today i was driving the car started to idle high and the battery light came on..now i have a battery light until 3200RPM....what is going on?

 

belt loose or altenator going bad

 

To see if its the alternator is dying, take the pos. bat cable off while the car is running, if the car dies its the alt. If it keeps running you know its good. Then if the alts good check the batt. cause thats prolly the issue.

Blaze

 

Check the alt. belt to make sure it's ok.Start the car and disconnect the battery cable(you will have to reset the radio and such after),if the car stays running the alt. is good for now.How old is the battery?As for the high idle that is most likely no
t related-a differant problem.
guess I'm late on this one-what Blaze said,lol

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vtec_TrackMan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">belt loose or altenator going bad </TD></TR></TABLE>

theres no sense in "checking", theres an issue with the alternator, plain and simple. "charge warning light" (its NOT called the 'battery light', it has NOTHING to do with the battery) means bad alternator. ppl should call it the "alternator light" instead....

 

yep alternator
had the exact same issue,
past 3200 and it would usually turn off, come on every now and again
itll become very annoying

get the alternator reconditioned

 

forgot to mention that the car dies when i unhook the battery

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by daidilus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">forgot to mention that the car dies when i unhook the battery</TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Blaze45 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">To see if its the alternator is dying, take the pos. bat cable off while the car is running, if the car dies its the alt. If it keeps running you know its good. Then if the alts good check the batt. cause thats prolly the issue.

Blaze</TD></TR></TABLE>

answered.

tyson-the battery light will come on for crappy batteries to. i had a battery that would pass test when cold but the second it was more than 70 degrees outside it wouldn't charge. it tripped the dummy light. no alternator problems...just a crappy walmart battery.

 

alternator...

 

Thats pretty stupid

DO NOT do what is mentioned above. Here are the instructions to test it.

Alternator
TESTING
General Information
There are many possible ways in which the charging system can malfunction. Often the source of a problem is difficult to diagnose, requiring special equipment and a good deal of experience. This is usually not the case, however, where the charging system fails completely and causes the dash board warning light to come on or the battery to discharge. To troubleshoot a complete system failure, only two pieces of equipment are needed: a test light, to determine that current is reaching a certain point and a current indicator (ammeter), to determine the direction of the current flow and its measurement in amps. This test works under three assumptions:

The battery is known to be good and fully charged.
The alternator belt is in good condition and adjusted to the proper tension.
All connections in the system are clean and tight.
NOTE: In order for the current indicator to give a valid reading, the vehicle must be equipped with battery cables which are of the same gauge size and quality as original equipment battery cables.

Before commencing with the following tests, turn off all electrical components on the vehicle. Make sure the doors of the vehicle are closed. If the vehicle is equipped with a clock, disconnect the clock by removing the lead wire from the rear of the clock.

Battery No-Load Test
Ensure that the ignition switch is turned OFF.
Connect a tachometer to the engine by following the manufacturer's instructions.
Using a Digital Volt Ohmmeter (DVOM) measure the voltage across the positive (+) and negative (-) battery terminals. Note the voltage reading for future reference.
Ensure that all electrical components on the vehicle are turned off. Be sure the doors of the vehicle are closed. If the vehicle is equipped with a clock, disconnect the clock by removing the lead wire from the rear of the clock.

Start the engine and have an assistant run it at 1500 rpm.
Read the voltage across the battery terminals again. The voltage should now be between 14.1–14.7 volts.
If the voltage increase is less than 2.5 volts over the base voltage measured in Step 3, perform the Battery Load test.
If there was no voltage increase, or the voltage increase was greater than 2.5 volts, perform the Alternator Load and No-Load tests.
Battery Load Test
With the engine running, turn the air conditioner ON (if equipped) or the blower motor on high speed and the headlights on high beam.
Have your assistant increase the engine speed to approximately 2000 rpm.
Read the voltage across the battery terminals again.
If the voltage increase is 0.5 volts over the base voltage measured in Battery No-Load test Step 3, the charging system is working properly. If your problem continues, there may be a problem with the battery.
If the voltage does not increase as indicated, perform the Alternator Load and No-Load tests.
Alternator Load Test
WARNING
Do NOT use a normal Digital Volt Ohmmeter (DVOM) for this test; your DVOM will be destroyed by the large amounts of amperage from the car's battery. Use a tester designed for charging system analysis, such as the Rotunda Alternator, Regulator, Battery and Starter Motor Tester 010–00725 (ARBST) or equivalent.

Switch the tester to the ammeter setting.
Attach the positive (+) and negative (-) leads of the tester to the battery terminals.
Connect the current probe to the B+ terminal on the alternator.
Start the engine and have an assistant run the engine at 2000 rpm. Adjust the tester load bank to determine the output of the alternator. Alternator output should be within ten percent of the alternator's output rating; if so, continue with the Alternator No-Load test. If the output is not within ten percent of the alternator's output rating, there is a problem in the charging system. Have the system further tested by a Ford qualified automotive technician.
Alternator No-Load Test
Using the same tester as in the Alternator Load Test, switch the tester to the voltmeter function.
Connect the voltmeter positive (+) lead to the alternator B+ terminal and the negative (-) lead to a good engine ground.
Turn all of the electrical accessories off and shut the doors.
While an assistant operates the engine at 2000 rpm, check the alternator output voltage. The voltage should be between 13.0–15.0 volts. If the alternator does not produce voltage within this range there is a problem in the charging system. Have the system further tested by a Ford qualified automotive technician.

 

it is not pretty stupid if you are catuious. if you wanna weld you can remove the cable and ground it to something but i do believe none of us are that stupid...but then again 04 members exist.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kylefakesi-r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it is not pretty stupid if you are catuious. if you wanna weld you can remove the cable and ground it to something but i do believe none of us are that stupid...but then again 04 members exist.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Please tell me how you can be cautious when removing a battery from a car when its running ? You can't, removing the battery while the car is running can cause a huge voltage spike and fry something like the ecu. That's why its stupid.

 

don't remove the whole battery...jsut the positive cable to test.

 

well i already know it is the alternator...i have killed my battery and put another one in...i am getting another alternator tomorrow

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kylefakesi-r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">don't remove the whole battery...jsut the positive cable to test.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Its the same exact thing, don't do neither.

 

had the same problem the other day. first off, the battery light would flicker at any random time. then it would come on past 3K rpm and go out when i rev higher. then i fixed the white wire connecting to the alternator because it was almost broken off. a few days later my car dies, doesnt start, and wont jump-start. so i get a new battery, drive to the shop and get the alternator replaced. during that time the car was revving a little higher on its own...
the point is...DONT IGNORE THE LIGHT...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90blackcrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Its the same exact thing, don't do neither.</TD></TR></TABLE>

funny, i do recall going to work every day as a dealer tech and doing that as a quick test. as long as you do it safely you are ok. if you ground the cable you are fucked but i hope that everyone who is willing to take off a battery cable is aware of what can happen.

 

LOL i already knew what it was...i just wanted to see how much arguement and crap would come from such a simple topic.....BTW....my buddy came down from the shop on Christmas Day and delivered an alternator from a DA teg...installed = working fine!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kylefakesi-r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
funny, i do recall going to work every day as a dealer tech and doing that as a quick test. as long as you do it safely you are ok. if you ground the cable you are fucked but i hope that everyone who is willing to take off a battery cable is aware of what can happen.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like you worked at a shitty dealer ship. And what are you talking about your fucked if you ground the negative cable ? The ground cable is already grounded and nothing will happen if it touches the frame or any part of the car.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by daidilus &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">LOL i already knew what it was...i just wanted to see how much arguement and crap would come from such a simple topic.....BTW....my buddy came down from the shop on Christmas Day and delivered an alternator from a DA teg...installed = working fine!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like you better of bought that friend a nice Christmas gift, and btw I'm not trying to argue but I don't like when there is miss information in a post where people are gonna search and find this and take of there battery when the car is running.

 

ok. growing up we removed the positive cable ALL the time to check. i didnt know it could fry a bunch of ****...i always had a feeling but my parents had always done it that way.

thanks 90blackcrx

 

no...if you touch the positive cable to the chassis while the vehicle is running...aka grounding the cable.

and technicians have shortcuts...you have to make money by being quick when you get paid flat rate. we don't just get to say how much money we want...we get paid on book time whether it takes more or less. shortcuts help and if you aren't a complete ******* moron you don't get hurt taking them.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kylefakesi-r &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no...if you touch the positive cable to the chassis while the vehicle is running...aka grounding the cable.

and technicians have shortcuts...you have to make money by being quick when you get paid flat rate. we don't just get to say how much money we want...we get paid on book time whether it takes more or less. shortcuts help and if you aren't a complete ******* moron you don't get hurt taking them.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Short cuts help but when you do something to someone vehicles that can screw it up more its not worth it. But that's why a lot of people don't take there car places anymore because people like you like to take shortcuts. I will not do anything to a customers car that I wouldn't do to my own vehicle.

 

When threads go bad....