Hey guys.
I was installin a stereo system and i grounded out the 12v ignition fuse so i replace the fuse. When i go to turn my car on the battery reads a little above low so i figured when i grounded out the 12v igniton that it drained my battery so i place the battery on a slow 12v charge (overnite), when i put the battery back in it reads the same a little above low. any i deas on what this could be i checked all fuses all ok. except the wierd ford special fuses dont know how to check them. BTW i have a 96 ford explorer 4.0 v6. any help would be appreciated.

P.S. another wierd thing before that happened my chk engine light was on for a p1450 code but after that happened it went off........?
<!-- / message -->

 

Are you checking the battery with a tester before you hook it up or are you relying on the dash gage? If the battery tests ok, put it in and test for current draw, or short when key is off. Something else might be fried. I forgot to disconnect the battery when I was doing electric work and fried all kinds of things.

 

You may have a fusible link burnt out. They are located near the starter relay.

 

Well somone told me to start the car up, and while runnin disconnect the ground wire and if the car dies its the altenator. So i did and sure enough it died, so does that really mean my altenator is fried????????

 

This is a test from the old days that can ruin the electronics of the newer vehicles. The best way to test the alt is measure the voltage of the battery with the truck off, and then measure the voltage of the battery with the truck running. The voltage running should be higher.

 

thanks i will do that.

 

This test you did by unhooking the battery cable was used back in the days of DC generators that sometimes needed spiking & it was found it also worked for the checking for generator output.

These days with alternators (A/C =alternating current) people blow diodes.
Usually the cash outlay of buying alternator's ,teaches people to stop doing this type of test.

Welcome to the site btw,

 

would that fusible link burnout not send any juice to my battery, cause this is what i did i took out the alt had it tested thats ok bought a brand new battery and was drivin for about half a day and the battery was drained, like the alt wasnt chargin the battery at all????

 

Is the alternator warning light on with the engine running?

There are two areas you should check:

1) Fusible links. As described by other members, there are two of them, running in parallel from the starter relay (location described in previous email from another member) to the alternator itself. These are large wires. From the starter relay, the color of the wire that splits into the two fusible links should be black. The two fusible links themselves are short gray wires. They will be side-by-side (parallel circuit). They join a single large black wire with an orange stripe that then goes to the alternator. If these links are melted, be absolutely certain to replace them with the same size (amp capacity) link. You will need to crimp or solder them into place, after cutting the old ones out.

2) The charging circuit also has a separate 15 amp fuse - different from the ignition fuse you reported to be blown. This is a mini-size fuse, and should be in position 6 of the mini-fuse cluster in the main fusebox (Powertrain Distribution Box) under the hood, near the driver's side of the firewall. Do not confuse this fuse with a maxi-size 30 amp fuse in position 6 of the maxi-fuse cluster in the same PDBm which is for ABS if equipped. Read the label inside the PDB lid to be sure of the location of the alternator/voltage regulator fuse. This fuse is most likely your problem.

 

Thanks for all of your help i found out what it was, duke-bearnie you were right it was the fuse for the charging circuit, apparently some idiot ( i would be that idiot) didnt put the fuse back after checking it.

Thanks alot.