Mark,

I stand by my post that there is still a complete circuit with the battery removed as it is in parallel with the alt. I am not recommending removal of a battery while a vehicle is running as it provides some voltage stabilization functions and such and was just making that original statement for illustrative purposes to try to explain that a battery's charge is not really needed when a vehicle is underway. Your theory and experience may be different and that is just fine and I respect your opinion.

No need for any PMs. I certainly appreciate your feedback and insight but I just wish it would be presented in a nicer form. I think we are all just trying to point the OP in the right direction and have the best intentions. No ill will here. Have a nice night!

---Aaron

 

Did this truck turn into Christine and devour him?

Christine (1983) - IMDb

 

Okay guys , sorry it took so long for an update. The truck is fixed and I pick it up this morning. It seems that some sort of critter decided to chew it's way through the wiring harness! I just want to thank everyone one for all the help. Also it's nice to know there are still people out there willing to take the time out to try to help people they don't even know .

 

Awesome! Glad to see it fixed.

I have to set mouse traps occasionally out here when the cats aren't doing their jobs. Mostly when the seasons change and the things are looking for new homes. Also, try not to leave any food or wrappers in your vehicles it attracts them too.

 

I told some one else there was a critter in thier car eating wireing... I beleieve it was the Allstate racoon... I was sooooooooo close..... just missed the right thread..... UGGGG! Glad the truck is well, Thanks for the update.... Case closed

 

I wish I had a Christine. Then I could sell it and buy some cool stuff. LOL

 

I am having the same issue. My alternator has a 3 wire plug . Do you know if this wire is from the ignition switch or threw the battery light. When my truck broke the other day it just ran out of power and died . For the past 2 years every light in truck had a pulse to that would get brighter and go away with added rpm but no other symptoms i just assumed the truck is old and the alternator was failing. I found the main wire out of the alternator where it connected at the other end at the starter solonid it was very corroeded and the was a smaller line that was made in to the same connector that had a burned fuse like that ford says is no longer availiable i by passed it temporary to see if the system would start charging . So i start the truck the batter light went out but its still not charging. Looking at your post you sound like you know what you are doing .

 

I have been having problem with the batt. losing volts at idle it will drain unless i rev the engine it dont take much. i have changed the alt. and batt. and having the same problems. also i have a rough idle stalls at idle at stop lights if i use the cruze control over 50 mph the rpm race at 30 it lets off the gas and revws back to speed and drops again make a rough ridey and pointer im lost ran fine when i parked it last summer its used for the winter its a 03 ford explore limited 4.7

 

Did you ever get your charging issue solved
Please let me know as it just happen me today.
I replaced the alternator and batteries and it starts but then radio goes off and cluster blanks

 

He had critters chew through wires, apparently. He hasn't logged on since, in January 2012

 

Welcome to FTE!
It's better to start your own thread as most won't respond to a 4 year old one. Especially with no info about what your truck is or it's symptoms.
^^ This was the OP's issue.

 

Hi All,
I own a 2001 Ford Excursion and like many on this forum struggled with the alternator not charging the battery. I spent hours and hours troubleshooting and reading forum posts. I swapped out a new alternator when it wasn't charging and the 2nd "new" alternator wasn't charging either. Here's what finally solved my problem...

The main power wire that runs from the positive battery terminal to the 3 wire connector that plugs into the alternator isn't providing 12 volts to the alternator (required to active it). The strange thing was that if I disconnected the connector and measured voltage when the engine was off, I had 12V. If I connected the connector and measured voltage while the engine was *running*, it would drop down to ~ 1V. I'm not sure why. It took me a while to figure this out though. Anyway, I wound up running my own wire from the positive battery terminal to the connector (soldered / spliced the wires) and capped off / taped the original power wire. The other 2 wires on the connector are hooked up in their original configuration.

That did it! I now have ~ 14.6V when running the car across the battery terminals.

I thought I'd follow up with this post in case someone can learn from my experience.

Regards,

-Jason

 

I'll go 1-step farther. I had a Tahoe with a bad battery with an internal issue. I could start it AND put it in gear. Get a foot or two and it would die. Then it wouldn't start without a jump. Removed the jumper cables - put it in gear - got a couple of feet truck died.

Towed it across the street to a garage, found the battery had internal problem which ended up killing the alternator too. Had a DMM connected to the battery on a wheeled cart, showed 11-12volts, rolled it over a seem in the floor volts dropped to 0 for a few seconds, then back to 11-12 volts. Picked up 1 end and dropped it back to 0 volts again.. Truly weird.

Not sure if the "problem" was an open or a short though, didn't think to try to figure that part out.. Now, I do this stuff myself on my Excursion

 

Hi Misky6.0

Yes, I've reached the same conclusion (do my own work and troubleshooting). Unfortunately, I also bought a new battery after being told the old one tested bad. Once I discovered, the new alternator wasn't outputting voltage, I went back to the auto-store and "bought" my old battery back for the core charge ($10.00). That was a month ago and the "old" battery is still working good!
Glad to see others sharing information on these forums. Collectively, we can increase our knowledge and help each other out!

Regards,

-Jason