Charging issues.

coreystang

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Welp Ford says they can't find any problem. It's not doing it to them. They suggested getting a Battery Buddy??? WTF!
 

LikeabossTM

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Welp Ford says they can't find any problem. It's not doing it to them. They suggested getting a Battery Buddy??? WTF!
The procedure to identify and isolate parasitic drain to a single circuit is pretty simple if you have a set of jumper cables and a multimeter. You can search YouTube, or, I can post a link here later if you're interested.
 

coreystang

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The procedure to identify and isolate parasitic drain to a single circuit is pretty simple if you have a set of jumper cables and a multimeter. You can search YouTube, or, I can post a link here later if you're interested.
The problem is that it's not draining for them. They have had it for 2 weeks. That's how they found that the SJB was bad.
 

Pentalab

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What year is the car ? The 05-09 cars used a single phase alternator. The 10+ cars all use a 3 phase alternator. Single phase alternators went the way of the DO-DO bird years ago, surprised Ford was still using the damned things. Every other car maker switched to 3 phase alternators a long time ago. Good news is, the 3 phase alternator from the 2010 will drop right into any 05-09 stang. If alternator is good, and battery is good, only other issue is either partial shorts, or loads from misc electrical items in the car.

As noted b4, disconnect the neg battery terminal, and insert a fluke DVM between neg of battery terminal..and the neg battery cable (dvm set to read amps). With doors closed, eng off, lights off, you should see a miniscule load. IF load is on the high side, start pulling fuses one at a time to isolate the issue.

With neg battery cable connected as normal, you can also put the fluke dvm across the battery terminals, but this time switched to read AC volts.... then you can see any AC component coming from a defective alternator. Switched to read DCV, you should see aprx 12.2 vdc with eng off.....and aprx 14.4 vdc with eng on idle. If the dcv is on the low side, like 11-13.9 vdc, with eng on, even idle, the alternator is defective.

I can read the battery vdc at all times, via one of my 3 aeroforce gauges, that is plugged into the obd port. Typ 14.4 vdc with eng on. After turning off eng, it will eventually drop to 12.2 vdc after a while...normal.
 
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Fullboogie

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Having the same problem with my car, but the amp draw is 180ma. I don't drive it but once or twice a month, and I'm on my second battery this year and the 5th in 4 years. I pulled every fuse and relay under the hood and in the kick panel and the draw doesn't change. Even disconnected the harness on the SJB and it remained the same. Brand new battery, rebuilt alternator that is putting out 14.6 with engine on via my Aeroforce.

The only oddity is that my interior and dash lights ever so slightly flicker when at idle. That may be the alternator, but I'm not sure that has anything to do with the battery drain.
 
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Dino Dino Bambino

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The 05-09 cars used a single phase alternator. The 10+ cars all use a 3 phase alternator.

That's an internet myth which unfortunately gets banded around all too often. The '05-'09 alternators are also three-phase with six diodes like all modern automotive alternators. Ford simply switched to a different manufacturer (Denso in Japan) for the '10 model year and the result was a more reliable alternator. The '10 alternator does indeed drop straight in but the wiring connector terminals on the back are clocked slightly differently so you'd need to gain enough slack in the wiring harness to make it reach.
Motorcraft also remanufactures old '05-'09 alternator cores (all "new" Motorcraft alternators from the stealerships are actually remanufactured) and these may be more reliable than the original factory versions.
 
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46addict

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That's an internet myth which unfortunately gets banded around all too often. The '05-'09 alternators are also three-phase with six diodes like all modern automotive alternators. Ford simply switched to a different manufacturer (Denso in Japan) for the '10 model year and the result was a more reliable alternator. The '10 alternator does indeed drop straight in but the wiring connector terminals on the back are clocked slightly differently so you'd need to gain enough slack in the wiring harness to make it reach.
Motorcraft also remanufactures old '05-'09 alternator cores (all "new" Motorcraft alternators from the stealerships are actually remanufactured) and these may be more reliable than the original factory versions.
Thanks for clearing up that myth.
Also do you have a source that mentions Motorcraft refurbishing the alternator cores? I wonder if they have another company rebuild the units and Ford/Motorcraft puts their name on the boxes. With manufacturers and parts stores subcontracting each other it's hard to keep track of what's what.

A mechanic on this forum talked about Ford (and other OEM) dealer service departments sourcing parts from local parts houses when OEM branded stuff is out of stock.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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Also do you have a source that mentions Motorcraft refurbishing the alternator cores? I wonder if they have another company rebuild the units and Ford/Motorcraft puts their name on the boxes.

My current alternator is a remanufactured Motorcraft unit that I bought from a Ford dealership two years ago (they don't stock brand new OEM Motorcraft '05-'09 & '10 units). It's quite possible that Motorcraft does indeed outsource the remanufacture to another company and puts its own name on the boxes but it's hard to tell. I don't really care as long as it lasts longer than the original.
 

86GT351

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I suggest sitting down and having a calm and professional meeting with the service manager to find out what all of your options for getting additional service support from Ford are since they are struggling. I could go into my $9600 horror story on my 2002 by I won't bother you with that. As for loaner? I received no such thing for any car I had that went in for service outside of warranty, including the 2002 that was there for over 2 months.

Bingo. At what point did the Tech/s reach out to Ford via Hot Line for some assistance? Ford Engineers are available for us via the Internet for issues like this.
 

coreystang

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Bingo. At what point did the Tech/s reach out to Ford via Hot Line for some assistance? Ford Engineers are available for us via the Internet for issues like this.
They had the car for a total of two months. The last time it was 3 weeks. They basically said they couldn't figure it out. Ford Engineers would take the time to look at it because it's and 06 model. So I purchased a Priority Start for the battery. And that has worked. I just need it to last me 6 or 7 months until I can get a new car.
 

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