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Old 08-30-2010, 09:54 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Exclamation [SOLVED] Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

EDIT: Issue resolved, see post 25

Hi,

I just joined the forums and would LOVE a little bit of help!

I just bought a 2001 XLT 4x4 Ext Cab 4.0L with 154k miles and 4 days later it died on me, just lost all electrical power as I coasted to the side of the road.
I had taken a load to Goodwill, everything was working fine until I left GW, then the speedometer and odometer stopped working. Tach was working fine, stopped after a couple miles, turned it off, started it back up 20mins later, drove 50' and the Tach then stopped working. Then, ~3miles later I started feeling the truck lose power... but I was on a hwy with no exits until I got home. Well, God must've been off duty that night because I ended up stuck on the worst part of the bridge

I've read through these forums pretty extensively before joining and making this post, reading:
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/elect...cooking-2.html
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/elect...working-2.html
http://www.fordrangerforum.com/elect...t-working.html

Work done:
  • Old battery was dead (and the terminals were corroded as well) after coasting to a stop, charged overnight, cleaned the terminals with sandpaper, voltmeter showed 12.4v engine off and 11.8v running (less if revving)... clearly not getting a charge.
  • Replaced blown fuse #26 - didn't fix the speedometer/odometer/gauge issue.
  • Pulled alternator and the brushes were toast (and the copper spindle they connect to, dunno what that's called, was ground up pretty bad- guy at the counter said he'd never seen one so bad), bought replacement, installed, STILL no charge.
  • Thought maybe the battery had a bad cell, raced to Costco, got there with 6mins to spare and got a replacement. Same as above, engine off, ~12.4v, running ~11.8v.
  • *belt tension is tight, and the belt is in good shape

I know some people have tried replacing the wire between the alt and battery? Is that right? I didn't see anything in the Haynes about that... but I'm totally open for suggestions. Please!

Right before all of this happened, I was trying a dome light swap using a 98ish Explorer dome light. Blew the #26 fuse, but didn't think it would cause the alternator to kick the bucket?
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2001 XLT 4x4 Ext Cab 4.0
Flowmaster Exhaust / K&N
purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4

Last edited by sultore; 09-07-2010 at 05:48 PM. Reason: SOLVED
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  #2  
Old 08-30-2010, 10:14 PM
richarddhoward richarddhoward is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Sounds like your not getting power from your alternator still, check all your wiring coming off of it, you should have a solid 14 to around 15 volts when charging. 14.6 to 14.8 is the norm. You need to clean all the crap off the battery terminals and that. Do you have a stupid big stereo that you jack the sound up on? You may have to repair it, all you need is to get to a parts store, tell em the vehicle you have, and engine, they should be able to get you the cable you need from your alternator, you may have to get it from Ford itself. The wires are simple. Take pics as you go along so that you can put it back the way it was. You have any pics in the engine bay?
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Old 08-30-2010, 10:46 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Thanks for the reply man.

The Guy I bought it from had an amp/sub but I've already pulled those cables. Even if the alternator starts charging the battery, any idea why the speedo/odo stopped working? Also the oil temp gauge and the battery gauge is not working. The gas and other one (I forget which) ARE still working.

Ill check for a replacement cable like you suggested.

Thanks again.
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purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4
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Old 08-31-2010, 06:50 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Someone suggested to me that it might be improper grounding... anyone else have problems or experience with that? The guy suggested running a grounding cable from the engine block to the frame.

Also, since this happened to me on Sunday, my wife's car, an 05 Subaru Outback, had the rear wheel bearing start to grind... so my truck has to wait until I can fix the bearing

Thanks for all the suggestions.
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purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:01 PM
SmokeyMcPot420 SmokeyMcPot420 is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Just a shot in the dark, go in the fuse panel under the hood and check #14 regular fuse. (not the big things)..When my battery stopped charging I bought 2 different alternators thinking it was the problem and it turned out to be that fuse. Not sure if this will fix yours because my speedo and gauges still worked but its worth a try.
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3.0 v6 5 speed 4x4...4x4 don't work lol

What I hope to do- Paint wheels, new head unit, exhaust, fix four wheel drive.
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:10 PM
drppdyllwrngr drppdyllwrngr is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

another thing to look for is the battery light on the cluster. if it doesn't light up (burnt out), the alt wont charge. now, that probably wont fix the rest of the cluster, but could be part of the problem. maybe the cluster is bad?
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:28 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

It almost looks like I don't have a #14 fuse... or am I looking in the wrong spot?


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purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:31 PM
SmokeyMcPot420 SmokeyMcPot420 is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

its gonna be one of the smaller ones. not the big one your pointing at.
__________________
1998 Ford Ranger

147,000 on chassis, 50,000 on engine.
3.0 v6 5 speed 4x4...4x4 don't work lol

What I hope to do- Paint wheels, new head unit, exhaust, fix four wheel drive.
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:33 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Oh ok All of those are fine. Dang. I was hoping maybe that might be the cause...
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Flowmaster Exhaust / K&N
purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4
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Old 08-31-2010, 07:33 PM
SmokeyMcPot420 SmokeyMcPot420 is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

let me know asap i will run out to my truck and look to make sure im talking about the right one
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1998 Ford Ranger

147,000 on chassis, 50,000 on engine.
3.0 v6 5 speed 4x4...4x4 don't work lol

What I hope to do- Paint wheels, new head unit, exhaust, fix four wheel drive.
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  #11  
Old 08-31-2010, 07:33 PM
SmokeyMcPot420 SmokeyMcPot420 is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Quote:
Originally Posted by sultore View Post
Oh ok All of those are fine. Dang. I was hoping maybe that might be the cause...
sorry to get your hopes up man like I said it was a shot in the dark.
__________________
1998 Ford Ranger

147,000 on chassis, 50,000 on engine.
3.0 v6 5 speed 4x4...4x4 don't work lol

What I hope to do- Paint wheels, new head unit, exhaust, fix four wheel drive.
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  #12  
Old 08-31-2010, 07:33 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Troy, I'm not sure the battery light is coming on... I'm really not looking forward to pulling the dash There isn't an easier way, is there?
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2001 XLT 4x4 Ext Cab 4.0
Flowmaster Exhaust / K&N
purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4
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  #13  
Old 08-31-2010, 07:34 PM
sultore sultore is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Shots in the dark are what I need right now... I'm kinda at a loss... everything looks good from a simple perspective and I'm just not quite as skilled in the automotive troubleshooting as I'd like to be.
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Flowmaster Exhaust / K&N
purchased 8/26/2010
days owned before incident: 4
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  #14  
Old 08-31-2010, 07:39 PM
SmokeyMcPot420 SmokeyMcPot420 is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

Man I wish I could help ya out. Try going through every fuse inside and under the hood making sure there all good.
__________________
1998 Ford Ranger

147,000 on chassis, 50,000 on engine.
3.0 v6 5 speed 4x4...4x4 don't work lol

What I hope to do- Paint wheels, new head unit, exhaust, fix four wheel drive.
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  #15  
Old 08-31-2010, 07:43 PM
drppdyllwrngr drppdyllwrngr is offline
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Default Re: Battery not charging, no speedo/odo/right gauges

pulling the cluster out is easy. takes about 10 minutes.
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