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02-26-2013, 11:17 PM
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low volts/battery light
im just noticing this tonight, battery light came on and the volts gauge is reading in the the green but on the low end. when parked it will be enough to not have the battery light on, when i rev it to 2k the volts go down a bit and battery light comes on. ?
i cleaned my battery terminals, checked fuses, battery is only a year old, truck runs normal. is my alternator taking a dump??
it has the stock battery terminals connectors, im thinking it may be them?? ik some ppl have problems with them but ive kept them clean and theyve worked well always. i might get new ones to put on but im thinking it will be a bitch because theres no slack in the damn cables to put new ones on
any thoughts is appreciated!!
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Last edited by SalRanger2; 02-26-2013 at 11:45 PM.
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02-26-2013, 11:33 PM
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Ford Ranger Driver
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Re: low volts/battery light
It's most likely your alternator. If you have an AutoZone around you take it there and they'll test it for free.
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02-26-2013, 11:36 PM
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3 Time Ranger Owner
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dzrt_ranger
It's most likely your alternator. If you have an AutoZone around you take it there and they'll test it for free.
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X2
I would say alternator. Batteries usually don't act like that when they are dying.
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02-26-2013, 11:45 PM
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Re: low volts/battery light
ok ill stop by a place tomorrow and have it checked, thanks for the quick responses guys!!
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oh also, when i said the stock terminals, i meant terminal connectors, dont know if you knew what i meant lol
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K&N Filter
Air Box Mod
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02-26-2013, 11:55 PM
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Learning to use the forums
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You could test the alternator yourself by putting a volt meter on the alternator's battery line and chassis. I went to AZ a couple weeks ago to have them check mine, and they only put volt meter on the battery, which at idle was showing 14v. They didn't test the alt itself and said it was good. When I put the volt meter on the alt directly, it only read 12v when it should have been 14, indicating it was failing. Replaced my alt and haven't seen the battery light since.
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02-27-2013, 12:26 AM
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Re: low volts/battery light
oh ok i might try that, so mine should read 14v as well? ill have to pick up a meter
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02-27-2013, 06:10 PM
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Re: low volts/battery light
well drove for a few miles in the morning and ended up having my guages go nuts and my truck die lol in traffic. had to push it into a parking lot and got a ride from a random person lol. then got an alternator and threw that on right in the parking lot. $125 later and lost time and were back in business haha
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Air Box Mod
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03-04-2013, 07:21 PM
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Ford Tough
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Re: Re: low volts/battery light
Quote:
Originally Posted by SalRanger2
well drove for a few miles in the morning and ended up having my guages go nuts and my truck die lol in traffic. had to push it into a parking lot and got a ride from a random person lol. then got an alternator and threw that on right in the parking lot. $125 later and lost time and were back in business haha
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For the future always test it when in doubt, immediately. You can get by with a dying battery but not a dying alternator. Use a multimeter to check, and with a helper check idle and under load. Should be around 14.4 volts but anything between 14-15 is fine.
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03-06-2013, 06:21 AM
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99 XLT Off-Road
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I'm having a similar problem, low volts but no battery light till it dies, I'm on my second alternator in a week (first one from az was faulty and under warranty so I upgraded) I also got a new battery from them a few days before the new alt. Could the dying alt have damaged my battery? Or should it be charging now regardless? If this new alt is working how it should that is.
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03-06-2013, 12:58 PM
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Re: low volts/battery light
Quote:
Originally Posted by killj0y
For the future always test it when in doubt, immediately. You can get by with a dying battery but not a dying alternator. Use a multimeter to check, and with a helper check idle and under load. Should be around 14.4 volts but anything between 14-15 is fine.
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thanks for the tip, i will definitely do that next time. i should have noticed it before it got so bad because my lights were always sorta dim and the volt meter read good but not where it shouldve been.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLann
I'm having a similar problem, low volts but no battery light till it dies, I'm on my second alternator in a week (first one from az was faulty and under warranty so I upgraded) I also got a new battery from them a few days before the new alt. Could the dying alt have damaged my battery? Or should it be charging now regardless? If this new alt is working how it should that is.
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id check your terminals and terminal connectors on the battery. clean them up and see if that helps. i have also heard ppl having problems with the stock connectors causing problems. buggman on here sells some nice brass colored ones i think.
maybe check fuses as well, ive left a fuse out one time and it drained it.
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'99 Ranger XLT Reg. Cab Stepside
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2WD
5spd
K&N Filter
Air Box Mod
Explorer OHC
2/3 Drop
Join!! FRF no-lifers Clan
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03-06-2013, 01:10 PM
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99 XLT Off-Road
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Join Date: Aug 2012
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Re: low volts/battery light
id check your terminals and terminal connectors on the battery. clean them up and see if that helps. i have also heard ppl having problems with the stock connectors causing problems. buggman on here sells some nice brass colored ones i think.
maybe check fuses as well, ive left a fuse out one time and it drained it.[/QUOTE]
i have new ends on the stock wires. im going to try to find the rest of the grounds (some guys on TRS let me know there are several points where it grounds to the engine frame and body) and im going to try to clean the corrosion out of the positive wires (corroded under the insulation) and possibly replace the wires themselves. also i broke the tab off of the single wire snap on connection so that may not be holding properly, ill try replacing the broken connector with a different one. but we just got about 8 inches of snow last night (it was 60 degrees F yesterday idk how it goes like that around here) so i may not get to it for a few days... thanks and sorry for the thread jack
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EDIT
also i have the painted ones and i sprayed corrosion blocker on them, maybe the paint is the problem.
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Last edited by BTLann; 03-06-2013 at 01:13 PM.
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03-09-2013, 05:11 PM
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99 XLT Off-Road
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It was a broken ground. A 4 awg from az and shes back on the road. Thanks for the help guys.
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Red 1999 3.0
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