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Old 12-31-2015, 02:27 PM
Kurtis1988 Kurtis1988 is offline
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Default Charging system issue

Hi Guys. I am having a charging system issue. I will list what I have done and checked so far, but as of right now I am completely stumped. I will list a brief history of my problem as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Last year I had my battery light come on when I was on my way home from moose hunting. Tapped the alternator with hammer and made it home. Replaced the alternator with an old one from my Mazda B4000 and problem solved.

Truck was working fine up until now. Parked it overnight and went to go somewhere and the truck started up no problem but the battery light was back on. So here I go:

1.Checked fuses
2.checked battery terminals/connections
3. checked belt and alternator connections
4. tested voltage at battery and alternator
5.Battery not running 12.5. After running starts draining - no charge
6. when I test the alternator I get the same voltage as the battery which slowly dwindles as my accessories drain the batt. Tested the big red wire, and the 3 wire connector. All have less than 12v after I started the truck.
7. brought it to garage, tested with a new battery off the shelf, no go
8. replaced alternator, no go
9. they ordered me a second alternator just to make sure, no go (OEM alternator from Napa)
10. tested continuity from the middle wire of the alternator harness to where it plugs into the alternator Good to go.
11. tested continuity from red wire to positive battery cable where it connects to the battery. good.
12. tested continuity in all fuses with a meter (vs pull and check)
13. Checked a few grounds that I had access to and cleaned them up etc.

So I still have my charging issue. I read about fusible links but have no idea where to look for them. Also, if a fusible link was burned why am I still receiving a voltage reading from the alternator 3 wire harness? Again, the readings I am getting match what is left in my battery after I start the truck.

I am stumped. Hopefully this is enough information to get started!

Any help would be very much appreciated!!!

Kurt
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Old 01-02-2016, 01:57 PM
Kurtis1988 Kurtis1988 is offline
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Default Re: Charging system issue

Hi again,

So I ran all the tests from troubleshootmyvehicle.com how to test alternator. Thank you nopwcb for that link.

Unfortunately it did not work. According to the tests, the alternator is bad, but again I have replaced it twice.

There is a 3rd wire I think is the stator wire.(in the middle of the 3 wire plug) It plugs back into the alternator with a single pin clip. I checked it for continuity and it is good.

could my issue be due to a bad connection between the harness and the alternator?

other than the harness causing the problem, is there anything else that could be the culprit?

Thanks.
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Old 01-03-2016, 02:33 PM
Kurtis1988 Kurtis1988 is offline
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Default Re: Charging system issue

Update:

I tested the harness plug with a test light and there is no light. I stripped a little bit of wire behind the plug and get no light. Both are reading voltage on the meter though.

does anyone know where these wires run to so I can test somewhere else in the circuit? maybe I can isolate which wire is bad. I followed the wire from the alternator back as far as I could but it plugs into a covered run of wires that goes all over the place.
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Old 01-05-2016, 12:59 PM
Kurtis1988 Kurtis1988 is offline
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Default Re: Charging system issue

Problem fixed. It was a corroded wire, not a fusible link or plug problem.

It was a big red wire beside the battery, covered in that wire housing. Was getting voltage through it, but not enough to get the alternator to kick on. repaired and it fired right up.
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Old 05-11-2017, 12:51 PM
fendernut1975 fendernut1975 is offline
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Default Re: Charging system issue

I'm having the same issue on my 03 ranger. No charge from alternator to the battery. I notice some corrosion where the red wire goes into the starter. I'm about to replace that asap. Do you know what guage wire you used? Did you replace the entire wire? Thanks
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