Battery light remains on...
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Battery light remains on...
Battery Light on the dash is on and will not go out. I've had the battery checked at Autozone and it's good. I also removed the alternator and took it to an auto electric shop and they found the voltage regulator bad. He replaced it. Problem solved right? WRONG!
After putting the alternator back on (not as easy as it sounds) and charging the battery I started it up and the light remains on.
The battery voltage reads correctly when the engine is not running according to my voltmeter. When the engine is running I read about 16-18 volts at the battery terminals.
Is having the battery disconnected enough to "reset" this indicator light if the problem is indeed fixed?
I know these engines are covered top to bottom with fuses, fusible links, and assorted other crap some goofball engineer thought needed to be there but I am at my wits end. I NEED this truck on the road fellas so any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
1997 F150 4wd Ext. Cab
4.6L V-8 (VIN 8th digit is 6)
5-speed
After putting the alternator back on (not as easy as it sounds) and charging the battery I started it up and the light remains on.
The battery voltage reads correctly when the engine is not running according to my voltmeter. When the engine is running I read about 16-18 volts at the battery terminals.
Is having the battery disconnected enough to "reset" this indicator light if the problem is indeed fixed?
I know these engines are covered top to bottom with fuses, fusible links, and assorted other crap some goofball engineer thought needed to be there but I am at my wits end. I NEED this truck on the road fellas so any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
1997 F150 4wd Ext. Cab
4.6L V-8 (VIN 8th digit is 6)
5-speed
Senior User
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 105
Likes: 0
Battery light remains on...
My '97 F-150 4.2L's batt light came on when my truck was about a year old. It was under warranty, but, I looked it over and found a large fuse (170a, I think) blown. The fuse is under a black plastic cover on the firewall, passenger side. There are actually two of these fuses under that cover. One appears to be inline between the battery and fuse panel. If this one blows, I think you lose all power to accessories like lights, radio, etc., and I don't think the truck would run at all. The other one (that was blown on my truck) is inline between the alternator and battery. The truck ran fine, just not charging battery. I bought the fuse myself, instead of losing time dealing with the service dept. No problem with charging since.
Posting Guru
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,124
Likes: 1
From: Rural Florida Panhandle
Battery light remains on...
Are you using a digital voltmeter? 16-18 volts sounds high unless the battery is nearly totally discharged. 15 v would be the highest charging voltage you should see with a fully charged battery.
I suspect the replaced regulator is bad/improperly installed.
Interesting poing about the large fuse, though. I would certainly check that out.
Winford
I suspect the replaced regulator is bad/improperly installed.
Interesting poing about the large fuse, though. I would certainly check that out.
Winford
Thread Starter
|
New User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Battery light remains on...
I am using a digital voltmeter and for a while at least I was reading about 14.6 volts, which is about right I think. Last night I checked and the voltage at the battery while the engine was running was only 12 volts.
The fuses check out ok.
With the voltage reading being so inconsistent I'm back to thinking the voltage regulator is bad (the new one). This wouldn't be nearly as frustrating if the alternator was a little easier to get to. Some of the checks my Haynes manual recommends are impossible to do with the alternator installed.
The fuses check out ok.
With the voltage reading being so inconsistent I'm back to thinking the voltage regulator is bad (the new one). This wouldn't be nearly as frustrating if the alternator was a little easier to get to. Some of the checks my Haynes manual recommends are impossible to do with the alternator installed.
