Jeffrey O'Hara

I'm not sure if the alternator is original but I never replaced it.

Jeffrey O'Hara

When I woke up this morning the battery was around 12.90-12.91V but I did see it momentarily fluctuate and drop to about 12.85V and erratically jumped between the high 80's (12.87V,12.86V, 12.85V,etc..). I'm going to keep monitoring the battery and see where I'm at tonight when 24 hours rolls around.
I can change the alternator if needed but it checked out and seems fine. Plus there isn't a lot of clearance or room to work with so I'm not looking forward to removing the old alternator, regardless if it's to test or replace. I replaced the alternator on my Dodge Dakota but that was simple and had nothing in the way.
I'm thinking about taking the truck to the dealership for an oil change and ask them to look into it but when I had the ECM replaced my experience was less than "good". I asked them to look at my charging system because the battery light was coming on but they didn't and they didn't even rewire a part of the NSS that I cut. Basically I spliced a wire between the ignition switch and the NSS but when he took the wire out he only re-spliced the ignition wire but left the NSS wire cut (he did wrap it with electrical tape though haha Thanks!). Needless to say, I'm not comfortable with "mechanics" and this includes the dealership! Not to make this a complaint post but my sister had her truck at a shop and the parts were replaced but the job wasn't completed as if it were your own truck you were working on. I found the bump stop missing on driver side, some nuts were loose (large nuts that hold upper control arm on the frame of the vehicle!) and a bolt was missing. All of this messed with the alignment and I eventually fixed it myself even though she paid over $600. Plus I have a feeling that they will try to charge me $99 to diagnose what is wrong with it and if it's a bad battery or alternator that would be such a waste.
I think I will:
1. continue to monitor the battery until tonight
2. drive to Autozone for a second opinion (maybe swap battery)
3. remove alternator and bench test
4. resort to dealership :-(

Jeffrey O'Hara

Alright so I'm not sure what is wrong. I kept watching the battery and it started to slowly climb. I'm not sure if it's because it was getting hotter outsider but it went back up to 12.95V. I decided the battery was probably good and hooked back up the connections. When I hooked the battery up to the truck it dropped to about 12.88V but I figured this was probably normal. I watched the meter for maybe 30 minutes or longer and it didn't really change. Maybe 12.87-12.88V. I then started the truck and watched the meter. It was around 14.41-14.45V. I let the truck sit there and idle for at least 10 minutes maybe 15-20 minutes actually. When I turned the truck off the voltage on the battery may have dropped a little but not significant. I think it was maybe 12.85V but I was stumped. It has been a few hours and I went back outside and the battery still has a good charge. I'm not sure what is going on but I'll probably go drive the truck around later tonight. Everything appears to be working and reading normal levels. I'm confused?!?

techrep

iTrader: (1)

Just run it for awhile and see what happens.

Jeffrey O'Hara

I am so confused!?!? I wish I could afford to trade-in my truck but I can't. So here is what the last 48 hours has looked like with my incredibly unreliable Ford F-150 that I'm really starting to hate.
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Wednesday night 4/5/2017- I went for a drive that was about 30 miles total and mostly highway miles. I stopped at QT for gas on the way home but I left the truck running (for fear it might not start). I didn't have the battery light or "check charging system" come up during the drive so I parked the truck and went to sleep. I don't think I put it on the charger because I believe the next morning I woke up and it wouldn't start.
Thursday morning 4/6/2017- I woke up and I'm pretty sure the truck didn't start so I put it on the charger. I can't remember how long it was on the charger but it wasn't long. I got the truck started and went down to Autozone. The kid came outside and checked my battery voltage, CCA, and then had me start it to check my alternator. When I started the truck it sounded kind of screechy down by the starter and flywheel and I felt like it was a power issue but everything checked out. I asked him if someone else could check for me so he grabbed a manager. He checked my battery 3 times and said it was "good". I told him that I had it on the charger just now and that's why the readings are "good". He told me to bring it in next morning before I put it on the charge lol but I had to charge it to drive there. If this happens again I will take my dead battery out and get a ride to swap it for a new one. When I started the truck it fired right up and once again he said nothing is wrong. He did say that my negative battery cable was loose and should be down farther. I knew this was an issue but nothing I did made a difference. Anyway, the truck started and he said it had no problems so I drove home. I tried messing with the negative battery cable and then I realized I had it on upside-down haha. I bought new battery cables and that was the natural way the cable looked but I realized it was wrong so I flipped it over and bent the cable a little to make it fit better and now it's on there nice and snug at the bottom of the post. I researched this and it said I wouldn't lose voltage from this but my alternator wouldn't charge the battery as well.
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Hoping this was my issue I placed the battery back on the charger for awhile and then I had to run to Fry's. Ran inside for a minute and came back out the truck started right up. When I got home I put it back on the charger to be safe and then I went to training at 5:30p.m. and had no problems getting there. It was about 20 miles and no indicator lights came on during the drive. I parked the truck and came back out after 30 minutes to check on it. The battery was still charged to 12.88V I think. I figured this was good enough so I didn't put it on the charger. I came back out after 1 hour and the truck wouldn't start! UGH!!! Now I'm stranded... I put the battery on the charger but I was impatient and wanted to leave so I tried after probably 5 minutes and it didn't start. I probably tried again after 10 minutes with no luck and I tried it with the charger still connected but nothing. I tried applying voltage directly to the starter from the battery and it made a whining noise but didn't engage the flywheel and didn't sound right so I stopped. I don't think the battery had enough charge to get it started. At this point I figured I was probably draining the battery more than charging it so I decided to just leave it alone for awhile. I called a friend to stop by and give me a jump. By the time he got there it was on the charger for about 45 minutes untouched. I took it off the charger and tried starting it with no luck. I hooked up the jumper cables and tried starting it with no luck. I waited a few minutes and tried again with no luck. He asked me why the negative cable was on my frame and not the battery terminal and I told him that's how it's supposed to be. He said "I've never done it like that" so I decided I would put the negative cable on my battery post. It made a little spark so I was hopeful but again nothing. Waited a little longer but still nothing. He tried revving his engine but still nothing. I decided to try applying voltage directly to the starter from my battery again and it worked! The truck fired right up and I was so happy! Loaded everything up and drove home.
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Now here comes the interesting part. The drive home was again probably 20 miles and I had no indicator lights come on. I parked the truck and came inside for a few minutes and then went back out to check on it. The truck fired right up! I came back inside and went back out after maybe 15-30 minutes and the truck fired right up! My friend got home and asked me what's up with my truck. I told him the story of what happened that day and then I went and started the truck. It fired right up! I'm like this is annoying because I get stranded but when I'm home everything is all good. I didn't want to mess with it anymore so I went to sleep.
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Friday morning 4/7/2017- I went outside this morning and the truck fired right up! This is the craziest for me yet! It sat all night long and doesn't have a problem starting. Not sure what to make of this. Sorry for the long post hope it was at least an interesting read. Not sure what I will do from here. Probably check it again later or maybe take it in for an oil change and have them do the free inspection thing they do.

BadFish523

So have you tried a new battery yet? For all this hassle I would have just gone to WallyWorld and bought a new battery first thing. Then I would replace 2 other things if this issue continued.... starter and alternator. If none of the 3 major components of this process fixed it then its time to start looking into EVERY single wire involved with the process. Still nothing I would then look at electronic variables such as the PCM or FPDM.

Jeffrey O'Hara

The issue is the post doesn't give all the information. Technically my troubles started December 2016 when I had a no crank no start condition. I replaced the battery 12/2016 and that's the only reason I'm not running down to WallyWorld to spend money I don't need to spend. The battery has a 3 year replacement warranty but it checks out fine. When the battery didn't fix the issue in 12/2016 though I replaced the following: starter, ignition switch, NSS and battery cables. That was over a few months though and I ultimately took the truck into the dealership about 2 weeks ago. They replaced the ECM and told me the truck was fixed but obviously it's not fixed. I could take it back in but I'm hesitant on spending more money to diagnose this truck. I just wish it would be reliable once again.

BadFish523

Ever tried the FPDM? Most commonly it is a crank no start condition but I have heard of it causing weird random problems? I hate to suggest throwing more money at parts lol but you got me stumped so far.

dnlow

When the check charging systems light comes on does it slowly fade in and out? Since, it seems like it is coming on every once in a while I am thinking you have a voltage regulator that is almost no good. The voltage regulator has bushings and they wear out over time. I had the same issue where the light would come on ever now and then. Finally it got bad enough that the tester at Oreilly said the voltage regulator was bad. Instead of buying a new alternator I purchased a voltage regulator on line for about $20. Disassembly of the alternator is pretty easy.

redfishtd

Should have a real good spring action . But this is beginning to sound like an intermittent starter or bad cable ,tighten all connections if corrosion present replace cables . Make sure ground cable bonded good to engine and starter bolts tight.
Monitor your current drain when engine off and sitting for awhile .If it is bleeding electrons you need to find the circuits its on . Let it set a awhile .remember the door lights will cause draw for awhile . Pull fuses to find it .