Battery light on dashboard.

[Oregoonian]

Vehicle: 03' Ford Focus / 2.3L

Battery lite on dash went on recently and vehicle tested by AAA and they stated that it needed an alternator. Decided to put in a fresh Battery (because of age) and, of course the alternator by my mechanic.

Problem: Vehicle starts and run OK after re=setting the computers in vehicle, but the battery light is on again. It ran yesterday w the dash light off, but as I took the car out today, the light was on again during the whole 12 mile run.

Do any of you mechanical types have any ideas as to what could be the issue? Went back to mechanic yesterday, and he checked out the battery and alternator, and it checked out OK>

But today the light came on again.

 

[MrQuackers]

Belt/tensioner?

 

[NHGUY]

Corroded connection?

 

[901Memphis]

Bad connection somewhere in the system.

 

[Skid]

Get another alternator. Lots of these cheapo rebuilds just change the brushes, and there's often something marginal with the diodes or the regulators.

 

[yvon_la]

Check for a fuse ,verify where wire cover end ,(shaffing)hopefully your mechanic disconnected before changing part..otherwise might need to go to ford to erase fault

 

[OVERKILL]

If it is a Ford 3G-style alternator, there's one plug with a small single wire all by itself. This is the voltage monitoring wire and also, if not making a proper connection, will trigger the battery light.

 

[gathermewool]

What's was the old and is the new alternator putting out, voltage-wise?

 

[artificialist]

Most rebuilt alternators suck, unless they are rebuilt by the OEM. What kind of alternator did you end up with?

 

[MRT]

Here's a quick first check for any car: Take a voltmeter reading at the battery terminals with the engine running, it should read between about 14.1 and 14.7 volts -- If yes the alternator/regulator are OK.

If you don't have a meter, try a neighbor or relative, it's a pretty common tool.

 

[Nick1994]

My mom had an 03' Focus with the 2.0, battery light came on and she ignored it for a couple days cause it kept starting. Then the car died while driving. Needed a new alternator at 35,000 miles.

Yours may be bad out of the box.

 

[zzyzzx]

I also suspect you got a [censored] rebuild. Keep the mechanics phone number handy so that they can tow your car back to the shop when it dies.

Get one of these and use it (available at some WalMarts)
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INNOVA 3721 Battery and Charging System Monitor

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[Oregoonian]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Most rebuilt alternators suck, unless they are rebuilt by the OEM. What kind of alternator did you end up with?
WE found that out as both re-built alternators were bad. Talking to an electrical mechanic who specialty is Fords, she agreed that many re-built parts are junk, and recommended that we install the 'Factory Re-manufactured' alternator from Ford costing about 150% more than the re-built.

Takes a day to get from Ford. Hopefully that will do the trick.

 

[Oregoonian]

Installed the 'factory re-manufactured' alternator ordered from Ford, and that did the trick. No more battery light on dashboard.

The previous two re-built alternators that didn't work, might have been because they were for the 2.0 Duratec engine instead of my 2.3, even though they had my VIN number. This is a theory only....or they both might have been flawed.....but its hard to believe that both were bad.

I've learned my lesson that in the future not to purchase re-build parts.

Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions. Its much appreciated.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
The previous two re-built alternators that didn't work, might have been because they were for the 2.0 Duratec engine instead of my 2.3, even though they had my VIN number. This is a theory only....or they both might have been flawed.....but its hard to believe that both were bad.

I had a similar problem happen to me. I had to replace a starter on a Chrysler Sebring. The first one failed after 1 month, so a warranty replacement was ordered. I went through 3 of them and the starter gear would never engage the flywheel. A friend showed me that in the parts delivery chain, someone confused the 2.4L I4 with the 2.5L V6.

 

[Oregoonian]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
The previous two re-built alternators that didn't work, might have been because they were for the 2.0 Duratec engine instead of my 2.3, even though they had my VIN number. This is a theory only....or they both might have been flawed.....but its hard to believe that both were bad.

I had a similar problem happen to me. I had to replace a starter on a Chrysler Sebring. The first one failed after 1 month, so a warranty replacement was ordered. I went through 3 of them and the starter gear would never engage the flywheel. A friend showed me that in the parts delivery chain, someone confused the 2.4L I4 with the 2.5L V6.

Exactly.....thanks for sharing that. It gets me to believe thats exactly what happened to me and the alternators.

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
but its hard to believe that both were bad

No it's not. There really isn't any such thing as a non-defective mass-produced aftermarket remanned alternator or starter.

If you get one that lasts more than a year, you should have bought a lottery ticket at the same time.