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2000 Explorer Limited-need electrical help!
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2000 Explorer Limited-need electrical help!
I have a 2000 Explorer Limited (4x4, 6 cyl., SOHC) and am having some bad problems with electrical system. Main thing is I keep loosing charge. I've checked the battery (good) and replaced the alternator TWICE! Works good for a while and then starts loosing charge. Tonight the battery light came on all at once and the volt meter was reading low again. I'm no mechanic. I need some advice on this one. Just need some guidance on what to look for. Please help. Not mine...my wifes. She drives late on backroads with our two year old. I can't have her out with this thing.
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I'll go try that now.
What happened before was that the alternator went completly out. I replaced it and all went well. Then about a month and a half later....It all of the sudden starts drawing a low charge. didn't go out all the way but very low. Surely I couldn't have just gotten another bad alternator. I checked all the fuses last time. And when I changed the alternator it went great. It just seems dd that I could get an alternator that would go bad that fast! The first one I changed lasted for two years then went bad. This last one lasted a month and a half...if it IS the alternator.
What happened before was that the alternator went completly out. I replaced it and all went well. Then about a month and a half later....It all of the sudden starts drawing a low charge. didn't go out all the way but very low. Surely I couldn't have just gotten another bad alternator. I checked all the fuses last time. And when I changed the alternator it went great. It just seems dd that I could get an alternator that would go bad that fast! The first one I changed lasted for two years then went bad. This last one lasted a month and a half...if it IS the alternator.
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OK...I didn't dream this!
I just went out and started the thing up and all is well. PUlling proper voltage and no battery light. Am I missing something here?
Yesterday it was fine. I parked it and left it for about an hour. Then the low voltage and battery light. I stopped and put a fully charged battery in to get home. Same thing with the full battery. Drove it for 10 minutes and left it all night and all day. Started it up this evening and it seems fine. Any thoughts???
I just went out and started the thing up and all is well. PUlling proper voltage and no battery light. Am I missing something here?
Yesterday it was fine. I parked it and left it for about an hour. Then the low voltage and battery light. I stopped and put a fully charged battery in to get home. Same thing with the full battery. Drove it for 10 minutes and left it all night and all day. Started it up this evening and it seems fine. Any thoughts???
Postmaster
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: SoCal
Yeah, that working/not working nonsense will make you crazy.
The closest factory wiring diagrams that I have to yours are for a 97.
On the 97, excitor voltage (to turn on the alternator) is wired from the starter relay
to the "generator/voltage regulator" fuse on a solid black wire. From fuse to alternator the wire is yellow/white stripe.
Check your wiring diagram & see if the color coding is the same on your 2000 then remove the connector from the alternator & connect your ohm meter so it's looking thru that fuse.
Do a wiggle test on the wiring, does the circuit go open??
If it does, thats the problem.
The closest factory wiring diagrams that I have to yours are for a 97.
On the 97, excitor voltage (to turn on the alternator) is wired from the starter relay
to the "generator/voltage regulator" fuse on a solid black wire. From fuse to alternator the wire is yellow/white stripe.
Check your wiring diagram & see if the color coding is the same on your 2000 then remove the connector from the alternator & connect your ohm meter so it's looking thru that fuse.
Do a wiggle test on the wiring, does the circuit go open??
If it does, thats the problem.
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The only advice I would have you check is the battery cables. If you have had a corrosive battery buildup on the cable it can degrage the cable and you might need to change it out. I had a small truck that had a bad negative cable and the engine would just stop going down the road. I replaced the motor and still had the problem. After changing the cables the problem went away. Just make sure all connections are tight and you don't have an excesive build up of corrosion on the cables.
pat
pat
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Thanks, I'll try all that and report back. I tried to drive it yesterday and it was bad again. Real bad. Made it down the road a few minutes and it would barely make it back home. I don't see any real corrosion but will clean up everything anyway. Will try the relay test tomorrow. If it weren't for electrical problems, this is an awesome vehicle. Radio display has been out for some time (probably a faulty wire). The cruise went out some time ago too. I can't find any bad fuses though. And the seat heater on the driver side doesn't work. I long for the days of my first car that had an engine and four tires and no do-dads. Thanks for all yur replies, I'll let you know what happens.
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Your battery may not be as "good" as you think it is. One of the posts may have a bad connection internally. I have seen that cause intermittent problems before. Is it the original battery? I think I would try replacing the battery first. They are cheaper and more likely to be a problem than an alternator. And then there is the Ford OEM battery angle - my 2003 Explorer battery went down the tubes after little more than 2 years. I eventually had to replace it after only 30 months of service. On the other hand my 1995 Explorer battery went the distance - 7 years almost to the day. It was really soft that last year but it held up.
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I replaced the alternator. Had a lifetime guarantee on it so I replaced it for the sake of replacing it. I'm getting good at it. I am actually thinking it may be the battery though. It seems to be doing well now but it seems that the days that it went bad were around 100 degrees. Maybe it was just too much for the battery. It is the original battery. And all these times of thinking it was the alternator and it draining down couldn't have been good for it. However...it has one of those "no fail" eye things! You know...the red and green eye. My dad had one of those things back in the early 90's. After it wouldn't take a charge anymore, we kept it setting there just to see how long it would show a green eye. After eight years of hanging on to it and checking it every so often to see the green, "OK" eye, we decided it wasn't worth a !$@* and finally got rid of it.
I'll go with changing the battery next. ou guys have been a big help. Thanks much.
Odie
West Virginia
I'll go with changing the battery next. ou guys have been a big help. Thanks much.
Odie
West Virginia