luthercash

Hi everyone. Still spending money trying to get my 2004 super crew Lariet fixed. My wife drives it and she always heard this kinda grinding noise and the battery light would come on. Then go out and not come on for several days again. I took it to Firestone, They said I needed a new battery. Always started good, But they never punched out the numbers on the battery so they would not warrant it. Put new Firestone battery in, Two days later battery light comes on again. They say I need a new Alternater. I thought I am being ripped off. Let them put it in , It came from Napa, Remanufactured. Two to three days later same thing. I was really pissed, Made them put in a New Alternater from Napa, Said they could not get one from Ford Dealership anymore. Few days, Same thing. Firestone replaced the belt, The ideler pully and left again. A few days later same kinda grinding noise and battery light comes on. I took it to our Ford Dealership this time and he said its your IWE Soiloid. I said are you sure, he said I would pretty much bet on it. I said make sure you blow out the vacuum lines also. He said alright. Drove it a few days, Same thing, Kinda a swishing noise and battery light comes on for about 30 seconds and go's out. I took it out and ran it about 120 miles and my wife said the light never came on for 4 days. Then we got really slushy snow and she said the noise was gone now, But the battery light came on five times on her way home from work. I took it back to The Ford dealership and he said I don't know what else to do. He said I can change the end plug on the alternater maybe its bad. I said can't you check that with a multimeter or some of your expensive machines you have, he said not really. I did not think that was the problem but he thought it might be. Another $180 and two days later the same damn battery light comes on for about 30 seconds and go's out. Now they want to put a starter in. Never ever had problems with the starter. The pickup has 49,000 miles on it. Please help me out if you can.
Thank You

techrep

iTrader: (1)

You need a Ford alt... to cure your batt light

Tommy J

There are other tests that can be done as you suggested that are simple to rule out other things with the alternator. You can check out you tube search on how to test your alternator. Also you should or have someone check all of your connections both at the battery terminals and ground connections from the battery and at the starter to make sure they are clean and tight. A new starter will not fix your battery problem and I don't think you have to have a Ford alt although it gets suggested.good luck

vintageman

I completely agree with checking the grounds, especially the one that goes directly to the engine block, they tend to get corroded or even loosen up and cause all kinds of intermittent problems. Actually, a bad battery and/or alternator will cause all kinds of issues on our trucks. Do you have a multimeter? If so, start the truck and place the appropriate leads of the multimeter on the corresponding battery terminals and see what the multimeter reads. It should be in the mid 14volts or close to it. You can also have the alternator tested again at an auto parts store. I would have it tested both on the vehicle and off. If it tests good off, but bad while its on the vehicle, you need to check the cables and grounds. Good luck and let us know what you find out.
Tom