95 Ford ranger 230k xl
Truck has been running fine all week including yesterday. Took a different car to work today but went to start the truck and the battery had been drained a bit. Never had this issue.
Battery light had come on but assumed it was that the alternator was finally putting out as it failed testing before.
So i replaced with new Alt and jumped to get truck going. Issue now was alternator wasnt charging the battery and keeps blowing the fuse to the alternator on start up.
Old alt seemed to charge fine so will throw that back on and charge the battery again and see what happens.
Any other tips?
Follow up.
Put original alternator back in and fuse did not pop. I also checked continuity of wire and all was good.
Im still not getting a charge to my battery though. Thats the only issue and i dint know how diagnose that yet
Sounds like the new alternator is defective. If it was a reman alt they probably didn’t replace the diode which is causing to much current back to fuse which is why is popping the fuse. Your original alternator was not popping the fuse but was not charging. But the new alternator created a new problem. Just get another alt and you should be ok.
Thank you, im arranging for a replacement part since it was new. in the mean time ill have to take some time with a multimeter and sand paper making sure my grounds and connections are good and make sure theres no shorts
Defective aftermarket parts are all too common. The "new" alternator probably has an internal short.
Well I put the old one back in and same issue. And the battery light came back on
OK, I misunderstood, I thought you said the problem didn't happen with the old alternator. You do have a dead short somewhere causing that fuse to blow. It would have to be a real nasty short circuit. Your starter may be shorting to ground when engaged.
Correction. So old alt doesnt pop the fuse. But still no charging.
So that would indicate the old alternator is worn out (possibly brushes are worn or some other problem), but the replacement is shorting out when starting. You have a dead short blowing that fuse. It pretty much has to be the alternator or starter, a short in any of the other circuits would just blow the fuse for that circuit, not the main fuse or fusible link for the alternator. Take the new alternator to where you bought it and have them test it.