Yeah, in the bad way i guess... i've been beating the hell out of myself trying to figure out why my poor mav won't charge it's battery. I've replaced the alternator and voltage regulator, gone through the fuses and still no luck! I know it's not a drain when the car is off, not pulling current, but when you have the lights on with low battery and theyre dim, she doesn't brighten up when you rev her a bit, and eventualyl sputters out and won't start. battery on teh charger deader than a doornail and i'm back at it, trying to figure out what the hell is going on! Voltage regulator isn't hot, alternator is installed correctly cleaned the caps and all... still no dice! Someone have an idea? I have to be missing something. It's a motocraft 61 amp alt. with a lifetime warranty from yeah i'll say it... autozone and New voltage regulator from napa, previously i had to install a new starter solenoid (little black cylander that sits on teh inner fender well on the passenger side) Could there be something hooked up wrong? (side note out of curiosity, what are the two small wires coming off of it going to? one is marked I and the other S i believe, I i'm guessing is ignition? Tempted to just go get a while damned harness and replace it all if it's wiring.
Load test? Not exactly, But situationally it's a non-charging issue because i can leave it for a couple weeks with a live battery come back and it's still right where i left it, but as i run the car it drains until the starter won't even kick over. Take it in the house, charge it up and runs fine for about 2 hours or so engine run time at idle. Only had it on the road once so far, don't want to get stranded in it yet but on a full charge, it only took about 2 miles (headlights on at night) to drain it. I have a voltmeter, but don't know what to test against where adn don't want to harm the voltage regulator or my meter... (it's a fluke kindof expensive)
batts. do some strange things...i would suggest load testing the batt. then go from there. what you are describing doesn't sound like a batt. ...but... ...Frank...
it sounds like you have wires mixed up from the Alt. I did that. Somewhere on the board there is a link to wireing harneses for our cars. Just check the colors from the alt. Also check the Ground wire going in to the V. reg. Mine was broken off and just pushed back into the hole by the FO. The good thing about your problem, there are only4 or 5 wires to deal with and they are all right in front of you. Good luck
I've got this same thing going on. I finally figured it out... AFTER I replaced the alternator, the voltage regulator, and rewired practically everything under the hood. (Check your wiring on the regulator and alternator. Mine needed replacing and these diagrams made it easy.) If all that's fine, and you've tested your battery, (seriously, drop the battery off at Auto Zone and ask them to load test it. It's free and easy) then maybe look at your pulleys? MY problem turned out to be a horribly undersized crank pulley. It was ok until I added more electrical demand to the system and the alternator just couldn't keep up with it spinning at such a low speed. If your pulleys are normal, how are your belts? That can make a difference. I bet it's your wiring though. And don't worry about getting a new harness. You can make a better one. I did and I'm no electrician. Just look at those diagrams.
Load tested the battery today came back a-ok napa threw it on the machine for me, i figured it'd be fine only being a couple months old. Bought it for my daily driver due to stereo, and decided i liked having my 1000 cold cranking amp batt in the mav. Now to sort out the wiring hell, that's the onyl thing i can think of buddy measured pulleys, they are to manufacturer's spec and i don't have anything excess of stock installed on the car at teh moment. So i'm going to have to go with wiring. The alternator wires are on identical to the old one that came off, took pics to verify as i put it back together, god knows after dealing with vaccuum lines on a honda that ziplock bags, a sharpie and a camera will save you WORLDS of trouble. Thanks for the diagrams guys, gonna start picking her apart this weekend!
Check to see that the battery cables have clamps that are bright and shiny and th posts are too. That hard black sulfide won't let your battery charge. Make sure the alternator is grounded. If it is grounded to the engine then make sure the engine is grounded to the frame. Don't trust the brackets to make a good ground with a high output alternator. Make sure that the alternator is getting it's required excitation current - if it isn't turning on it will not charge. Make sure your wire from the alternator to the Battery (or solenoid) is large enough to carry the current. If you put a high output battery on and used the old wiring the fusible link is history. Use a #4 gauge wire and a 100 to 175 amp fuse depending on the alternator output. If none of that works and all the components are testing good then you need some help testing the components. (always use a voltmeter to test your wires and devices)
Paul, i ahve a fluke brand multimeter, has voltage functions as well as ohms etc, that takes place of your voltmeter just fine doesn't it? Going to check that fuseable link, never ahd any other batt than my high output one in the car, might have toasted it! Just rather frustrated going to go through the wiring diagrams and check wiring thisafternoon hope i find the cause, if not, allready got plans to just re-wire under the hood, need to get it cleaned up for show season, still in a rush to get a warm couple of days to sand and primer the baby so she can go off for paint!! I appreciate your suggestions, didn't even think about the fuseable link ./sigh i've been eyeballing one of those entire car painless wiring harnesses, as i plan to re-wire the interior to move things to more accessable areas. (IE the horrific fuse box location that requires gymnastics) ANyone re-wired with a Painless Kit before? What do i need to expect?
Hey, I had the exact same problem with my 74 mav. I put a 1000 CCA battery in there and went to work....well half way. Fusable link cooked! Cut one out of another mav a put it in. In Canada we use enough salt on the roads and with 30 or so years of life, corrosion is our worst enemy. Even sealed in rubber found two fusable links but corrosion got the best of the wiring. My bet is thats were your problem is.
OK, going to check the link now, in replacement, i'm usign a stock 61 amp alternator motocraft replacement part, not running anything special except the 1kCCA batt so if i turn around and drop a 4 guage link and fuse it at 140 amps, it should in THEORY charge provided that was teh problem right? or am i going to toast another link?
No, if you burn that one then you've got it grounded somewhere it shoudn't be. If that was the problem, your replacement should fix it.
As long as your alternator can only put out the 65 amps that the fusible link is deesigned to handle it will work fine. If you install a 90 or 130 amp alternator then you need a large fuse to handle that added amps. A high output alternator will cook a fusible link.
burdot63 I am trying to wire a voltmeter on my 1966 comet, and dont know where to start, I was told you could wire it to any hot wire when the ignition was on and ground it anywhere but not sure if this is true... COULD ANYONE HELP WITH THIS.. THANKS BURLIN
if you have a stereo that turns on with the key then the power wire for the stereo is a great source for the voltmeter power source. other wise you need to use a voltmeter or test light and find a power source that is switched.
