When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
ok so i re wired my truck last year "bronco graveyard kit" ended up taking out the factory charging guage and switching it to to economy light in the cluster.
this worked fine till tuesday light came on whal driving i parked didnt think about it started right up on wednesday but still had light.
checked under hood and found that my bat post on the alt had burned/melted off i am guessing from loose connection and arcing.
i have the original fuseable link hooked up as it has the extra ends for the regulator and another larger guage fuseable link from the wireing kit thinking that this might have caused the problem i removed the larger one when replacing the alt.
I terminal goes up into dash into hot lead "green"
A terminal goes 2 wires 1 to nothing other to factory fuseable link "yellows"
S goes to sta on alt and to electric choke "white"
F goes to alt fld "redish"
from alt
fuseable link goes from alt to bat to bat side of starter solenoid & A terminal as stated above
it has 1 connector end on the alt and 3 up top 1 is blank and caped
Thank you for typing all of this out so clearly. Make sure battery voltage appears on both the 'A' terminal of the regulator connector as well as the heavy alternator output stud.
What all happened leading up to the no-charge condition? Working somewhere else under the engine bay? Added some aftermarket accessory? Things don't just "pop." There's always more to the story.
ok so multimeter set to 20
voltage reading @:
battery 12.75v grounded to battery negative post
A terminal 12.75v grounded to battery negative post
alt bat stud 12.75v grounded to alt ground stud (cables to short to go to battery)
as far as what i did i finished the stereo wiring the day after the "complete rewire" only knoticed a slight drop in voltage -.3 headunit -.5 with sub
also exchanged starter, starter solenoid, distributor, ignition module , ignition coil, battery, everything i did i took pictures of before and put back the same way once again it has run fine for 5+ months till the drive home when the light came on
I'm sorry, I can't understand what you're saying. Please use punctuation so it's very clear what your measurements are. I'm getting confused with one giant run-on sentence with "grounded to battery" repeated several times.
re mention i did leave a second fuseable link from alt bat terminal to starter bat terminal off when i changed out broken alt today
Can you please clarify what you're saying here?
Also, what is meant by "broken alt?" Are you saying you changed out the alternator and still have this problem? If so, how do you know the old one was broken? Please clarify.
Also, what is meant by "broken alt?" Are you saying you changed out the alternator and still have this problem? If so, how do you know the old one was broken? Please clarify.
ok we are on second set of pics.
We will start with the broken part,
the bat terminal on the back melted and fused the nut to the end of the fuseable link
to clarify what i "changed" today was new alternator (motocraft) and i did not reinstall the link shown in that pic set
not seeing a reason to have 2 links running from alt bat post to the starter solenoid post
its not to clearly stated in my first post so wanted to mention it again
That doesn't really answer my question. Why did you change the alternator? Did you presumptively change it thinking the alternator itself may be the cause of your problem, only to find it did in fact not fix the problem - meaning the vehicle exhibits the same symptoms with the old, and new alternator?
i changed the alt because i have no battery post to connect to on the old alt (pic 2 set 2). due to the post being melted fuseable links could no longer connect to it
if I cant connect the alt, I cant get any charge, if I cant charge my alt light comes on (idiot reasoning maybe)
Okay, got it. I'm assuming the same symptoms (~12 volt running voltage, ALT light on) still exist with the new alternator. Please make it known if this assumption is incorrect.
First and foremost, you've got to figure out why the old alternator output stud burned up. So long as the output wire was secured properly and things were relatively clean, there shouldn't be any arcing. The damage shown in your picture is a lot worse than what I'd associate with arcing anyway. It's no coincidence that your charging system ceases to function, and you happen to find the alternator output stud burnt to a crisp. That's why I ask what work was done on the vehicle previously, because there's always more to the story. You press someone enough, and they finally tell you they just did a body swap, their buddy was working on it, vehicle was stolen, on and on and on. I've heard it all.
Anyway, the voltages you reported seem to suggest the alternator output fusible link is intact (voltage is appearing at all three places), but go ahead and remove the alternator output wire (both ends) and measure the resistance end-to-end to make sure it's truly a short circuit. NOTE: always disconnect the negative battery cable FIRST, then reconnect LAST when working at the back of the alternator or battery side of the starter solenoid. ALWAYS.
If that checks out OK then put the wire back, disconnect the regulator, turn the key to RUN, and make sure 12 volts is present at the connector corresponding to the 'I' terminal of the regulator.
If THAT checks OK, keep the regulator disconnected, start the truck, and very briefly short the 'A' and 'F' terminals of the regulator connector (TRUCK side) together while watching the voltage across the battery posts. You should see the voltage climb and hear the alternator whine.
Okay, got it. I'm assuming the same symptoms (~12 volt running voltage, ALT light on) still exist with the new alternator. Please make it known if this assumption is incorrect.
First and foremost, you've got to figure out why the old alternator output stud burned up. So long as the output wire was secured properly and things were relatively clean, there shouldn't be any arcing. The damage shown in your picture is a lot worse than what I'd associate with arcing anyway. It's no coincidence that your charging system ceases to function, and you happen to find the alternator output stud burnt to a crisp. That's why I ask what work was done on the vehicle previously, because there's always more to the story. You press someone enough, and they finally tell you they just did a body swap, their buddy was working on it, vehicle was stolen, on and on
i agree but i tend to be an exception to the rule
i am fairly new to electrical when i wired the truck i had complete step by step directions from current mechanic with 40+ years expeience
90% of everything that has been done by me or with friends is posted somewhere on the forum LOVE THIS SITE
testing my meter
1. set to 200 ohm setting
2. red to black on meter 2.0 checked 3 times
3. fuseable link in pic set 2 red to red black to blue 2.0 checked 3 times
is this what i should be getting?
cause now i am headed out to follow the directions below
and i do have a new regulator in case that is the next step n and on. I've heard it all.
Originally Posted by fmc400
Anyway, the voltages you reported seem to suggest the alternator output fusible link is intact (voltage is appearing at all three places), but go ahead and remove the alternator output wire (both ends) and measure the resistance end-to-end to make sure it's truly a short circuit. NOTE: always disconnect the negative battery cable FIRST, then reconnect LAST when working at the back of the alternator or battery side of the starter solenoid. ALWAYS.
If that checks out OK then put the wire back, disconnect the regulator, turn the key to RUN, and make sure 12 volts is present at the connector corresponding to the 'I' terminal of the regulator.
If THAT checks OK, keep the regulator disconnected, start the truck, and very briefly short the 'A' and 'F' terminals of the regulator connector (TRUCK side) together while watching the voltage across the battery posts. You should see the voltage climb and hear the alternator whine.
update
went out and ran test as instructed
disconnected link and tested
meter 1.8 checkd 3 times
link 1.8 checked 3 times
a terminal reads .2 lower than the battery
a to f jumps battery voltage to 16 real quick (almost instantly looked left to jump looked right at 16)
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalyptic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
