More BS Alternator issues I cant figure out

justbob said:
How was the rear ground strap homie? Only ask because my car is super clean and has always been garage kept and it was pretty green last year.


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It looked ok. Its hooked up in the back.

I also made a 6 ga ground wire directly from the battery to the drivers side fender ground location (right next to the vacuum reservoir)
 
For those that don't know, this is my car.

Zack did a fantastic job with how quick and clean the install is. I drove it back with almost no problems.. A couple of decent throttles on the hwy(merging, etc - non WOT) then a massive bogging down(no reaction to gas pedal) to the point I had to stop the car, it drove fine after stopping without even shutting it off. After I let it cool down at a gas station, several codes came up, generator, coils and lean code. By the time I got home the in car volt meter read slightly under 12 whereas it was reading above 12 when leaving Zack's.

The bogging down may or may not be related to the voltage problem so first things first. I will do some digging but will probably end up buying a db electrical new alternator.
 
Hmmmm battery has short internally. my mazda had similar problem it happen to be battery it had short internali i swept battery from mercury and. It works fine 110 dolars l8 and problems are gone sorry for my bead spelling
 
Co1207- Fabc1 said:
Hmmmm battery has short internally. my mazda had similar problem it happen to be battery it had short internali i swept battery from mercury and. It works fine 110 dolars l8 and problems are gone sorry for my bead spelling
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We already covered this question in a prior post
 
Also:
04 Marauders have an alternator fuse, as Curless told me.
The fuse was good.
I removed it and the voltage remained the same.
WTF
 
Time to start voltage drop tests. It is a good way to track down gremlins. Very easy to do and will eliminate things as you go. Did you try any drop tests yet? Things can look like they are fine, but come to find out they are really high resistive connections and causing problems. Don't assume anything is connected good. Do a voltage drop test on the connections to verify.

Wags
 
ChiTownMaraud3r said:
For those that don't know, this is my car.

Zack did a fantastic job with how quick and clean the install is. I drove it back with almost no problems.. A couple of decent throttles on the hwy(merging, etc - non WOT) then a massive bogging down(no reaction to gas pedal) to the point I had to stop the car, it drove fine after stopping without even shutting it off. After I let it cool down at a gas station, several codes came up, generator, coils and lean code. By the time I got home the in car volt meter read slightly under 12 whereas it was reading above 12 when leaving Zack's.

The bogging down may or may not be related to the voltage problem so first things first. I will do some digging but will probably end up buying a db electrical new alternator.
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I am sure that Zack worked hard and did a great job.

These issues are some of the hardest to diagnose and remedy.

Do not drive the car hard until the issue is resolved. Low/no voltahe can cause the car to go lean and then pop.
 
MOTOWN said:
Amazing how everyone is an Expert.......on the Internet!
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I am, your welcome.....:D

While I have never seen this exact issue in any of our panthers, I have had quite a bit of experience with electrical problems in cars that will at times see 100 amp loads at idle, couple that with idling for hours like that and high heat, and you get electrical problems.

I do know that Ford replaced battery harness's in 03/04 CV's due to a similar charging issue. The other thing I would comment on it the apparent use of the gauge in the dash for a measurement, I would recommend no less than a quality dvom, and preferably a calibrated unit at that.

While I don't think it's anything associated with the swap or the work, it is most likely just one of those things that happened at the most Inopportune time. I have seen new and rebuilt parts bad from the box, time after time, so without putting hands on it directly, one can only assume, based on experience or knowledge of the said circuit what the problem is. Fwiw, I have had bad cables, battery and alternator in the same car at the same time, so really, it could be anything.
 
Spectragod said:
I am, your welcome.....:D

While I have never seen this exact issue in any of our panthers, I have had quite a bit of experience with electrical problems in cars that will at times see 100 amp loads at idle, couple that with idling for hours like that and high heat, and you get electrical problems.

I do know that Ford replaced battery harness's in 03/04 CV's due to a similar charging issue. The other thing I would comment on it the apparent use of the gauge in the dash for a measurement, I would recommend no less than a quality dvom, and preferably a calibrated unit at that.

While I don't think it's anything associated with the swap or the work, it is most likely just one of those things that happened at the most Inopportune time. I have seen new and rebuilt parts bad from the box, time after time, so without putting hands on it directly, one can only assume, based on experience or knowledge of the said circuit what the problem is. Fwiw, I have had bad cables, battery and alternator in the same car at the same time, so really, it could be anything.
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Is it possible a bad coil pack can be causing a massive draw? Although if a bad coil, I would think the engine idling would be misfiring, this one sits nice and quiet at idle.

I wired jumper cables from my other car to this one and it does charge the Eaton car up to about 13.3v (at battery posts and positive post of alternator.) When removing the jumper cable, voltage from alt dips back down to about 12.5v immediately.
 
ChiTownMaraud3r said:
Is it possible a bad coil pack can be causing a massive draw? Although if a bad coil, I would think the engine idling would be misfiring, this one sits nice and quiet at idle.

I wired jumper cables from my other car to this one and it does charge the Eaton car up to about 13.3v (at battery posts and positive post of alternator.) When removing the jumper cable, voltage from alt dips back down to about 12.5v immediately.
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I know in the opening post it was suggested that the battery be load tested. Subsequently, I read that the battery was swapped as a test. Maybe, the battery should be LOAD tested. It's usually free and might just be a quick "rule the battery out" test. I, too, have seen some weirdo things happen that are seemingly impossible to diagnose, that turn out to be something simple.
 
He had three cars in his driveway to swap parts from, battery, alternator, wiring, use his good car to test the "bad" cars components... take readings (with a DVOM not just the factory gauge) from his cars and then compare them to the bad car.....tis a mystery....
 
sflrainmaker01 said:
I know in the opening post it was suggested that the battery be load tested. Subsequently, I read that the battery was swapped as a test. Maybe, the battery should be LOAD tested. It's usually free and might just be a quick "rule the battery out" test. I, too, have seen some weirdo things happen that are seemingly impossible to diagnose, that turn out to be something simple.
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The battery can be disconnected from the system, the alternator still runs the car at 12.5v no more.

This is far from simple now unless it turns out to be just the alternator. Which was rebuilt with new voltage regulator, load tested fine and tested fine in his car. I don't feel like throwing $250+ down the drain on an un-returnable alternator if I don't have to.
 
Zack said:
I still feel horrible about this.
I can't think of anything to suggest
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Don't know if you've tried this yet, but with the car running try checking for a voltage difference between alternator ground (engine) and chassis ground. Gnd for the PCM would be a good point to test against. This is best done with some current draw so turn on the headlights too.

I know you're going nuts trying to figure this out, but it is not a good idea to remove the battery from the circuit with the alternator running as the voltage can spike, called an "alternator load dump"

Best of luck, you'll get it eventually.
 
Zack said:
Then I hooked the jumper cables up and was totally confused with the results:
On my cars side it read 13.6
On his cars side it read 12.5

Seriously wtf
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I'm voting for a bad ground from engine to chassis. Or somewhere. But I agree it is easy to play armchair technician on the internet.

Edit: One last measurement to prove there isn't an accessory totally loading down the system. Beg, borrow or steal one of those "amp clamp" meters (only some versions do DC) and put it around the battery cable and alternator cable to get a sanity check of the car's total electrical current consumption. It is an easy test if you can get a hold of the fancy meter :confused:
 
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lifespeed said:
Don't know if you've tried this yet, but with the car running try checking for a voltage difference between alternator ground (engine) and chassis ground. Gnd for the PCM would be a good point to test against. This is best done with some current draw so turn on the headlights too.

I know you're going nuts trying to figure this out, but it is not a good idea to remove the battery from the circuit with the alternator running as the voltage can spike, called an "alternator load dump"

Best of luck, you'll get it eventually.
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Actually this was the first thing I tested. No discrepancy between alternator engine ground and chassis while running.

My ford mechanic buddy was also stumped and when he asked other techs today, they suggested the alternator to be replaced with a clutchless unit as the clutch can be the culprit when spinning in reverse. Hmm...


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