I posted this over in general discussion and realized it should be here my apologies.
Here is the run down.
I drove the car to Taco Bell, around 3 miles from my house, in December. While sitting in the drive through I noticed my battery light came on.
Drove it home and didn't really look into it. That day was unseasonably warm.
So when I started working on the problem this is how it went.
Silly me - I exchanged my alternator that I had just replaced not 200 miles ago without checking the fuse. Put the new one in, battery light still on.
Checked the fuse and was elated. Cool. I found the issue. NO.
Replaced the fuse, took the car for a drive and battery light again.
Popped the fuse.
Note: The fuse will only pop once the car is warmed up and rev'ed to above 3000RPM. I can leave the car sit at idle for as long as I want and the fuse will not pop and the regulator charges the battery.
I went back to Autzone and they upgraded me to Duralast Gold instead of the cheapo I started with.
Alas that didn't work either.
At this point I got the meter out and started checking.
Alternator body to negative terminal - 0 ohms
Alternator charging post to Positive terminal - 0 ohms
Regulator Pig tail wire# 36 from connector to fuse box - 0 ohms
Got looking into the print and there is a connector BEFORE the fuse box named "c100" in the print. I took wire#36 and bypassed that connector just to be safe.
I have checked the seating of the pin inside the fuse box itself. The main "lug" on the fuse box is a little wonky. It looks like someone spun the nut at one point but I have good connection non the less.
So in summary.
I have replaced the pigtail to the regulator.
I have removed the fusable link and replaced it with a new fuse of the correct rating.
I have yet to replace the charging cable itself. The ohm reading on the cable is 0.00. I did check for voltage drop in that cable when I first started this adventure a couple months ago.
I ordered the black and white regulator connector today as well as a new charging cable. I'll update once those are installed.
I don't really want to have to purchase a motorcraft alternator but I am wondering how many bad ones from AutoZone I can get.
How likely is it that it is still the alternator?
Thanks!
Here is the run down.
I drove the car to Taco Bell, around 3 miles from my house, in December. While sitting in the drive through I noticed my battery light came on.
Drove it home and didn't really look into it. That day was unseasonably warm.
So when I started working on the problem this is how it went.
Silly me - I exchanged my alternator that I had just replaced not 200 miles ago without checking the fuse. Put the new one in, battery light still on.
Checked the fuse and was elated. Cool. I found the issue. NO.
Replaced the fuse, took the car for a drive and battery light again.
Popped the fuse.
Note: The fuse will only pop once the car is warmed up and rev'ed to above 3000RPM. I can leave the car sit at idle for as long as I want and the fuse will not pop and the regulator charges the battery.
I went back to Autzone and they upgraded me to Duralast Gold instead of the cheapo I started with.
Alas that didn't work either.
At this point I got the meter out and started checking.
Alternator body to negative terminal - 0 ohms
Alternator charging post to Positive terminal - 0 ohms
Regulator Pig tail wire# 36 from connector to fuse box - 0 ohms
Got looking into the print and there is a connector BEFORE the fuse box named "c100" in the print. I took wire#36 and bypassed that connector just to be safe.
I have checked the seating of the pin inside the fuse box itself. The main "lug" on the fuse box is a little wonky. It looks like someone spun the nut at one point but I have good connection non the less.
So in summary.
I have replaced the pigtail to the regulator.
I have removed the fusable link and replaced it with a new fuse of the correct rating.
I have yet to replace the charging cable itself. The ohm reading on the cable is 0.00. I did check for voltage drop in that cable when I first started this adventure a couple months ago.
I ordered the black and white regulator connector today as well as a new charging cable. I'll update once those are installed.
I don't really want to have to purchase a motorcraft alternator but I am wondering how many bad ones from AutoZone I can get.
How likely is it that it is still the alternator?
Thanks!