2001 Excursion battery/alternator problem? - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Darrian · 03-10-2010, 18:05

Today my battery light just came on , so I figured taking the positive battery cable off would tell me if it was the alternator. My question is, is it supposed to die when the cable is removed or should it stay running?

**Bert** · 03-10-2010, 19:41

Removing the battery cable on the newer vehicles can spike the PCM and burn it up. The PCM also controls the charging on most newer vehicles. The way to check it is with a volt meter. Running, the battery should show about 14V. If the battery is low, the voltage should increase at the battery when the engine is running as compared to off.

Darrian · 03-11-2010, 12:16

Thanks for the info. It turned out to be the alternator after all which I had replaced this morning. Seems like everything is fine now.

**Bert** · 03-11-2010, 17:32

Glad to hear it's fixed. Thanks for the update.