ccbc65
Member
Hello everyone,
I have an 03 XLT 4WD. 298K on it. She's been very reliable and has served me well but is starting to show her age. At 185K, the original alternator went. I never got the Check Charging System warning but I don't remember if the Battery Light came on. I had it rebuilt at a local shop. Worked great for the next 100K+ miles.
About 4 months ago, the Check Charging System warning and the battery light came on intermittently. Every time I checked it, it tested fine. It never stalled or failed to start so I was puzzled... Then the CCS message and Batt light came on more often and sometimes it stopped charging while I was driving. It even died on my a couple times while driving because I was running on the battery only. I'd get it home, charge the battery and everything tested ok.
Still puzzled... This went on for weeks and I couldn't get the problem to persist to identify it. Finally, it started persisting and when I checked, the alternator was not charging the battery. So I replaced it at Advanced Auto. Now everything tested fine with the meter but the CCS message and battery light were still on. I had no idea why. But it was charging so I just drove it. Well a couple days later, it died while driving it again, it had stopped charging and drained the battery. I removed the alternator and had it bench tested and it was perfect. Unhooked the battery and load tested it and it was fine. Clearly the alternator wasn't the problem. Did the test on the PCM and got irregular results but nothing indicating it was bad.
After a lot of reading here, many said the PCM rarely goes bad and it's usually another problem. Then I saw a post about the fusible link getting old and creating an intermittent problem with charging. So with the meter on the battery, I moved around the fusible link and sure enough, I could create the charging the not-charging situation. I replaced that cable and everything measured fine with meter. It has been running for about 2 months now, operating correctly BUT the CCS message and Battery Light are still on! I clear the message but it keeps coming back, sometimes quickly. I have no idea why. Every test the service manuals call for passes.
I did see a post about the wrong sized alternator could cause this because the sense line back to the PCM is giving the wrong voltage to the PCM but I can't find it now. (should have bookmarked it). Has anyone heard of that?
Advanced Auto gave me a 130 Amp alternator that was their brand, not Motorcraft, but I don't know what the original was. Is there a way to clear that in the PCM or should I take the 130A alternator back and have them give me a 110A? Or maybe just get the Ford OEM alternator? Any ideas???
I have an 03 XLT 4WD. 298K on it. She's been very reliable and has served me well but is starting to show her age. At 185K, the original alternator went. I never got the Check Charging System warning but I don't remember if the Battery Light came on. I had it rebuilt at a local shop. Worked great for the next 100K+ miles.
About 4 months ago, the Check Charging System warning and the battery light came on intermittently. Every time I checked it, it tested fine. It never stalled or failed to start so I was puzzled... Then the CCS message and Batt light came on more often and sometimes it stopped charging while I was driving. It even died on my a couple times while driving because I was running on the battery only. I'd get it home, charge the battery and everything tested ok.
Still puzzled... This went on for weeks and I couldn't get the problem to persist to identify it. Finally, it started persisting and when I checked, the alternator was not charging the battery. So I replaced it at Advanced Auto. Now everything tested fine with the meter but the CCS message and battery light were still on. I had no idea why. But it was charging so I just drove it. Well a couple days later, it died while driving it again, it had stopped charging and drained the battery. I removed the alternator and had it bench tested and it was perfect. Unhooked the battery and load tested it and it was fine. Clearly the alternator wasn't the problem. Did the test on the PCM and got irregular results but nothing indicating it was bad.
After a lot of reading here, many said the PCM rarely goes bad and it's usually another problem. Then I saw a post about the fusible link getting old and creating an intermittent problem with charging. So with the meter on the battery, I moved around the fusible link and sure enough, I could create the charging the not-charging situation. I replaced that cable and everything measured fine with meter. It has been running for about 2 months now, operating correctly BUT the CCS message and Battery Light are still on! I clear the message but it keeps coming back, sometimes quickly. I have no idea why. Every test the service manuals call for passes.
I did see a post about the wrong sized alternator could cause this because the sense line back to the PCM is giving the wrong voltage to the PCM but I can't find it now. (should have bookmarked it). Has anyone heard of that?
Advanced Auto gave me a 130 Amp alternator that was their brand, not Motorcraft, but I don't know what the original was. Is there a way to clear that in the PCM or should I take the 130A alternator back and have them give me a 110A? Or maybe just get the Ford OEM alternator? Any ideas???
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