Altenator???
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Altenator???
I have a 1997 Ranger 3.0 4X4. Today while driving the lights went dim, the wipers slowed down, and the blower motor was noticablaly quieter when I had to stop at a stop light. The truck has never done this before today. Also shortly after the original incident while starting the truck I heard a brief (2-3 second) squeal from under the hood. The truck has driven fine since then, without any seemingly low voltage indications. I replaced the battery 1-2 months ago with a Sears Die Hard ( Only because the original battery seemed old at 8yrs). Could this be the bearings in the altenator going bad?
Thanks for any help you could give.
Thanks for any help you could give.
Moderator
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 13,851
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From: SW Va
Could be a loose battery cable, as you said you just replaced the battery, so that seems to be the last thing that was done before this problem began.
If the cables check out ok, then run this puppy by your favorite autoparts store & have them do a full electrical system load test, with their portable tester. Most will do it at no cost.
It'll properly load test all the electrical system in the vehicle & will likely sniff out any weak component, including the drive belt & pulleys.
Let us know what you find.
If the cables check out ok, then run this puppy by your favorite autoparts store & have them do a full electrical system load test, with their portable tester. Most will do it at no cost.
It'll properly load test all the electrical system in the vehicle & will likely sniff out any weak component, including the drive belt & pulleys.
Let us know what you find.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 249
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From: Santee, CA
The truck should run at full voltage even without a battery (hard to start it that way, though), so I would suspect the alternator. It may have been working overtime to keep the old battery going and is starting to show it. I agree fully with checking the cables and having your local friendly auto parts store running a diagnostic, though.
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Ok. I will take it down to Autozone today and have them test it. I will let you know what they find if anything. After thinking about it more I am not sure if maybe the belt was just slipping because it was snowing very hard when this happend (Although its never happened before in the 8yrs that I have had the truck). But I will take it down to autozone to be sure.
Thanks so much
Thanks so much
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I had the Altenator tested and it was bad under load. I had a hard time finding a replacement for it though. Advance Auto Parts had a remanufactured but there was a warning on it that said if the battery was not fully charged the altenator would over heat. The store clerk said that all altenators are like that, they just don't tell you. Is this true? Anyways I passed on the one at Advance Auto and purchased one from Napa 2 towns over (Local Napa didn't have one). Autozone was just plain useless.
Thanks for the help.
Thanks for the help.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 249
Likes: 0
From: Santee, CA
Yup, sounds like a typical domino effect of parts failures - one weak part overstressing another. Glad to hear it was a (relatively) easy fix though. Ideally you would want to trickle-charge the battery if it's dead before running the new alternator on it, but for real-world purposes it'll be fine. You've already got a brand-new battery, so once it's charged once you're problems are gone. 
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From: SW Va
If the new battery isn't fully charged, recharge it slowly overnight, before you replace the alternator.
The alternator isn't designed to be a battery recharger.
Trying to bring a discharged battery to full charge, with the vehicles alternator, will likely damage or at least weaken both!!!!
The alternator will attempt to put MUCHO AMPS through the discharged battery for a long period, trying to recharge it, thus overheating both!!!!
The alternator is designed to quickly put back into the battery, the quick burst's of energy you use in starting the vehicle, or using other power hungry electricals, like the rear window defroster, lights, ect.
It can handel these loads for short periods, but big amps, for long periods, are a no no for it & the battery.
SO, if the new battery's charge is down, & you have access to te cells, check the electrolyte & bring it up to the correct level with distilled water, but DON'T overfill it.
Then using a batery charger, put the battery on slow charge overnight, say at 4-6 amps, to slowly bring it up to full charge, then you'll be good to go.
The alternator isn't designed to be a battery recharger.
Trying to bring a discharged battery to full charge, with the vehicles alternator, will likely damage or at least weaken both!!!!
The alternator will attempt to put MUCHO AMPS through the discharged battery for a long period, trying to recharge it, thus overheating both!!!!
The alternator is designed to quickly put back into the battery, the quick burst's of energy you use in starting the vehicle, or using other power hungry electricals, like the rear window defroster, lights, ect.
It can handel these loads for short periods, but big amps, for long periods, are a no no for it & the battery.
SO, if the new battery's charge is down, & you have access to te cells, check the electrolyte & bring it up to the correct level with distilled water, but DON'T overfill it.
Then using a batery charger, put the battery on slow charge overnight, say at 4-6 amps, to slowly bring it up to full charge, then you'll be good to go.
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Ok I have had the new altenator in for a few days now. It has been pretty cold here the last few days. I have noticed when I turn the head lights on that the dash lights and the head lights seem to flicker a little. The voltage needle also dances just a bit. The truck seems to run fine but with the lights and the blower motor on at the same time it looks like I have a christmas tree strobing away in my truck. Is the new altenator bad? maybe not enough amps? I believe it was a 95 amp altenator I put in. Or could it possibly be something like the bearings in the water pump are going bad and affecting the altenator as they are both run with the same belt. The new altenator was load tested when I put it into the truck and I was told it was working right, but I know very little about this kind of stuff.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 8,462
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From: Durant, OK (SOSU)
95 amps should be plenty to power your truck. Just having the basic stuff on will push nowhere near that. I'd suggest idling in your garage with the hood open, turn on some accessories and test the voltage at the battery and alternator. Check your batt-chassis and chassis-engine grounds as well.
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