zoeyk9

I have a '96 3ltr pushrod that has got me stumped !
The battery light flickers on and off or sometimes stays on. I have replaced the alternator with a new one, checked all the conections and grounds, checked all the fuses, load tested the battery, put the new alternator on my wife's Taurus where it worked perfectly, tried another battery, but have not found the problem ! When the light is off the digital voltmeter shows it is charging, when the battery light is flickering the volts are going up and down, when the light stays on there is a steady drop in voltage while the engine is running. I only have a Chilton manual and I feel the charging schematic is not showing all the details, maybe the alternator circuit is linked to the ignition switch or something like that.
This car has over 300,000KMs on it but it still looks good, everything else works perfectly and the engine purrs. There are no other driveability problems, just this intermitant charging issue.
Any sugestions as to where I should be checking next would be most
welcome.

Sterling_Six

Hello and good day:

This sounds like a Dead Ground(short) in the system.

When you replaced the Alternator did you make sure the connectors were secured? And did you put the right wire leads on the correct terminals??

Also Check your Master Fuses and Relay's (there is one for the alternator).

Get back to us on this...if no luck some of the other guys can help.

__________________
Good Luck and good repairing Sterling_6
"You know, just like in that Book, When Jesus beats up Moses to get Religion!!"

zoeyk9

I FIXED THE PROBLEM !

I inserted a probe into the orange feild coil wire at the alternator while the battery light was on and got a reading of zero volts. So I seperated this wire at the alternator, cut it and fed it battery voltage through a seperate 30amp fuse. I removed the original fuse from the under hood fuse panel just as a precaution. Now it charges perfectly and I am getting correct voltage readings. I don't know where, how or why the original wire failed but this seems to be a perfect ending to this story.

jwko

Is the wire you are talking about orange/black? Shows there is a 30A fuse in that circuit.

chipset

Glad you got it " fixed ". In this day and age you got to do what you got to do. Money is
tight. But in the real car world you didn't fix anything you just side stepped the problem.
Very similar to sticking a screw driver across the starter solinoid because it won't start
with the key. Why did you lose power on that wire ? What caused it ? Did the fuse blow ? and if it did why ? To blow a 30 amp fuse is a serious power draw. A house hold
dryer pulls less than 30 amps. You might want to find the answers to some of these
questions. You don't have to but i would. Guess i've been in the busness
too long. Just my input and thoughts. Feel free to disregaurd.

zoeyk9

Yes it was the orange and black wire. it is supposed to be hot at all times.
The original 30amp fuse was not blown it had +12 volts both sides, I removed it, made sure it's connection was clean and tight then put it back. Somewhere between it and the alternator there is a break or bad connection, so all I did was cut that circuit close to the alternator and put in my own, complete with a 30amp fuse. I then removed the original fuse to deactivate the orange and black wire that is still in the main wiring harness. I know I have not found the cause of this problem, but I have found the cure.

tbird100636

As long as you have the correct gauge wire as the original, you have the same amperage fuse protecting the circuit, and you have the wire routed so it isn't going to chaffe on anything, I'd say this is a good repair.

__________________
Master ASE Certified L1 Chrysler Technician- still a Ford fan at heart.
1964 Thunderbird Hardtop- Chantily Beige- 390 FE 4V V8-Uncle's Car
1966 Thunderbird Convertible- Red- 390 FE 4V V8- Uncle's other car- waiting for paint and body work!!!
1967 Mustang Convertible- Blue- 289 V8- helping a friend re-assemble this classic