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battery/alternator/charging system

10K views 37 replies 13 participants last post by  strokin6L 
#1 ·
Well ran into a little issue. Tried putting the 64/71/70 turbo on today and well, when i was installing it i somehow rubbed one of the wires that goes to the connector on the alternator and it sparked and smoked a little. Now i have a battery light on my dash. I didn't check any fuses or tested the alternator yet. but just wondering what anyone thought.
 
#2 ·
Hmmmm hard to say, does the truck start and run Ok?? Might try disconnecting both batteries and turn the lights on for a bit then hook it back up and see if it throws the light again???

Just a pure guess......i know just enough to get me into trouble.....LOL



-Wade
 
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#3 ·
I'd be looking for a blown fuse first.....
 
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#4 ·
I 2nd the blown fuse and make sure that the wire or connector wasn't damaged and is still grounded. Then if you still have the light and the vehicle runs try resetting the codes with a scanner if there are any.
 
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#5 ·
connector is fine there was a bare spot on one of the wires to it. I just put some electrical tape on it. I'll look for a blown fuse.
 
#6 ·
If the fuses all check out get the multimeter out and start checking for power with all associated connections. Make sure that you are getting power out of the alternator, etc. Chris
 
#7 ·
fuses are all good. as for using a mulitimeter, haven't a clue what one of them are or even what to check for. i noticed in the manual that there is a relay for trailer tow/battery relay. i'm just not sure i'll hafta have my buddy check power at the alternator. truck runs and starts just fine other than a batter light on the dash.
 
#10 ·
ok guys this is what i found. I tested the battery with the mulitmeter and it read 10.5. I then tested the alternator and it read 10.2. So maybe i fried the alternator then.
 
#12 ·
The battery? You have 2 of them and they need to be tested isolated from one another. How long was the truck running when you tested the alternator? Must be running at least a couple minutes to let the glow plugs turn off. Indicator light is not indicative of glowplug function.
 
#11 ·
Good chance. If you have no other way or knowhow to check you might take the time to pull it and take it to Autozone...or one of those places....where they can test it for you. Its free and you will know for sure. Do something soon or you will be replacing batteries too.
 
#15 ·
No, the batteries were connected.
 
#16 ·
Unhook the cross over line and check each battery. I bet that there is at least one weak cell in each battery. With the bad cell the batteries won't hold the charge. Chris
 
#17 ·
there isn't any issues with the batteries. they are less than a year old. the truck started just fine before i sparked the wire on the alternator with the turbo when installing it. i just don't see how this would cause a cell in one of the batteries to go bad. When i was installing the turbo i had it sitting on the alternator and it probably touched the big hot wire while resting on the alternator. I'm sure something shorted out or got fried but fuses all looked fine and alternator is good. I was told about the fusable links that go from the big hot wire on the alternator to the passanger side + battery terminal. But none of them looked burnt.
 
#18 ·
good batteries? cheapos can be bad form the store..


Need to see if its charging.. start the truck and watch the battery voltage.. it should stay at like 10.5-11 for a little bit until the gps turn off and the alternator and catch back up(ford alternators SUCK!)
 
#22 ·
They are deka batteries from carquest. I already tried that Bill. I started the truck and let it idle for a little bit and checked the voltage. It started at 11.9 and dropped to 11.5 in a couple minutes. This was after i had the battery charger on it for a while. I then shut the truck off and tried starting it an hour later and it wouldn't crank over. I then put the battery charger to 12V start to start the truck back up. After it started i unhooked the battery charger and let it idle again for a few minutes before i checked the voltage again. This time it was down to 10.9 and dropping after idling for a few minutes. Before i shut it off for the last time it had dropped to 10.5. Just not sure what is going on with the alernator and the charging system. Something definitly got shorted out somewhere and i am at a lose of what else to check for. So this is why i'm taking it to the dealer to have my buddy check it over.
 
#19 ·
The fusible links could look fine and still be bad. Check with an ohm meter or continuity check them. Ohm meter is the better of the 2 that way you can see if one has a huge resistance.
I have been down this road before and it’s a pain. A lot of wire tracing and testing. Good Luck.
 
#20 ·
Chris.. Your out come was a bad new alternator correct>?
 
#25 ·
Its ok LOL..



voltage at idle and driving should be at min 12.5 and no more then 14. i never see less then 13.25-13.5

do you have the gauges with the information center on it?(factory unit) If so you can watch your volts on it while driving..
 
#26 ·
i have an '04 truck. I don't have a factory volt gauge in the dash. maybe ford started to put volt gauges on the '05 trucks. only factory dash gauges are the oil pressure gauge, fuel gauge, tranny temp, and coolant temp. So i really can't monitor volts when driving.
 
#30 ·
hold the trip button down with ignition off, turn the key on and start you motor, then release the trip button. if done right, you can look at a whole bunch of bs, including batt volts. it may take a few times.
yup i was wondering if that can be done on the 04s.. i think it may have only been available on 05+'s(not sure when the cluster changed)
 
#27 ·
One word, you are flirting with disaster pertaining to your FICM if you keep starting running this thing at low voltage. Don't know your problem but, read between the lines.
 
#28 ·
haven't really ran it yet. I finally finished installing the turbo today and just test drove it for a couple miles...that's all. I gotta take it to the dealer monday. so i'm just gonna make sure the batteries are fully charged before i leave for the dealer and hope it'll be fine for the drive. the dealer is about 15 miles away.
 
#32 ·
There are only a few things that it can be: Alternator, Batteries, Fusible Links, Short, or Bad Ground. It's all a process of elimination. Chris
 
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#33 ·
One thing that my buddy had me try. Is to get a piece of heavy duty electrical wire and put one end where the big hot wire is on the alternator and the other to the + terminal on the passanger side battery. I think was a way to elimate the possibility of blown fuseable links. He said that i should be able to hear the alternator get drawn down and that this would be an indication that it's charging the system. But i never heard the alternator get drawn down. So maybe there is a blown fuseable link somewhere...idk
 
#35 ·
If you have a volt meter, check for power out of the alternator. You should see charging voltage 13.2 or better. If not, your alternator is not working. It would be hard to hear any load changes with a diesel engine like ours idling. If you have no power into the alternator, then look for fuseable link. Harry
 
#34 ·
Since the smoke was at/near the alternator, that is where I would be looking first, that is where the shorting heat was generated initially. Since it is not charging, you've likely cooked the alternator. Does it smell burned? Fuseable link is a possibility also as mentioned, as these are for safety in impact damage. Should be a simple fix, although may cost for another alternator. Harry
 
#36 ·
Buddy called me from the dealer and found that i blew the small 20gauge fuseable link. This wire is the hot/power wire(orange with blue tracer) on the quick connect pigtail that clips into the alernator. He ordered the fuseable link but said that it wont be here till like 2-3 days. So i'll either have my truck back on wednesday or not till next monday because of the thanksgiving holiday. Hopefully i'll have it back wednesday cause i just got done installing the 64/71/70 turbo and can't wait to put the race file in it.
 
#37 ·
how hard is it to find the fusable link?
I have a 2003 , i drove my truck beyond the death of my alternator and actually killed the truck,, now with new batts and alt im only getting 12.5 volts at the alt..?
could this be part of the issue?
 
#38 ·
not sure if it could be the issue, but the fuseable links are on the passanger side battery + post. I believe there are like 4 of them i think. There's a thin one which should be the 20 gauge one and then there should be a few 12 gauge ones. All of the fuseable links are bolted to the + battery terminal along with the + battery cable.
 
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