over a couple of days (like say 1 day) It could be a number of things but the test light trick doesn't work on new cars anymore (vehicles always pull power now, not like say 35 years ago when the trick was popular) ... voltage is also pulled at all times so that is also a thing not to use (same reason as the test light... the car's engine computer and other things stay pulling current all the time nowadays and the ford's I know all love 12volts for memory.. BTW its amperage draw that kills batteries, not voltage).
Disconnect the negative cable and put a amp meter (most digital Volt ohm meters (aka DVOMs.. find them at sears, autozone , most of the other mass auto part stores..just make sure to read the owners manual first when diagnosing with the ampmeter side) in line (red to the cable, black to the terminal of the battery) and secure them in place... leave it there for one hour.. after 1 hour.. maximum draw should be 50 milliamps or .005 amps or below.... if not, you will have to start pulling fuses till you hit the circuit with the damage on it... you will have to open the drivers door and try to use a screwdriver to click the latches on the door latch like they would if you closed the door as the door ajar switch is in the door...
Usually on vehicles damaged, look at where it was hit and usually wires will short from the impact... normally drivers side has a lot of wires that can be pinched and short and cause a drain to kill the battery in one day or less...
Also as someone said, anything aftermarket (not from Ford) is known for causing drains especially alarms
Please let us know more or email me and I'll try to give more ideas...
2007-03-28 15:13:43 · answer #2 · answered by gearbox 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The charging system is computer controlled system, most of the time is not the alt. that is the problem. I don't know if it has a alarm on it or not. What I would do is find out what the voltage draw is, if any. Using a volt meter, set the volt meter to read 12 volts DC, disconnect the ground lead from the battery, connect the red lead of the tester, to the battery were the ground cable came from, then connect the black lead to the ground cable, read the volt meter, any voltage? If so find the short or find what is on. If there no voltage, set the volt meter to read Millie volts DC, Connect in the same manner as above, check for voltage, any voltage? voltage around 400 Millie volts is normal. If the voltage is above 1000 Millie volts you have a draw. Remember it can be anything in the system, bulbs, radio add on, alarm, heater switch etc....
2007-03-28 14:29:31 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
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Changed the alt twice.volt regulator is within alt.Still draining bat. could it be a short or one of them diods or did someone mess with my truck? Someone not me ran it into a ditch while a tow dollie was on it pleaSE HELP. iTS A 4 CYLENDER.
2015-08-06 19:02:35 · answer #4 · answered by Alister 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Turn the truck off for atleast 15mins, hook a test light up on between the negative batter post and the negative cable (be sure they dont touch), and start pulling fuses until the light goes out. When the light goes out look at which fuse it is and get a wiring diagram and see what is on that circuit, then replace fuse and start unplugging connectors and components until light goes out. If it goes out when a component is unplugged its that component if it goes out when you unplug a connector its something between that connector and your ground and you gotta trace it.
2007-03-28 14:05:44 · answer #5 · answered by Jason R 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋