ericantonio

You guys are awesome!!! 3 bolts, zip zip, well, 4 bolts cause 1 for the wire and then 2 quick disconnects. Started right up, battery gauge went straight up to 14 or so!!


Here's a question. If the alternator was going bad, can it actually degrade the performance? I mean, let me be logical. The battery starts the car, well, starts the starter which starts the car. Then the engine goes round and round and the alternator uses that round and round kinetic energy for electricity. Since the truck has a lot of electrical things in the engine (I'm not talking about gauges or lights or radios), but the "stuff" that makes the car go like electronic stuff like power to the fuel pump, the computer, the sensors and all that, is it possible...that a failing alternator, with not enough "umph" cause these things to not work great?

Cause I seem to be having good acceleration. Like I'm not stumbling anymore. Usually when I enter a freeway, it'll stumble stumble and then I have to give it a lot of gas for it to get past that stumble. Now acceleration seems smooth.

I'll have to wait until the engine gets really hot like driving for a while cause that's when I really notice it. I just got back from a 20'ish mile freeway driving and no noticeable stumble.

qdeezie

If you haven't done so, try adding some extra grounds and upgrading existing grounds as well. It definitely helps with the electronics and everything seems to a bit smoother and solid. In my case, even the turn signal worked better.

Steve83

Not in the way you're imagining - not by itself. All automotive & electronics engineers understand that the actual real-world voltage isn't constant, and won't always be within design specs. So the electronics are specifically designed to tolerate a wider voltage range than the truck can run on. So if the truck is running, the exact voltage SHOULDN'T affect how it runs.

But like anything, truck parts age. So even though the ignition coil & module are designed to tolerate 8-18VDC, they may have aged to the point that they can't really work right below 12.5VDC now. Or as qd suggested, there may be other factors affecting the voltage across those components, like poor connections & grounds. But since it's running substantially better now, I don't think it would be worth the effort for you to try to find or fix those latent problems now. And I don't recommend stringing extra wire around the engine bay unless you KNOW what you're doing with it. If you use the wrong size wire, or connect it to the wrong thing, you could create a real fire hazard. One that might not show up until there's another problem - potentially, years down the road when you've forgotten what you did now.

Keep the battery & other terminals clean, and fix any rust/corrosion you see that might interfere with the main electrical components (alt., batt., engine, frame & body grounding). Keep the engine bay & underbody clean enough to see if there's rust, or a fluid leak, or other damage. And follow the Ford maintenance schedule using top-quality parts & fluids.

David Young

I noticed better and smoother power from my motor when I changed the battery and alternator on my Truck. I also noticed this on my 2011 Mustang when I put in a new battery. I 'think' its because the computer 'resets' when all the electrical power is removed. Just my opinion...........

Steve83

If KAPWR is lost for more than ~2 minutes, all the EEC/PCM adaptions will be lost, and the baseline strategy will be used as they're re-learned. But most learning is done within 50 miles, at which point it should run like always.