hey all, just this morning when i went out for breakfast, i noticed during turns the battery light symbol comes on in the dash.... it briefly comes on then goes off a couple of times until i straighten out the wheel and go straight. i also noticed that when the light is on, the steering stiffens up....it feels like the power steering goes out. when i go straight and give it more gas, the steering returns and the light goes out. any ideas? it is raining out, and there is a lot of water on the roads...... and i've never had this problem before. probably because it is the first time it is raining since i've had the truck (since last october). it is a 5.0 AWD XLT model.....

 

can the power steering belt be loose and the rain cause it to slip? i read this could be the cause on other websites, but would this also be the cause for the battery light or is it all the same belt that the alternator rides on as well? (the serpentine belt) i pushed on it and it seems to be tight, i dont know how loose is loose though. just for reference, i've never had a problem with either the battery light coming on, or the power steering going out... and my wife drived it like 40 miles last night, a mix of freeway and city driving... and it wasnt raining... no problems. this morning it happened still in the apartment complex as i was leaving....didnt even go 300 feet... of course it was pouring and there was water all over the streets....

 

Sure sounds like a slipping belt to me. How many miles on it? On my wifes 95 Taurus the factory belt started to slip at 60 K miles, so now I change it ever 50K.

 

Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, Ding, I think we have a winner. One belt drives it all. Either the belt is stretched or the belt surface is bad, or the tensioner is bad, or there's a bearing that's going somewhere in the system. I'd expect a bearing to be making a noise if that were it. Could be that the belt is loosing friction when it gets wet. If the belt feels tight and you're not hearing any squeeling or grinding noises, I'd try a new belt.

 

88,000 miles... dont know if its been replaced before, i am the 2nd owner....i dont know..... i triple checked everything with the belt..... it all looks fine, its not cracked or loose. it appears fine. i did notice that just before the battery light goes on, the voltage gauge shows it REALLY low, like in the "L" area, then the light comes on and the steering goes out.... i'm really leaning toward a bad alternator...somehow someway water is getting somewhere its not supposed to and messing things up. i did notice that the voltage would drop when i'm stopped at a red light, and when i go it move higher... but when i'm cruising it will drop a little and level off.....and remember i never have any of these problems when its dry out.... only when its raining. its been coming down in buckets here all day.

 

The symptoms you described are exactly the same as a Tarus company car I had. If one hit a puddle of water with the right front tire, the belt would get wet, start slipping and squeeling, along with alt light and hard power steering. Ford had a recall that installed/ repaired/ or replaced a splash shield that cured the problem on the Tarus.

Your problem is directly related to either the belt or tensioner. At a minimum, replace the belt and while doing so, inspect the tensioner. Make sure you get the "correct" length belt for your application as the 5.0 combination was used in many vehicles and lengh of the belt could vary somewhat.
Dialtone

 

Looks like Dialtone has got your answer.

Awhile back I read about a guy whose Caravan would throw off the serpentine belt whenever it rained. He solved the problem by replacing the plastic splash shield that had somehow gotten torn off.

 

which plastic shield are you talking about? the one inside the tire well? i dont think there is one on the passenger side front. i got info from the previous owner that the serp. belt was just replaced before i got it, which would have made it a couple thousand miles ago, so i'm doubting its the belt. now, its all dry out... been dry all day. drove it to and from work (15 miles each way) and its doing the same thing.... i can watch the volt gauge drop down when i'm going slower and go back to the middle when i am going highway speeds...... i'm leading towards a bad alternator. would the symptoms still persist when there is no water anywhere???? i am taking it to autozone on wednesday when i have time to diagnose the entire charging/battery system.... supposedly they can tell a bad alternator from a good one. how can i check the tensioner to make sure its ok? dont even know which one it is... is it another pulley?

 

My Tarus problem was because the engine is mounted crossways with the belts adjacent to the right front tire, so It was prone to getting wet if the splash shield was missing or damaged, thus, the recall fix from Ford.

In your case, the engine is not facing side to side, so unless there is a gaping hole in the fender wells, water splash would not be so much of an issue.
BUT, if the belt is the wrong length, or tensioner is weak, any small amount of water would cause the symptoms you mentioned.
It is also true, that something binding up the belt motion (such as a defective alternator, AC compressor idler bearing, or binding power steering pump, or any of the idler bearings including the tensioner bearing, would cause similar symptoms. In the case of a bearing bind, it should be very audible so tracking it down should be easy.

Your original post indicated you noticed the problem during turns. At those times, you are putting more pressure on the power steering pump. Any weakness in the belt gripping the pulleys would show up at a time like that. So in closing, I stand by my original post that you most likely have a bad belt, incorrect length belt, or a weak tensioner.

Dialtone

 

yea, the problem seemed to happen more so during turns, but that part was the power steering going out... now the battery light would come on at any time... not just in turns... and the power steering would only go out when the battery light was on.... and the voltage gauge dropped to almost nothing. there is absolutely NO noise coming from anywhere... how can i check the tensioner?

 

Step 1. With the belt on, inspect the point where it touches ALL the pulleys and make sure it is centered on them correctly. It is easy to get off by 1 grove and that alone is enough to mess things up. Most especially on the crankshaft pulley.
Step 2. Locate the tensioner and with the proper tool, pull it back to release the tension and remove the belt. My 91 needed a 5/8 box wrench on the tensioner pulley bolt as the point to pull from, yours may be different and have a 1/2 square hole somewhere on the arm to do the same, not sure what you will find. With a 8 inch long box wrench, it was all I could do to pull it back to release tension, so if yours pulls easily (unless you are built like Godzilla), suspect a bad tensioner. Tensioner on the 4.0 is located directly adjacent to the alternator.
Step 3 Notice how far the tensioner must be moved to pull it all the way back to its topmost point. The travel distance is important as a belt that is too long will require more tensioner travel and will result in less tension on the belt than is correct. If the travel is near the bottom of the limit, replace the belt with the correct (shorter one).

I have not heard of a tensioner spring going bad, but have heard ot the entire assembly comming apart, but you would have noticed that. If you are unsure, you can buy a replacement tensioner assembly.

Dialtone

 

Now that your symptom description is different, I'm beggining to agree it may be the alternator. Have you actually checked voltage at idle with a DC volt meter? Should be around 14 volts when running. I am assuming that your idle is still at an appropriate level (around 600 to 800 rpm) as a low idle speed could also create the condition you are describing.

 

symptoms have been the same from the start, i guess i didnt type them correctly. i will check with a voltmeter. idle is normal, around 700 rpm's. i think i'll just take it in and have all the pulleys looked at. shouldnt be more than $50 anyway. but thanks for all the help guys.

 

alright, i brought it in to autozone today and they tested the whole system. starter, battery, and voltage regulator all check good. bad alternator. machine says something about bad diodes inside the alternator. also showing 12.3 - 12.5 volts at idle... should be a volt higher, somewhere around 13.3 volts. also noticed a chunk of rubber deformed on the side of the belt.... will have that replaced as well. so it looks like i need a new alternator and belt.... could the water somehow have caused the alternator to go bad by itself, or was this a problem that was getting worse over time and now it finally is showing itself?? thanks again....

 

Could be either one. Most likely it was just going out anyway, but water in the wrong places certainly didn't make it any better.