1997 - 2003 F-150

startting issues

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Old Oct 27, 2013 | 07:21 PM
  #1  
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startting issues

i was driving a few weeks ago and started losing power.i finally tracked it down to thew alternator.charged the battery and went to start it with the remote and it started.so i thought it was fine.leave for work later and it wouldnt start,there was power to everything but nothing when i turn the key.replaced the alternator fuse and eveything was fine,had no problems for a week.i went to start it with the remote tonight and it just cut out in the middle of trying to start.got power to everything but get nothing when i turn it over.

is it something to do with my remote starter or whats going on here.
 
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Old Oct 27, 2013 | 09:36 PM
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It's pretty obvious the battery is in a discharged condition from some fault in the charging system.
First bet is a shorted rectifier stack in the alternator.
Second suspect is a bad cell in the battery.
You need to sort this out.
Good luck.
 
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Old Oct 28, 2013 | 12:47 AM
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alternators new and the battery is good.drove fine all week til today.not sure where to go next.
 

Last edited by fifed; Oct 28, 2013 at 12:50 AM.
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Old Oct 28, 2013 | 02:24 AM
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Just because the alternator is new doesn't mean it's good. You may think the battery is good, but have you had it load tested?
 
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Old Oct 28, 2013 | 10:30 AM
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This is a point to be put across; the cause needs to be found rather than just depend on parts changes in a hope.
You still have the cause to find.
A. Is the system even charging or charging at a high enough rate?
.
B. Is there another reason for the discharge?
At least put a tester on and look at the conditions that prevail.
.
Go to the store and get an LED tester.
On it are a series of LED lights that respond to voltage levels and labeled with what they mean.
What you can tell using it:
1. Static battery level as either near discharged or at normal level.
2. What the level is under cranking as a good level or poor showing either a poor battery charge state, bad cables, connections or a combination of these.
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3. The ability of the alternator to charge the battery after cranking or in a low condition by the highest LED voltage level above 14 volts.
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4. If the highest voltage level never goes out indicating the regulator is faulty .....or..... the battery cannot be charged due to an internal fault that keeps the alternator charging full time.
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A note: An alternator can charge ok..but..still discharge the battery after shutdown if it's rectifier stack has a shorted diode.
There are ways to determine this. 1. A voltmeter on it's AC scale to measure the ripple value present when running with such a condition. 2. The alternator case is still warm after the motor has fully cooled indicating the battery is being discharged into the alternator. 3. Significant current is flowing from the battery to the alternator though it's connecting cable.
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To review; the battery voltage must not fall below 11 at cranking. The voltage must go to 15+ volts after starting and it must drop back to about 14 after a few minutes of running indicating the battery has/is recovering it's charge and the alternator system is working correctly.
Very simple to use if a little common sense is used.
Good luck.
 

Last edited by Bluegrass; Oct 28, 2013 at 10:35 AM.
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Old Oct 28, 2013 | 11:29 AM
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Parts stores can load test the alternator and battery in the parking lot.
 
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