Bad Alt.

[Mr. Stroker]

Well i hurt my alternator today. I did get my trailer lights working tho! But i was wondering... I didnt run the truck while i was messing with the trailer lights, so im wondering if there is a mega fuse or something that has something to do with the alternator? I did make the lights on my truck dime once and i think that might have done something....

Please let me know. Im only getting 13.3 volts at the battery, with the truck running.

 

[surewhynot]

I thought with a properly working regulator you should only get 13.4 volts.

 

[Mr. Stroker]

O idk, i use to get 14.6 at the battery when it was running. I got a whinding noise (thats what got me thinkin) Guage is on O on NORMAL and it use to be about M and A and when i turn my lights off the guage goes way up.

 

[surewhynot]

Hmm. Not sure. Maybe one of the techs or somebody will know.

 

[Mr. Stroker]

yea idk maby. I need to know asap cuz i drive it tuesday. I dont want to be 50 miles from home and it deside to go.. Nor can i afford it. Anyone on that mega fuse?

 

[surewhynot]

If it is putting out anything, it wouldn't be a fuse. If a fuse was blown, it wouldn't work at all.

 

[john112deere]

You should be able to make it 50 miles home even if it does crap out completely. No headlights, don't play with the windows, etc., but as long as it keeps running...

*Guy I got my truck from drove it 40 miles to hand in a final paper at school and then back with a bad alt. Maybe not the smartest, but the paper was due and his truck was broke...

 

[Fellro]

If it is getting 13.5 at the battery, then it isn't a fuse, as it is getting through, battery alone will only get 12.5 max. You need to watch the voltage with a load to see if it is keeping up. If it maintains 13.5 all the time, then don't worry.13.5-14 is about right.

 

[polarbear]

OK- smack me here and now- but remind me again why paying a shop $40 to wire it up for the trailer is such a bad idea?

 

[Bob Ayers]

You should be getting around 14V at the battery. How long did you have the lights on without the engine running? You may have discharged the battery, and the alternator is having trouble supplying the current needed to charge it
back up.

 

[Mr. Stroker]

VERY TRUE BOB! Come to think of it. I damn near had the lights on without the truck running for a long while becuase i was chatting with my buddys. Then i turned them off and went into the house for bout 20 minutes then went o dang my truck is still on. Il check battery voltage when i get home, hopefully its low so i can take the charger to it.

Side note, when i had my lights off it would be in the normal spot, but as soooon as i turned them on, bam down to the O on NORMAL and the noise.

 

[Lost]

You should be able to make it 50 miles home even if it does crap out completely. No headlights, don't play with the windows, etc., but as long as it keeps running...

*Guy I got my truck from drove it 40 miles to hand in a final paper at school and then back with a bad alt. Maybe not the smartest, but the paper was due and his truck was broke...

His is still charging so I bet he is OK.

But as for 50 miles on a dead alt Don't think so. A coworker left my lights on . So by end day no turn over. Tried to jump and would run then shut off. I put my new spare battery in and made it 9 mile before gauges started to shut down it shut off pulling in my driveway . Boy I miss in older ride u could take belt completely off and get home.

 

[Mr. Stroker]

Ok so far we are clear for takeoff lol. I didnt drive it at all today and i came home, and hooked the DOVM to it and it red 12.1V I do know (Afterall today i passed my auto electric class) That a good battery reads 12.6 that my 12.1 wasnt good.

So i put the charger on it for a while. Started it up and guage is normal. I did notice how my guage goes down when i turn my head lights on (not much) But dang.. After being in my dads truck his guage doesnt move a bit! Im gonna keep an eye out for a 3G.

Thanks everyone for the help! Again you guys solved another mystery!

 

[john112deere]

Gauge dipping ain't bad...factory alternator in my mother's Subaru is so weak that the headlights dim when you step on the brake pedal (and turn on the lights).

Yes I raised hell about it before the car even had 1000 miles on it, yes I verified that they all actually do that, and if it goes out before 100k (car has about 50 now) I will go back and raise hell again (not that it will do me any good, but I will...).

*Larry, you may be right...that's just what the guy told me he did. (Good friend, not just some guy I bought a truck off of.) Maybe it was only going bad when he left though, I wasn't there... (I drove a diesel around for a week with a dead alt...batt charger in the back and we'd plug it in whenever we stopped anywhere. Whole different ballgame there, of course.)

 

[msb71]

Doesn't your Bronco already have a 3g?

 

[Skandocious]

Yeah a 95 is already going to have a 3g... Could be getting tired though, I know mine is. Gauge dips up and down when I put on my turn signal

 

[msb71]

You oughtta see mine when I have A/c Brakes and headlights on , between the N-O, this is a new Alt from Ford , only a 95 amp though.

 

[Fellro]

Ok so far we are clear for takeoff lol. I didnt drive it at all today and i came home, and hooked the DOVM to it and it red 12.1V I do know (Afterall today i passed my auto electric class) That a good battery reads 12.6 that my 12.1 wasnt good.

So i put the charger on it for a while. Started it up and guage is normal. I did notice how my guage goes down when i turn my head lights on (not much) But dang.. After being in my dads truck his guage doesnt move a bit! Im gonna keep an eye out for a 3G.

Thanks everyone for the help! Again you guys solved another mystery!

Truthfully, 12.1 is fine, but the telling story is done with a load test. Don't fret a few tenth's of a volt, normal is actually right around 12. Good luck pulling a brand new battery off the shelf having 12.6 volts. It depends how much load you have as to where the gauge will read, no load will run at the max, but with the engine running, headlights on, a/c on stereo on, amp if you have it, you start to get more draw than the alternator can keep up with unless you have a higher output unit. Output makes a big difference on what you will see, and also keep in mind reliability on the Ford gauges isn't exactly stellar....

 

[Bob Ayers]

Truthfully, 12.1 is fine, but the telling story is done with a load test. Don't fret a few tenth's of a volt, normal is actually right around 12. Good luck pulling a brand new battery off the shelf having 12.6 volts. It depends how much load you have as to where the gauge will read, no load will run at the max, but with the engine running, headlights on, a/c on stereo on, amp if you have it, you start to get more draw than the alternator can keep up with unless you have a higher output unit. Output makes a big difference on what you will see, and also keep in mind reliability on the Ford gauges isn't exactly stellar....

Sorry to disagree with you, but the charge level of a battery can vary greatly with a few tenths of a volt. 12V at 77 degrees F is only 50% charged! Check out this link:

http://www.buchanan1.net/lead_acid.shtml