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Volts droping like crazy...

F

fordman302

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
Mar 25, 2006
Messages
1,660
Location
Cape Coral FL.
Well i left today to go get some fish for my tank stoped at the gas station to fill up toped it off..
Driving everything is normal volts are at arouns 14.1.
Downshift to pass a driver..Volts drop to aroud 12.2-3..Rev it up to about 6K volts come back and battery light goes off.
Come to a stop sign everything is normal..take off 2nd gear shift at around 4750RPM, into 3rd RPM's drop to i think alittle over 2K battery light comes on and volts once again drop...Now if im just babying the car 2K shifts etc it doesnt come on but the minute i get on it give it a few seconds then everything goes nuts..
Its getting worse every minute i drive it..When i bought the car it just had a new ALT put in..No biggie if i have to replace it again but i dont want to if its somthing else..

Thanks in advanced.
Joe..
 
I had a similar problem i was having. I would reccomend changing your alternator, kinda sounds like the volt regulator is kicking the bucket, but check the battery first
 
Beans said:
I had a similar problem i was having. I would reccomend changing your alternator, kinda sounds like the volt regulator is kicking the bucket, but check the battery first
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Also battery is about a month or 2 old now..Volt regulator is what?..apart of the ALT..Im sure i can go get one tonight from Auto Zone..
 
fordman302 said:
Also battery is about a month or 2 old now..Volt regulator is what?..apart of the ALT..Im sure i can go get one tonight from Auto Zone..
Click to expand...

Yeah its part of the alt, From what i know, you have to replace the whole thing.

Don't get a reman alternator either, they are sheety on Duratec
 
Beans said:
Yeah its part of the alt, From what i know, you have to replace the whole thing.

Don't get a reman. alternator either, they are sheety on Duratec
Click to expand...

I am agreeing with beans on this one, sounds like the voltage regulator is on its way out, and any after market parts manufacturer would be a bad decision on a duratec for a new alternator, primarily because every person I have known to go with after market alternators has either had a battery light issue from the start, or had to replace their alternator for another one in less than a year; which I suppose isn't a bad thing since most after market alternators give you a lifetime warranty, so if you don't mind swapping alternators once a year, than it isn't a very big deal.
 
a volt regulator can be replaced without having to replace the entire thing.

Have a charging system test done on the car before replacing anything. Advance or other parts stores will normally do this for free.

EDIT: Rockauto sells a motorcraft one for $48.
 
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Ok got it out but my tie rod wont come out so im working on that..I notice when i spin the pully it makes a Horrible nosie like a bearing or clutch is bad..New one is as quiet as a whistle..
Could this have been my problem.
 
if the old one is making any grinding noise, then yes, it's not normal.

It should spin freely and quietly.
 
69Boss302 said:
if the old one is making any grinding noise, then yes, it's not normal.

It should spin freely and quietly.
Click to expand...

Yep its the old one..Kinda new actually..maybe less than a year..Oh well..I guess im going to mess around with getting the tie-rod out some more or wait till tomorrow night and Kyle will be here and we will drop the strut or somthing and install the new one.
 
Voltage drop

Voltage drop

In addition to checking the alt. and battery I would recommend checking your ground points. As long as you are in there remove, clean and tighten ground wires. Dan
 
Just wanted to throw in my recommendation. I've changed out and had a bunch of ford alternators rebuilt over the years.

If you want to stay away from aftermarket rebuilds then you could get yours rebuilt and put a new motorcraft voltage regulator on. pretty easy. I'm sure there's a local shop around you that specializes in it or maybe just a guy. There's one near me that rebuilds all kinds of alternators, mostly for semi-trucks. He tested mine for free and he actually knows what he's talking about. At a lot of the national autoparts places it's luck of the draw getting someone that really knows how to test an alternator, or I should say diagnose the problem/s.

Just to throw this out there too, recently I actually bought a new, yes NEW alternator from Autozone for my 95 ranger. looks very close to the contours' but haven't verified if it's the same. Duracraft brand i believe is what they sell. Lifetime warranty. It was convenient and haven't had a problem yet.

Just throwing some more options out there.
 
Check/clean battery connections, tightness. Clean interior of connectors in addition to battery terminals. Check other wires connected to battery for cracks/breaks.

Mike
 
Ok guys just finished putting the new ALT in and took for a test drive everything seems ok..Except i never had the battery light flash in the high RPM's..Now my volts done flutter when this happens just the battery light..
 
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