HI FTE, this morning i went to go to school, let the glow plugs go, fuel pump to pressurize, turned it on and the battery light was on...

I have a scan gauge, and i switched it to volts, and i found that at idle it was at 11.5 volts, and under acceleraration it was at 12.2

I had a friend take me to school, then had them bring me to the local car shop and i got a alternator 110 amp(is that the correct output)

Went to pull my truck in the garage and the light wasnt on and was at 13.2 volts

so i drove around a bit and would range between 13.2-14.5, poped the hood and out of the 4 terminal 2 had moderate corrosion, 1 light, and 1 was fine.

What my question is, was my problem the corroded battery terminals, or is the alternator intermintanly failing, and will need to be replaced?

also is the 110 ok, or do i need the 140 amp?

Thanks

 

That's something that I don't think anyone would tell you. The best thing to do first is clean up and retorque all of your connections. If you want to be pro-active you could pull the alternator and have it load tested. I personally would use the 140 over the 110. They are usually cheaper, don't know why, and would give you a little more ooomph. I would also seperately charge the batterys and have them load tested also. Or you could just drive it after cleaning all of the connections and see if the light comes back. Beware also that low voltage can take out your ficm. Factory replace at about a grand. Ed at ficm repair much cheaper and you get a better product with some one that stands behind his product.

You also need to put your vehicle specifics in your sig.

 

if you get the 2005 its a 140 and bolts right on, why not. I'd have the batteries tested and the alternator as well. Clean all the terminals and don't forget the ground on the frame.

Use advanced auto on line order, use TRT30 for a coupon code and 30 minutes later drive over and get it... saves you 30% or $50, whichever is the least.

 

Its a 2004, all of the autoshops carry 110, autozone was 260, didnt call oriely, our little local shop call monument, better than that duralast stuff from autozone and it was 149.99

I called ford, they carry the 110 for 270, and 140 for 590...

(ill put the sig when i get home, on my phone atm)

 

I went through the same thing. Mines a 2004 too. Couldn't find a 140 amp until they started checking the 2005 model and they had one. I don't remember but there was something we looked up that told or would fit 04. Maybe it was the same part number as the top alternator on a dual alternator 2004 model. Bought the 2005 140 amp and iinstalled it 18 months ago.

 

its the top alternator

 

I had a battery light issue a little while back...make sure the batteries and the alternator are in good shape. I had "older" Interstate batteries that failed, so I replaced them with the "new" Diesel Interstate batteries. No issues since changing the batteries and the alternator.

 

Should i replace the alternator, or just moniter the volts for the next few weeks and make a dicision there? seems to be fine now

 

I got the battery light not long ago, did both batteries, light cleared. Week later, light again, alternator this time and now I'm sweating the FICM.

I'd have it tested to be sure and test the batteries. If its bad, your batteries will go bad and you run the risk of killing the FICM.

 

Ok so i got home from school today, and my old co worker said a way you could do a load test is have your scangauge 2 read volts and start turning your stereo up and what not.

so i turned my truck on and it was at 13.1v, stabed the gas and stayed at 14.2,

So its sitting at 14.2 and i start turning the music up in my truck, (pioneer touch screen, with a "4000 watt" amp and dual subs, i do little by little and its just jumping back between 14.1-14.2... so then i start introducing more varibles, turn the air on and drops to 13.8 then i turn the lights on and it jumps up and down a bit 13.6-13.8, then while thats all going i hold all 4 window buttons down, and it drops to 12.9, and then i keep holding them and creeps further down the lowest it got was 11.9, while idling with sound and base booster all the way to max, AC full blast lights and windows constant and was holding about 12.5-13.0, turned them all off and it went to 13.2 stabbed the throttle and held 14.2 for 10 min.


So i know i didnt hook it to a computer tester but thats what they said todo if you wanna try and do it in your drive way....

is the amount of voltage to amount of stuff going on normal, or is it shot?

 

not trying to hi-jack the thread. I have an 06 ccsb just put two batteries, and new alternator on about two weeks ago, never had the battery light come on until after I replaced the batteries and the alternator. now, when its cold, battery light will stay on for a while then go off. It will then flash on and off a few dozen times, then it will go off and stay off for the rest of the day. We have tested the output on the alternator, and both batteries are good. any ideas?

 

If you end up getting an alternator, get a new one and not a reman unit. I went through three reman units in short order before finally going with a new DC Power unit. No problems since. Definitely recommend the 140 amp alt at a min. The 110 amp unit is really undersized for the diesel as it can't keep up with the demand of the glow plugs at the first start of the day.

 

Never jump into just replacing things. Test it out good first. Charge the batteries, clean the connections and run it to see if the light comes back on. Keep the SGII on it to monitor voltages. Keep in mind the glow plugs pull about 200 amps (if I recall correctly) and will stay on up to 2 minutes after the glow plug light goes off.


The best thing to do is have both batteries load tested separately at whatever parts house you'll buy an alternator if you have to. If the batteries pass, have them load test the alternator before replacing it.


If you have to replace it, get a new, not rebuilt. Get a 140 amp minimum.

 

Could very easily still be a bad alternator. I'd replace it again and see if the battery light goes away. The one I replaced a few months back was only a couple weeks old when it failed.