well i am having problems with my charging system again....... i have a new alternator, voltage regulator, ground wire from engine to the frame, ground wire from engine to cab, new battery, new battery cables, new plugs for the alternator, and a new starter solonoid.

well the truck isn't charging, my mechanic friend thought it was the alternator and i put a new one on and nothing changed, so i traced all of the wires from the alternator and all of them look great (also put new ends on them) except for the green and white one which dissapears into a big bundle of wires, i have traced it to the radiator and dont want to go ripping things apart just for fun, i think it goes to the gauge cluster because there is a green and white wire coming in through the firewall plug is this correct? if so this would save me tracing it.

other than that green wire everything looks good i am going to replace the plugs for the alternator just because that's the only thing i can think of to fix this problem, i have already replaced the one for the alternator and i just need to run out and get another plug for the voltage regulator.


but my main question was where does that green/white striped wire go? to the gauge cluster?

 

Are you sure you have a green wire with a white stripe connected to the alternator?
I have looked at two different wiring diagrams, and neither show this wire. The only wire coming from the cluster is the green with red stripe. It has to have 12 volts with the key on or the alternator will never charge. The only other wires coming off the alternator are going to the starter relay on the fender.
Here is one diagram http://fordfuelinjection.com/public/...ALT_wiring.gif
Good luck Frank

 

AWESOME!!!! thanks i'm soooo siked i'm gona run out there in 10* windy weather with my tester and get to work i'll tell you if i could rig it up in a few minutes

 

just went outside and it's just too cold to work on the truck right now i'll wait till tomorrow,

I was thinking could i splice a wire that is hot with the key on like the one to my distributor to the green/red wire i think there is a bad connection or something broken between the gauge cluster and the wire that is hot when the ignition is turned to run would my gauge cluster still work if i did this?

the reason i think there is a break somewhere after the gauge cluster is because when it started doing this i could pound on the dash above the cluster and it would stop charging, but when i shut the truck off and waited for like 2mins then started it again it would be charging till i hit a bump or pounded on the dash

 

The green/red stripe wire comes from the volt meter and the alternator light. I don't think they would work if you took them out of the system. Your alternator warning light might turn on all the time. I guess the truck would charge and be driveable until you get warmer weather and time to work on it. Have you changed the gauge cluster by any chance? Sometimes guys swap clusters to get a tach, and use a different year cluster. It appears to work fine until the battery goes dead because the alternator never gets "turned on".
if you splice in to get it going, don't forget to check that the wire has zero volts when the key is off, or you will have a whole new set of problems.
Good luck Frank

 

actually i just swapped my gauge cluster out about a week ago for emissions (so i drive under 5,000miles and i'm emissions exempt) but the one i swapped to was the one that originally came with the truck and i put miles on, not the one that i put in for inspection

maybe i should pull it apart and jiggle the plugs or clean the contacts on the cluster?

the gauge still has some reading on it when i have the truck running, when it is turned off it goes like to 0 and when it is turned on it goes to like 12 i think this is what makes me beleive i have a problem in the wire going from switched hot to the cluster

 

You swapped cluster out a week ago and you have been buying new parts every since. HMMM. Might the cluster be the problem?
You need to use your meter to test the green/red stripe wire at the alternator. It has to have 12 volts with key on. No ifs, or sometimes, or assumed. Has to happen everytime you turn on the key.
Good luck Frank

 

If you switched out the clusters that could be the problem. The clusters for the 92-93 are different from the 94-95. The 96 is also different. One of the issues is the alternator wiring to the cluster causing dead batteries.
regards
rikard

 

no i had this problem up at college and swapped all new parts on (i hadn't messed with the gauge cluster then) i think the problem at college was i was playing in the mud and got water in the alternator then parked it at my house for about 2 months before my dad could bring it up and the alternator got messed up inside and the battery cables/ground straps corroded the alternator wires had NO signs of corrosion in them though

and i this cluster is the ORIGINAL one that came with the truck, the other cluster is from a truck the same year as mine i just rolled the odomoter back so it was within 5,000miles of the last inspection and have been swapping them out for inspection for like the past 4 years with no problem

and thanks i hope i can get this all figured out tomorrow morning

PS: back to the other question if take a wire connecter and put the alternator side of the green wire + a wire that is 12 volts when the key is on + gauge side of the green wire all together would my gauge work? (this is after i verify there isn't 12 volts in the green wire when the key is on and after i clean the connections for the gauge cluster and it still doesn't work)

 

Odometer fraud to mask emissions non-compliance...I'm not sure I'd tell too many people about that

 

Sounds like it should work, but unless the original green/red stripe wire is broken, the problem is going to be at one of the connections, and fixing it there would a better way to go.
Good Luck Frank

 

got it fixed somehow the plug on the gauge cluster had partially come out so i just plugged it in and now it works great!! thanks sooo much for the help everyone! i would have never guessed that power would have to go through the gauge cluster before getting to the alternator