Does anyone know if my voltage regulator is seporate from the alternator?? My truck is not charging.
Also should I pay to have it hooked up to diagnostic or just go ahead and replace. I know it is not charging because I can charge the battery externally and then it will run for a good while as I watch the volt meter slowly head towards 8. Have checked all fuses both under hood and under dash.
My signature is below and I have the heavy duty tow package.

------------------
Black 1997 F-150 Supercab Flairside. 4.6L with Jocobs DIS, K&N Generation II, Cat back Exhaust (my own, nice rumble). 17" Off Road wheel pkg. Lots of body mods. 4 yrs old and still turns heads...

 

Internal Regulator. You can pull the Alt. out and have a parts store test it (remember, no welding with wrenches, disconnect neg. battery cable first!).
Also, there is an in-line minifuse somewhere. It is in the Orange with Light Blue tracer wire that is connected to the 3 wire connector on the Alternator. No clue as to where along the wire the fuse actually is. Its a 20 Amp fuse.

[This message has been edited by Granpa (edited 10-11-2000).]

 

Don't know where the VR is located, but I just had the alternator replaced in my truck. It was dying a slow death. A while back I noticed the blower fan would run slower at idle than at speed. I wondered about it, but didn't ask any questions. Last week the battery indicator light came on while driving to work w/ the lights on. Went off later w/o the lights. Took it to the dealer, and got a new alternator. They said it was bad, and didn't indicate wheter the VR was part of it or not.



------------------
2000 F150 XLT 4X4 Off Road 5.4L Reg. Cab 3.55

Performance Enhancemets:
K&N, WMS Velocity Tube, and Gibson Sweptside...

Audio Enhancements:
All of the above, plus
Sony C7000X HU, Cerwin-Vega SS2502 components(Front), and Blaupunkt PCst573s(Rear)

(For now)

 

Took mine out and had it tested. The vr is part of the alternator and is replaceable if bad but found out the whole thing was bad. Put the new one on today and it is back to it's usual fine self.
Thanks for the help...

------------------
Black 1997 F-150 Supercab Flairside. 4.6L with Jocobs DIS, K&N Generation II, Cat back Exhaust (my own, nice rumble). 17" Off Road wheel pkg. Lots of body mods. 4 yrs old and still turns heads...

 

On the modern Ford alternators, the only thing that usually wears out is the voltage regulator. Occasionally, you might wear out the brushes, but those are the only movig parts and are relatively inexpensive if you can find someplace that sells them. Also, the bearings will sometimes wear out, but if they do, you're better off replacing the whole alternator. The voltage regulatio on many Fords simply screws on to the back or side of the alternator, and can be easily replaced for under $20. I used to replace them for people a lot when I was selling parts at Murray's. If the bearings aren't shot, and it was just not charging, about 3/4 of the time a new regulator would fix it.
-Joe-


------------------
98 Explorer (Lemon Law Case in Progress)
Deposit on '00 F-150, X-cab, 4x4, Lariat, Off-road, Trailer Tow, Sunroof, currently missing the fuel filler door, but they're working on that..

 

for anyone wondering the 20 amp fuse for the alternator that is inline is located directly under the main fusible links for the batter. these are located on the passinger side of the firewall under a cover. teh fuse is under another cover below the fusible links. This info is for a 97 truck.

 

I also am having the same charging problems...with little money to spend on repairs I am wondering if the fusable link or the voltage regulator would be the cause of my battery not receiving a charge...I had the alternator checked and it apparently is ok,,,,and the battery is fine...what could be the problem?...

 

My guess would be the regulator, but make sure all your connection are clean and are making good contact.

 

what about the fusable links?..could that be the root of the problem

 

I would not think so. A fuse blows, it doesn't work at all till the fuse is replaced. You said it was failing, or weaker. That sounds like a regulator problem or an altenator problem itself. If the altenator checked good, then that leaves the regulator.

 

Dumb question for me, I am only on my second cup of coffee.

Did you check the battery junction box fuse # 11 ?

The posts above are talking about an inline on the 1997 MY truck, which is this



Your MY truck is a 2002, and there were quite a few changed from the 97-98 MY range.
This is a 2000 MY EVTM page, but you can see the similar fuse is now in the Battery Junction Box ( aka BJB or engine compartment fuse panel )



The BJB fuse #11 feeds the regulator, and regulator field.
One of the output of the regulator feeds the charge indicator on the instrument cluster, which the other side of that circuit is Central Junction Box ( aka CJB, passenger compartment fuse panel ) 30, 30 A fuse.

Check those 2 fuses if you really are having the same charging problems.

If they are blown, it could have been a one time thing, or it could be a problem with the regulator on the generator.

Without the fuse links, the battery would be isolated, and the truck would not even start.

Also as Bluejay posted, check the connections on both sides of the battery, and the other end of each cable. Check for frayed cable at the ring terminal.

 

My 1997 F150 also had a charging problem. It was only putting out 12.25 volts. After changing the alternator, I still only had 12.25 volts. Went through all connections...all O.K. Went through all the fuses and found #19 (air bag) blown. Replaced it and, low and behold, ...Fixed!! Now charging fine!! Man, who'd thought??!!!

 

I just got threw working on a 1998 Ford F150 with the 4.2 V6 engine and I replaced the alternator with voltage regulator and put a brand new battery on it and the truck was still not charging. I also cbecked evry fuse as well. Well I had the alternator and battery checked and both came up good. Then someone said it could be the ignition switch under the dash so I replaced that also. Still no charge. Well I then started checking the 3 wire harnes on the alternator and only 1of the 3 wires was showing any voltage. SO I FIGURED OUT THAT THE GREEN WIRE WITH THE MAROON TRACER IS COMING FROM THE IGNITION SWITCH, WHEN YOU TURN THE KEY ON IT TELLS THE VOLTAGE REGULATOR TO START CHARGING. THAT WASN'T SENDING THE SIGNAL TO THE VR TO START CHARGING SO THE VR WAS SHOWING AS A BAD VOLTAGE REGULATOR (VR) . SO I RAN A WIRE OFF THE BATTERY STRAIGHT TO THE GREEN WIRE AS A TEMP FIX AND IT FIXED ALL MY CHARGE PROBLEMS.

 

I'm having charging issue with my 2002 f150 5.4l . Changed reg and brushes. Now dash shows charging but batt light is on and not charging battery. Any ideas?? All fuses appear good in bjb and cjb

 

Thank you for posting this. I've been struggling with an alternator problem for a couple weeks. Changed the alternator twice, new battery, etc... I checked all the wiring except for that light green wire going to the alternator. I didn't know how to check it, and I found this thread while searching for ideas. After seeing your comment about the airbag fuse, #19, I checked, and, in your words, low and behold, that was the problem. Thanks!