another electrical issue... yet again.
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Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 22,415
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From: Denver Metro Area, CO
One of the things I sometimes see on forums like this is that people will list the symptoms they're seeing but not tell us the changes they'd made beforehand, only the after-effects. *sigh*
Or, people will replace something like a distributor but then the engine won't start, they then go spend a lot of money replacing a bunch of other, unrelated parts before throwing their arms in the air in disgust and the problem turns out to be the Ford cylinder-numbering sequence vs. that of Chevy.
Stuff like that.
Not everybody is going to actually go read and learn something about what they're doing even when presented with the sources to go read, they just want to be spoon-fed and bailed out.
Anyhow, I'm not tryin' to criticize ya or anything negative like that, hope you're not interpreting it that way.
Or, people will replace something like a distributor but then the engine won't start, they then go spend a lot of money replacing a bunch of other, unrelated parts before throwing their arms in the air in disgust and the problem turns out to be the Ford cylinder-numbering sequence vs. that of Chevy.
Stuff like that.
Not everybody is going to actually go read and learn something about what they're doing even when presented with the sources to go read, they just want to be spoon-fed and bailed out.
Anyhow, I'm not tryin' to criticize ya or anything negative like that, hope you're not interpreting it that way.
Postmaster
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 3,462
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From: Richmond
Nah, hard feelings over a keyboard is for people with too little to do. Hopefully I don't come off as an idiotic kid that needs to be show the search function.
Now that I see the multiple alternators, I think you and critter are onto it. Loose or just plain worn out power cables. Might as well replace all of them, bound to be cheaper than another alt and batt.
Or another thought, what's the engine accessory map on his motor? Something else I've seen slightly less often is a steering, oil, or coolant leak that drips on the alternator. JJ, what do the alternators you're pulling off look like? With that short of an interval you should be able to see one side that's dirtier than other if this is the case.
Now that I see the multiple alternators, I think you and critter are onto it. Loose or just plain worn out power cables. Might as well replace all of them, bound to be cheaper than another alt and batt.
Or another thought, what's the engine accessory map on his motor? Something else I've seen slightly less often is a steering, oil, or coolant leak that drips on the alternator. JJ, what do the alternators you're pulling off look like? With that short of an interval you should be able to see one side that's dirtier than other if this is the case.
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2011
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Its an 83 F250 with 351W and the top half of the alt looked brand new the bottom half looked like it had dirt on it. It does leak a lil oil but no where near any electrical. And coolant leaks a bit from the water pump but there's no wires that run that far down. However the battery cable do look like could have some age to them.
Moderator
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 22,415
Likes: 92
From: Denver Metro Area, CO
When you get it running, you can take it to a full-service gas station (if you can find any) or Walmart or Sears or some such, maybe even a parts store, and ask them to do a load/charging system test on it, this is usually a free service.
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Yeah cause the new alternator helped but didn't cure the problem. I've checked all the grounds I could find and cleaned em up but it still does it just not as bad yet. Just curious but could a bad voltage reg cause this? Either way its cheaper to look for more grounds so ill def be doing that haha.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 57,014
Likes: 2,751
From: Virginia
If the field wire(the "F" wire) coming from the regulator to the alternator gets grounded out in any way, it will blow the regulator.
So if the F wire is damaged in the harness and rubbing something, it will keep blowing the regulator. If the alternator field windings shorted out(very possible since it didn't work) that could blow the regulator. Now that you have a good alternator, check the wiring harness and then buy a new regulator.
So if the F wire is damaged in the harness and rubbing something, it will keep blowing the regulator. If the alternator field windings shorted out(very possible since it didn't work) that could blow the regulator. Now that you have a good alternator, check the wiring harness and then buy a new regulator.
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Junior User
Joined: Mar 2011
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I didn't find anything unusual in the field wire. Or any of the wires fore that matter. But with the new alt and battery now with lights on and truck running its reading just under the half mark on the meter in the dash. So much better than it was. Just not where it should be.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: Denver Metro Area, CO
Which means your charging system isn't charging, you should be getting around 14 - 14.5V there with the engine running.