Battery Light Intermitent
Thread Starter
|
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Battery Light Intermitent
1998-e150, 4.6 v8 with 177k miles
I noticed while driving at night that when I went up hill my headlights would get dim and the battery light on the dash would flicker. When I go down hill, the headlights would return to normal and the dash battery light would go out. I have only driven the van once more and the battery light flickered on and off on a short 10 mile trip.
Where do I begin to diagnose this problem. I don't want to get standed.
I noticed while driving at night that when I went up hill my headlights would get dim and the battery light on the dash would flicker. When I go down hill, the headlights would return to normal and the dash battery light would go out. I have only driven the van once more and the battery light flickered on and off on a short 10 mile trip.
Where do I begin to diagnose this problem. I don't want to get standed.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,414
Likes: 10
From: Thornhill , Ontario
Church....Another way to discover what is going on is get a Good Multimeter and set it to DC volts...then put the Positive on the nut on the back of the alternator and the Neg on a good ground (like Battery Neg) then read what it says......it should be 13.8-14.5 V ...With the engine RUNNING at Idle of course...... But do AS mentiioned in the above post first.....
Thread Starter
|
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Ok, I did this! I wire brushed the terminals inside and out and sprayed with battery post protectant ( they were actually pretty good before i did this). Battery terminals hooked up tested at 12.1 with van not running. Tested at 13.5 at running idle speed.
Thread Starter
|
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Church....Another way to discover what is going on is get a Good Multimeter and set it to DC volts...then put the Positive on the nut on the back of the alternator and the Neg on a good ground (like Battery Neg) then read what it says......it should be 13.8-14.5 V ...With the engine RUNNING at Idle of course...... But do AS mentioned in the above post first.....
Thanks in advance for the information!
Rusty
Elder User
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 711
Likes: 2
From: Outside of Memphis, TN
Check the positive terminal on the alternator as well. It may have worked lose. After that you need to check the rest of the alternator wires and make sure they are not rubbing anywhere. The field coil or the sense wire coming loose could cause this.
Thread Starter
|
Freshman User
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 36
Likes: 0
Battery Light
Well I guess I took the easy way out and drove the van to Auto Zone. They tested the alternator and said the voltage regulator was bad that was built in the alternator. He hooked it up to his test equipment and voltage was 11.3
Now I just need to figure out if it's a 95 amp or 130 amp. They said I would have to take it off and bring it in to see the back and then they could tell what size amp it was.
I will check all connections when I take it off. I hope this will fix it because I need to haul my 150lb doe home that I got this morning. That was exhilarating to say the least. It was so stuffed full of corn it looked pregnant!
Now I just need to figure out if it's a 95 amp or 130 amp. They said I would have to take it off and bring it in to see the back and then they could tell what size amp it was.
I will check all connections when I take it off. I hope this will fix it because I need to haul my 150lb doe home that I got this morning. That was exhilarating to say the least. It was so stuffed full of corn it looked pregnant!
Trending Topics
Senior User
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 146
Likes: 0
They are different in size and the bolt locations are different. You probably could have had them pull both and compared to what you have without pulling it first.
FTE Stories
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
AEV FXL Super Duty - the Super Duty Raptor Ford Doesn't Make
Brett Foote
Lobo Vs Lobo: Proof the F-150 Lobo Should Be Even Lower!
Michael S. Palmer
Ford's 2001 Explorer Sportsman Concept Looks For a New Home
Verdad Gallardo
10 Best Ford Truck Engines We Miss the Most!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Shelby F-150 Off-Road: Better Than a Raptor R?
Brett Foote
2027 Super Duty Carhartt Package First Look: 12 Things You NEED to Know!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Most Surprising 2026 Ford Truck Features!
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 Ford Trucks Coming to Mecum Indy 2026
Brett Foote
5 Best / 5 Worst Ford Truck Wheels of All Time
Joe Kucinski
New User
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Kind of having the same trouble on my 04 250 v10. Tried using my remote start, truck started up ran for about 5 sec then shut off, then restart itself and shut back off. When I manually started it, it ran fine. I noticed my battery light was on and as I was driving it would flicker. First thing I did when I got home was clean all my connections to see if that worked. Battery light still on, checked my volts on my battery and they were at about 11.8 with a slow but steady drop while truck was idling.then checked my alt, that too was at about 11.9 with a stead drop. Alt was only about 7 months old and I had a warranty on it so I had it replaced at Napa and had them test it there. Good alt. Installed the new alt charged up my battery and turned it over. Battery light still on and flickering. Checked all my wires for corrosion, checked all my grounds. Everything checked out. Checked my battery again 12.4 with the truck off, cranked it over and it was back at 11.9 with a steady drop and almost the same reading with the alt. Any ideas?
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post