after finishing the bypass pulley. It started fine, then I took it for a road test, at night and the voltmeter slowly dropped and the battery light was on. Today I put in new battery, and still just clicks the solenoid. I have the new battery on charge now.
Would my next step be the starter connection? Is there something here I am missing. I check to see if any wires were moved or shorted out, But I have not put a meter to the positive to see if there is any major leakage. thanks for any help on this.

 

bypass pulley? How many volts at the battery? Try shorting the starter relay on the firewall. If it starts the relay is defective. Look for corrosion on the starter wires. Check both the positive and negative wires and at both ends.

JMC

 

thanks I will check those things out, the pulley to replace the a/c.

 

Why did you have to charge the new battery ?

I'm not sure what year or truck/motor you have. If you have messed around with those MEGA 175 amp fuses (if you even have those) at all , I would check them out real good.

There's also an in-line 30 amp fuse in the alternator harness tucked behind the cradle where the big harness plugs are on the firewall.

But yea, make sure you have good connections everywhere.

 

I do have the mega fuses, 175 amp. I did an continuity test on them but I will do a voltage across tomorrow. its a 98,4.6,4x4,sc. I saw a 20 amp fuse in line just next to the 175 amp fuse, it had one fuse and one blank fuse like plastic insert above it. From the 175 amp fuse it runs to a (solenoid ?) ( round with a small wire running into the dash) (its on the far left facing front the same side as the battery.) Is that the sensor for the battery light, or the charging relay?

again thanks for the help.

 

Ok I found the problem with the starting, it was the ring end on the main wire going to the starter, from the battery, put new ring on and cleaned it all up and started right up.
I am still getting the battery light, and not getting charging to the battery. I have checked the belt tightness, the 175 amp fuse to the alternator, the 20 amp fuse to the alternator, the wires on the back of the alt.

sorry if it sounds confusing, while the site was down I got the starter working and when I got back tonight I thought I had already wrote that I fixed it and my mind is on the alternator problem now.
thanks for any help on the new problem.

 

I just had battery light issue with my daughters 98 F150. Eventually the truck quit and I needed another battery just to get it back home.

This is what happened to hers. -


The brushes were locked up in this position in the voltage regulator -


Dirt is my guess or heat/dirt combined - there wasn't much evidence . They were a PITA to get working again. They were definitely seized!


A shot of B12 along with a little persuasion, they were happy again.

 

Test the alternator, should have 13+ volts while charging. Not sure about the amperage... turn on all the accessories while charging (lights, cab fan on high, A/C although I guess you cut it out) and see if its above at least 40-60 amps. Maybe someone else can chime in who's tested these oem alternators before and knows what they usually put out. A bad diode in the alternator will drain the battery while the vehicle is turned off, and a bad regulator will not provide sufficient charging or charge too much. Either way, battery gets screwed.

If you aren't experienced in alternator testing, take the vehicle to a shop and get them to test it. It only takes 5min to do.

Since you had a poor connection from the battery to the starter, there's a chance it may have toasted your alternator from overcharging because it couldn't properly read the battery voltage.

 

thanks for those inputs. They both make sense, I will check them out this morning.

 

Sometimes when those 175's go , it's hard to tell unless you move/flex them a little while testing. Don't bend them - they will break inside very easy.

 

thanks for the tips. I took the alt. in and it was only reading 7 volts. replaced with new and everything ok. thanks for all the help.

 

That's cool .

 

if the battery light flashes then you need an alternator, if not then check all fuses and the battery. and don't use a neverstart battery from wal-mart. just thought i'd let you know they are junk.

 

on my 98 it just stayed lit, I bought a decent battery. thanks.

 

I'll second THAT!

I'm on my third REPLACEMENT in three years.

Steve