94 Ranger STX Longbed

[BeefStew42791]

ok, so..new battery is in. But I think I'm gonna have to bow out and get a multimeter cuz it still isn't right. I put the new battery in this afternoon and it started right up, excellently as a matter of fact. Based on relative placement on the voltmeter in the truck it only looked to be registering about 12 volts, basically it seems to be running off the battery. I also switched the headlights on as another test and the voltmeter dropped almost to below what I would guess would be 9. What it seems like to me is the alternator isn't putting out a charge, and since the battery is so new it still has enough of a charge in itself to keep the engine running. Is there a chance my brand new 130 amp alternator is bad? Or could this be caused be a bad fuse or relay in the power dist. box? Or hey is it the one thing I haven't checked, the solenoid next to the fusebox?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

dont trust the stock gauges, ever! theyre not always "right", my auto meter shows that i have 14.5v and the stock gauge looks like about 11v. my scan tool and my voltmeter both show 14.5v, so that was proof enough for me to ignore the dash gauge and just be happy its not dead all together.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

oh yeah, what did you end up using for your egr plug in the exhaust manifold? i guess i forgot to mention that i bought a 1/2 pipe tap and the appropriate sized drill bit then got a 1/2 pipe plug to put in the hole.

 

[BeefStew42791]

dont trust the stock gauges, ever! theyre not always "right", my auto meter shows that i have 14.5v and the stock gauge looks like about 11v. my scan tool and my voltmeter both show 14.5v, so that was proof enough for me to ignore the dash gauge and just be happy its not dead all together.

Right I hear ya, thats the way I've always viewed the fuel gauge. But, and maybe its just me, but that still doesn't quite explain the reason for the fluctuation when things like the light came on, any ideas on that? I'm seriously considering taking the alternator into napa tomorrow to have them at least check it. If I do I hope to heaven and back that it turns out to be bad because if its good then I have no idea where to go with it..

oh yeah, what did you end up using for your egr plug in the exhaust manifold? i guess i forgot to mention that i bought a 1/2 pipe tap and the appropriate sized drill bit then got a 1/2 pipe plug to put in the hole.

Haha that..that's a funny story. Idk if its really working or not cuz the exhaust is still so dang loud, but I took a half inch pipe plug (really truely a pipe plug) and just threaded it on there till it wouldn't come back out. No the threads didn't match, but eventually it sorta threaded on, it was even airtight as gauged by me putting my mouth over it (after it was cleaned for you germ freaks) and tried to breath really hard to push air through it (which I couldn't). Just for fun's sake I put also put some coppergrade antisieze on it and the port to give it somewhat of a gasket. I figure if it works, it works, if it doesn't I'll try again.

 

[BeefStew42791]

ok, so napa tested the alt. for me, and it came back good. SO I came home with a new $20 digital multimeter:

Sure enough, the voltage (11.86) stayed the same between on and off. When the lights came on though it only dropped .1 volts though..strange. Then I noticed the following (possible) hackjobs on the main alt. charge cable:

I don't know who did these, or how well they were done, but I'm wondering if they mattered enough to create a great enough resistance that would limit the charge coming from the alt. any thoughts? Other then this I'm suspecting that I might need to find an inline filter from a 94 model with the accompanying coolant temp sensor that the 93's didn't have so that I can accomadate the wiring from the 94 harness.

I also noticed this little pain:

I'm suspecting that I have a bad waterpump..reason being that chevy had a hole in their waterpumps that would drip when they went bad. This is no gushing stream or anything, its exactly what a chevy would do though, a slight drip at the very front. I can follow the drip line all the way up to the the nose of the motor as well so thats why I'm calling waterpump. Any thoughts on this as well?

I'm also thinking I have to replace my valve cover gaskets, because I'm losing oil out of the top of my driver's side head. If thats the case then I might even go with aftermarket valve covers, who knows..I'm sure the hardpart will be finding some, if anybody knows where some can be found and could drop me a hint I'd appreciate it.

Like I said though, any thoughts? anybody?

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

those "hack jobs" are fusible links, they act like a fuse and the wire inside burns up when there is too much strain put on a circuit. you can use your multimeter to make sure theyre still good by setting it to the ohms scale and checking for a 0.00 reading when both probes are connected to each end of the wire. as for the valve covers just get some felpro permadry plus gaskets and call it a day, theyll never leak again as long as your VCs arent cracked. i dont think youll be able to find any after market ones for it but i have never looked either.

 

[BeefStew42791]

those "hack jobs" are fusible links, they act like a fuse and the wire inside burns up when there is too much strain put on a circuit.

hmm..alright then if thats the case COULD what have happened been that the alternator was putting out such a strong current when it was trying to charge the completely dead batteries I had earlier that it burned that little wire up?

as for the valve covers just get some felpro permadry plus gaskets and call it a day, theyll never leak again as long as your VCs arent cracked. i dont think youll be able to find any after market ones for it but i have never looked either.

Yea I found those on summit and napa so thats the end of that, but I think I'm gonna have to get the vc's powder coated or something to end up with any kind of custom job. Its not like that stuff is my main goal or anything, but I figure if its off, might as well. Thats not a little ways off anyway though at least, so..yea. haha maybe between now and then somebody will have made some..likely not tho

 

[BeefStew42791]

ok, so I disconnected just the alt.'s charge cable (the one end from the solenoid and the other end from the alternator) and hooked up the multimeter to it. I set it to the ohms resistance setting and put (what I would think would be) about 200 ohms through it and the reading came back 00.6 (written out just like that) then I bumped it up to 2000 and the lowest it went to was 002 (written out just like that) and then I went up to 20k and it finally gave me my 0.00 reading you were talking about. thoughts?

edit: btw, nothing is putting an overnight drain on my battery. I tested that as well and it read 12.45volts, I'm assuming it was higher from being able to sit without the truck on.

 

[ForOffRoadDriving]

that sounds right, the different settings in the ohms function are different ranges of measurement. when you turn the dial you will notice the decimal point moves left and right (depending on which way you turn it), this is making the measurement more general (000.0) or more accurate (0.000). if your meter is reading 0 and not 1 or anything higher then your circuit is intact and you can keep trouble shooting other things. how old is the battery in the truck and how many volts does it show at rest? you can get an idea of how "fresh" (how many CCAs) your battery is by putting the multimeter on both terminals of the battery and setting it to dcv, pick a scale that puts the decimal 2 places over from the left (00.0). have a friend start the truck (or use a remote starter switch if you have one) and watch the voltage on the meter, it should drop below 12v, but should not go below 10.5v and it should recover with in 10sec back up to 12v or higher. if the meter drops below 10.5 or recovers slowly i would change that battery out or it could damage your alternator.

 

[BeefStew42791]

that sounds right, the different settings in the ohms function are different ranges of measurement. when you turn the dial you will notice the decimal point moves left and right (depending on which way you turn it), this is making the measurement more general (000.0) or more accurate (0.000). if your meter is reading 0 and not 1 or anything higher then your circuit is intact and you can keep trouble shooting other things. how old is the battery in the truck and how many volts does it show at rest? you can get an idea of how "fresh" (how many CCAs) your battery is by putting the multimeter on both terminals of the battery and setting it to dcv, pick a scale that puts the decimal 2 places over from the left (00.0). have a friend start the truck (or use a remote starter switch if you have one) and watch the voltage on the meter, it should drop below 12v, but should not go below 10.5v and it should recover with in 10sec back up to 12v or higher. if the meter drops below 10.5 or recovers slowly i would change that battery out or it could damage your alternator.

alright thats what I was suspecting, I wasn't sure though because the instructions that came with this meter are crap..thank the lord for 10th grade chemistry.
The battery actually is brand new, just got it thursday. Its ratings are over 700 cca's. When I got it I had the shop test it and it was good, 12.5 volts, and I just checked it today after it sat and its holding that same value. When the truck is on though (unloaded) the battery's reading 11.86, and loaded with the headlights it read 11.76, nothing I could do to it made it drop below even 11.

 

[BeefStew42791]

oh one more thing, I put about 20k ohms through each of the fuses in the pd box in the engine bay and all the readings were 0.00, so everything seems to be fine there. And I also tested the diode with the diode setting and I only got a reading one way (around 530 if it matters..which I don't think it does) so thats good as well I'm thinking..

And today, while the engine was running, the battery was registering 11.9 volts..wth is going on here??

 

[BeefStew42791]

replaced the starter solenoid..didn't do a thing. But its still holding steady at 11.9 volts..

 

[UrbanRedneckKid]

I'm suspecting that I have a bad waterpump..reason being that chevy had a hole in their waterpumps that would drip when they went bad. This is no gushing stream or anything, its exactly what a chevy would do though, a slight drip at the very front. I can follow the drip line all the way up to the the nose of the motor as well so thats why I'm calling waterpump. Any thoughts on this as well?

I'm also thinking I have to replace my valve cover gaskets, because I'm losing oil out of the top of my driver's side head. If thats the case then I might even go with aftermarket valve covers, who knows..I'm sure the hardpart will be finding some, if anybody knows where some can be found and could drop me a hint I'd appreciate it.

Like I said though, any thoughts? anybody?

Sounds more like lower intake gaskets to me. It's a super common issue. Only use OEM Ford gaskets from the heads up on the ohv 4.0, the quality difference and longevity is worth the extra money.

 

[BeefStew42791]

Sounds more like lower intake gaskets to me. It's a super common issue. Only use OEM Ford gaskets from the heads up on the ohv 4.0, the quality difference and longevity is worth the extra money.

well whatever that problem is its far from my mind right now and'll have to wait. I came to the conclusion that I had a bum alternator seeing as how nothing else was giving me any red flags and for the icing on the cake I tried the screwdriver trick (put a flat head screwdriver close to the housing/pulley/etc. and see if it pulls the screwdriver) to see if it was even making any electricity and it wasn't. SO I take it to napa and say listen..I know it checked out fine on your machine but I'd like a new one anyway and I explained it all and the tests I'd done etc etc and so they gave me a new one..

long story short, it still doesn't work..I now have a megnetic pull, but all my readings are the same. I STILL can't get it to put out a high enough charge. None of this makes any sense!! I would think its a parasitic drain but the battery doesn't lose any power overnight, and what could use so much power when the truck is on that it overpowers a 130 amp alternator?? AHH I'm about ready to burn this pos to the ground..

 

[BeefStew42791]

tried to bypass the system by running the charge cable directly to the positive battery post..also didn't work.

At this point I've tried the following:

Alternator #1, Battery #1
Alternator #2, Battery #1
Alternator #2, Battery #2
Alternator #3, Battery #2

And at this point I've tested the following (and all have checked out fine):

Alternator #3 (by NAPA), Battery #2, Starter (the truck starts fine), all ground connections, all positive battery cables, all negative battery cables, main alternator charge cable, any and all fuses and diodes, and even the starter solenoid (again, truck starts fine). WTH am I missing??