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| Replace the Battery or the Alternator? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Apr 16 2016, 02:39 PM (682 Views) | |
| dayle1960 | Apr 16 2016, 02:39 PM Post #1 |
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Fastest Hampster EVER
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I've got a Ford F-150 and its been a great truck for all of the years I've owned it. Never had to do any major maintenance on it other than new tires, fluid replacements, and the like. Today the wife and I went to wally world in the truck and it did just fine. Got home and started doing chores around the house so I left the radio on so we could listen to some music while we worked. All of the sudden the radio goes off. I figured she turned it off and she thought I turned it off. Well, I jumped in and the truck did not start. The battery was dead. Some door chimes and other chimes were audible, but the radio didn't work nor the cluster. I pulled the battery out and took it down to wawa world and they put a meter on it and the slip which came out of the machine said it had 114CCA's in it. Plus the paper said the battery was good. All that it needs is a good charge. The sticker on the battery shows that I bought it from Wally world in Sept. 2013. The slip said that in my region the battery should last 58 months on average. Originally it was a 650CCA battery. Now here is my quandary. Should I replace the battery or should I track down the reason why the battery lost much of its juice? I'm thinking since it has only 114 amps in it then the alt. did not replenish it as it should have done. I do not use the truck very much, maybe take it on a ten mile trip every two weeks. I figure that would be enough of a trip to refresh the charge in the battery. If the alt. is bad, how do I test it? Thanks. |
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| idmetro | Apr 16 2016, 04:06 PM Post #2 |
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Personally, I'd start with a good cleaning of all cables/connections and a overnight trickle charge. Then I'd start testing. |
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| Car Nut | Apr 16 2016, 06:02 PM Post #3 |
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This.
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| nwgeo | Apr 16 2016, 10:43 PM Post #4 |
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Yep clean those connectors. They can look clean but not have a good connection. And give it a full charge. Then start it up and check the charging voltage to see if the alternator is holding a charge. Check your fluid level in the cells. |
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| Stubby79 | Apr 17 2016, 01:06 AM Post #5 |
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How long was the radio left on before it stopped? I'd do as suggested previously. Charge it, and monitor the running voltage. If it doesn't recover, and your alt is good, you might have simply worn it out in a hurry by only using it once every couple of weeks, which could be draining it pretty good followed by a trip that only barely charges it up again. |
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| dayle1960 | Apr 17 2016, 05:35 AM Post #6 |
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Fastest Hampster EVER
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The radio was left on for about twenty minutes before the battery died. As for cleaning the connectors, are you guys talking about the connectors to the battery posts or the connectors going into the alternator? |
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| Woodie | Apr 17 2016, 05:54 AM Post #7 |
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All connections, every one is as important as any other. |
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| Memphis metro | Apr 17 2016, 06:31 AM Post #8 |
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Full field the alternator by jumping at the regulator and check it, (disconnect the plug at the voltage regulator and place a jumper wire between the a and f terminals and check voltage output). Full fielding the alternator will take the regulator out of the system and throw the alternator into charge mode and tell you if it is charging or not. Do not run it long with it jumpered, only long enough to see if it is charging. Or pull the alternator and take it and have it tested. Place battery on charger and fully charge then have it load tested. Only replace or repair what is bad. |
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| Crvett69 | Apr 17 2016, 07:31 AM Post #9 |
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Can also drive it to local parts store. Most have a tester that will check alt in the truck with it running and the battery |
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| mt999999 | Apr 17 2016, 08:02 AM Post #10 |
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Self-Declared "Genious"
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Ours does this as well. |
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| Memphis metro | Apr 17 2016, 08:11 AM Post #11 |
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I personally do not trust autoparts businesses in testing anything. A alternator rebuilder or armature shop I would trust. |
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| sphenicie | Apr 17 2016, 08:24 AM Post #12 |
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it would make little sense to put a new battery in if your alt is not up to par. first, a new alt with a bad battery tends to cause premature alt failure. What year is the f-150? with it running, pull the ground cable.....does the truck keep running? Yes, alt is ok. it has been said that the new computers don't like that procedure, I have never had a problem. Second, Walmart's value line of batteries SUCK. about 2 months ago, my alt died when I was working away from home. It was too late for parts store and I was running out of juice. I saw walmart ahead, so I picked up a "VP" battery for$50. It got me back to the motel, so cool. well, now, it will not hold a charge. I would confirm the state of the alt first, go from there. |
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| Memphis metro | Apr 18 2016, 09:38 AM Post #13 |
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Good read here, Alldate Repair Guide |
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| Woodie | Apr 19 2016, 04:45 AM Post #14 |
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I think you got what you paid for. Two months is about what I'd expect from a $50 battery. |
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