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Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem.


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anthonyb5615
Novice

Nov 11, 2015, 4:10 PM

Post #1 of 11 (2095 views)
Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

1997 Ford Ranger 2.3 4cly 260000

I have a battery light on dash that does not go off.
I changed Battery, Alternator and terminals and Battery is not charging. I also changed harness connector wire. But this is how I changed the connector. I bought this set up on ebay: "Ford 3G Alternator Conversion Harness Connector 1 wire " I cut off harness wire and replaced it. I used a wire connector and wrapped it with electrical tape. Should I have installed the complete setup and could this be why it did not work. Or does anyone think I have another problem?? Or was the part not compatible to my truck.
link to ebay item: link deleted
Should I re connect the wire back to the setup and install complete setup, or is this setup not compatible with my truck. Maybe I should just try and buy actual manufactured part for my truck, link to actual part from rock auto:

Links deleted ................ not allowed


(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Nov 11, 2015, 5:00 PM)


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Nov 11, 2015, 5:35 PM

Post #2 of 11 (2081 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

That battery light circuit is turned on when the regulator inside the alternator grounds it.

All you had to do was unplug the alternator electrical connector with the engine running. If the light went out, the regulator is grounding the lamp circuit either because the alternator isn't charging or there is a fault with the regulator.

If the light stayed lit, it would either be a lamp circuit wire is grounded somewhere between the alternator connector and the back of the cluster or there is a problem inside the cluster itself.

Finding out if the wire is grounded to something is easy. Just unplug the instrument cluster connector and alternator connector. Then take a 12 volt test lamp and connect its clamp to the battery positive and touch the light green red terminal in the alternator connector. If the test light lit up, you have a short and you'd have to track it down. If it didn't light, the cluster has an issue.

Now it is a cobbled up mess. Suggest you put it back to the way it was.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Nov 11, 2015, 5:47 PM)


anthonyb5615
Novice

Nov 12, 2015, 10:30 AM

Post #3 of 11 (2055 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

I forgot to mention I had the problem before I changed the alternator. With the new alternator on, the battery light did not go off. Battery is not charging and car stalls after battery is drained. I have had to recharge battery to use vehicle. I changed the harness connector afterwards because it was connected loosely. The new one is connected firmly. Did u mean to use a 12 v Circuit Tester? What is the instrument cluster and what do u mean by "touch the light green red terminal in the alternator connector" Be more specific, thank you..


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Nov 12, 2015, 11:12 AM

Post #4 of 11 (2051 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

Lets start at the beginning and go one step at a time.

With the engine running. If you unplug the alternator electrical connector, does the battery light go out?





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.

(This post was edited by Discretesignals on Nov 12, 2015, 11:12 AM)


anthonyb5615
Novice

Nov 16, 2015, 9:07 PM

Post #5 of 11 (2018 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

Ok with engine running, I removed voltage regulator connector and battery light went off, truck did not stall. I was not able to remove harness connector because its difficult to take out. I charged battery up and did short test on "negative" terminal and "negative" connector with a multi reader. The results were -11.98 volts. I also brought original alternator to auto zone to test and they said it was ok. Also my neighbor had an idea to remove negative battery terminal while truck was running and truck stalled. Sorry for late reply, busy weekend!!


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Nov 17, 2015, 3:11 AM

Post #6 of 11 (2012 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In


Quote
I charged battery up and did short test on "negative" terminal and "negative" connector with a multi reader. The results were -11.98 volts


Where to you get this stuff? You didn't test anything there.


Quote
Also my neighbor had an idea to remove negative battery terminal while truck was running and truck stalled. Sorry for late reply, busy weekend!!


Don't ever take diagnostic advice from that person again. That's the best way to fry all the electronics in your truck.


Your charging system is not working.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Nov 17, 2015, 3:12 AM)


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
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Nov 17, 2015, 5:09 AM

Post #7 of 11 (2003 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

In the fuse panel under the hood check the 15 A generator fuse (#6) to see if it is blown.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.


anthonyb5615
Novice

Nov 18, 2015, 8:20 PM

Post #8 of 11 (1985 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

Yes I know they are idiots.

In Reply To

Quote



Quote
Also my neighbor had an idea to remove negative battery terminal while truck was running and truck stalled. Sorry for late reply, busy weekend!!


Don't ever take diagnostic advice from that person again. That's the best way to fry all the electronics in your truck.


Your charging system is not working.



anthonyb5615
Novice

Nov 18, 2015, 8:21 PM

Post #9 of 11 (1984 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In


In Reply To
In the fuse panel under the hood check the 15 A generator fuse (#6) to see if it is blown.


I'm pretty sure I check all fuses but I will check again.


anthonyb5615
Novice

Nov 20, 2015, 8:02 PM

Post #10 of 11 (1956 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

Fuse is fine, I took truck to a mechanic who has years of experience and could not figure it out. Off to another mechanic. I guess this forum did not help my problem. I will post solution if other mechanic figures out problem.


Discretesignals
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Discretesignals profile image

Nov 20, 2015, 9:32 PM

Post #11 of 11 (1950 views)
Re: Battery light on 97 ford ranger, changed harness wire and still have problem. Sign In

We have more advice.

Your going to have to make some checks with your volt meter at the alternator connector while the engine is running. You want to back probe the wires on the connector when you make your check because you want to see what the voltages are with everything plugged in. Your meter's black lead should be connected to battery negative at all times.

(1) First measure the battery cable connection (black/orange wire) at the alternator with the engine running. Should be charging system voltage ~14 volts.

(2) If not, touch your red lead to the alternator housing. It should be less than 0.5 volts.

(3) If that is good, back probe the yellow/white wire. It should be between 12 and 14 volts.

(4) If that is good, check the white/black wire at the big plug and the small one. They both should be 12 volts.

(5) Inspect the inside of the connector on the alternator. Make sure the terminals are not damaged or spread open causing a poor connection.

Write down your results and post them in here, so we can try to figure out what is missing the alternator needs.





Since we volunteer our time and knowledge, we ask for you to please follow up when a problem is resolved.






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