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Is my alternator bad?

G

Guitarman19853

Hard-core CEG'er
Joined
May 21, 2005
Messages
1,305
Location
Pittsburgh, Pa
My battery light is flickering and coming on above 2000 RPM. Also, the headlights dim, and wipers slow when this happens. It will also sometimes continue to flicker once the revs drop back down. Also when the light flickers, theres static through the radio. I thought it was the battery and bought a new battery on Friday, however it's still doing it.

I checked the voltage at the battery while off is 12.5V and while running was about 14.3V. I revved the engine up and the meter continued to read around 14.3V. I also checked while the light was flickering and again got 14V. I searched in the forums for similar issues which is why I checked the voltage and it seems normal.

I checked the serpentine belt. No signs of slipping and it is nice and tight. It was replaced less than 2 yrs ago. Theres also no blown fuses.

I just need a better confirmation that it's the alternator before I pull it. What else should I check?
 
I had two alternators that were bad, The ford one after 10 years: the battery light was lighting up after 3000 rpm. It was doing it more and more after a few days and at lower RPM. I had lower headlights. I read that the brushes are gone when it flickers.

The Champion one was bad after one week of the warranty expired (3 years), the battery light just came on at once. Replaced by real Ford that was rebuilt by shop, great alternator for $ 100.00.
 
Check all of your grounds first. Make sure they are all clean and tight.

  • main battery ground goes to the transmission/engine interface.
  • small ground goes to the transmission.
  • small ground to the fender/battery tray
  • PCM to inner fender
  • fire wall to engine mount
 
It definitely sounds like its the alternator. Those were all the symptoms when mine went out but my radio would shut off and then kick back on but I have an aftermarket amp.
 
CG'SVT99 said:
It definitely sounds like its the alternator. Those were all the symptoms when mine went out but my radio would shut off and then kick back on but I have an aftermarket amp.
Click to expand...

Same thing happened on my Lightning with an aftermarket stereo.
 
Well I bought a remanufactured Motorcraft alternator yesterday. Then on the way home the new battery died and everything in the car shut off. Fortunately the motor stayed running long enough to make it home.
 
One simple way to tell if your alternator is working is to let the idle smooth out, and then turn on the headlights. If everything is working correctly, the idle will drop a little when the electrical load is put on the system. If the alternator is not working, it won't put any load on the engine, so there will be no change in idle.
 
Help! Either the brand new alternator blew up or the mega fuse blew. Install went smooth Saturday. Car ran fine Saturday night, Sunday, and Monday to and from work. Then leaving my house, there was a big pop, the car surged and the battery light came on. Turned around to go back home and checked the voltage at the battery, sure enough, 12.5 V. I had to go somewhere last night so I didn't get to test anything else. I know to check the mega fuse (I think I know where to test this but if someone could let me know the test points for my multimeter, that would help).

What I'm really worried about is even if it wasn't the alternator and was the mega fuse, what else do I need to look for that could've caused this? Bad ground? It's impossible to hook the alternator up wrong so it couldn't have been that.

I should add that a few months ago my fogs stopped working entirely. No blown fuses and the bulbs are fine. So there is a small phantom electrical problem. But I've assumed its in the headlight switch which can go bad.
 
the fog lamp fuse controls the charging of the alternator. the voltage sensing wire for the alternator is connected to that fuse.

sounds like it was the mega fuse poping, but i can only assume it would make a loud poping noise. to test its located on the back of the wiring harness. just need to check that you are getting battery voltage from the starter to the alternator. check where you like.
 
might be time for the goldentour wiring fix. it was dirived from a tsb for the cougar about high resistance on the voltage sensing wire. and why the late model cougar alternators no longer have that wire, I believe its internal.
 
Good news: mega fuse is blown so my new alternator may be okay.
Bad news: something else must be wrong to cause it to blow. #5 fuse for fogs & charging is fine...
 
BrApple said:
the fog lamp fuse controls the charging of the alternator. the voltage sensing wire for the alternator is connected to that fuse.

sounds like it was the mega fuse poping, but i can only assume it would make a loud poping noise. to test its located on the back of the wiring harness. just need to check that you are getting battery voltage from the starter to the alternator. check where you like.
Click to expand...

Wow wow wow BrApple you are the Boss!!!!

My alternator has been out for awhile now (or so I thought). Checked the mega fuse and was good so I thought it had to be the alternator. Especially since so many post here how quickly the Contour alternators die. Bought a rebuilt one one Ebay had Autozone check it and attempted to install myself. I didn't have enough socket extensions and proper U-joint adaptor so didn't happen. I have been charging the battery every other day or so and only driving short distances since. Only just today did I notice my fog lights were not working. The past few months lights are something I used only as a last resort to conserve battery due to non charging alternator.

So today I do a search "fog light fuse" and I immediately see BrApple's comment above. Sure enough my issue was only a blown 15A fog lamp fuse. What perfect timing as that post is just from today.

Thanks again CEG and especially BrApple.

_
 
Replaced mega fuse... alternator still isn't charging. Could the new alternator really have blown? I didn't re-check the wire to see if it was getting battery voltage at the alternator.

this electrical problem is driving me crazy!
 
Ryan, double check the electrical connectors where they clip to the alternator, maybe one worked it's way loose. Also may want to double check the HL switch, I know you did the fog light mod, maybe one of those wires could be the culprit?
 
If your fog lights still do not work and both bulbs and fuse are good, that circuit is your problem. Probably a broken or shorted wire somewhere. Get a meter and start tracing it back. When you get your fog lights working again then I would bet money your alternator will be charging again.

One thing that doesn't make sense to me though is in your very first post you stated that battery voltage was ~14 volts when car was running. If so then your alternator was indeed charging the battery. How your car and battery then died afterwards while being charged at 14 volts points to other electrical gremlins. I would trust a meter reading voltage straight from the battery more than the dash trouble light.

Have you recently repeated a battery voltage check with car running?

_
 
Thou8ght that myself, as I have seen bad batteries do this, test at 14.x w/ car running, but battery still won't hold charge. Normally caused by bad cell in my experience. However, he said he had gotten a new battery.......

Ryan, just thought of this. Did you check the electrolyte level in the battery. We got one for Pandora once, just hooked it up. Died next day, turns out there was almost no water in the battery when we had bought it. I never thought to check before I left the store.
 
Let me try to summarize. When it started, the battery light was coming on above 3000 RPM. At idle, when I checked it, the alternator was still charging (14V). But after a day or so, it started flickering at idle. When I tested it at that time, it was not charging (12V). So I replaced the alternator.

The new alternator worked fine for a couple days, got 14V reading on battery, no more battery light at all. Then last Monday, there was a pop under the hood and the battery light came on. Tested the voltage and it was 12V again. Thats when i replaced the mega fuse (it was blown).


SO, I don't think the fogs are a symptom because I think the bulbs are bad. I'm buying 2 today and putting them in. I was reading 12V at the bulb sockets when on and a good ground so it must be the bulbs. I don't think there has to be working bulbs for the alternator to charge or thats a bad design....

Scott, it's not reading 14V at the battery now so I know it's not charging. But just out of curiosity, how do you check the electrolyte levels in the battery?
 
if the battery isn't sealed you get a tester. it looks just like the one for testing anti-freeze strength.
 
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