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Is this a alternator issue? Or a battery issue?


skalez1717

New Member
Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
3
Vehicle Year
1989
Transmission
Manual
Is this a alternator issue? Or a battery issue?
This is a easy question but i cant figure it out myself. My ranger has been sitting for months, and yesterday i found time to start it up and drive. 1st; i turn the key and nothing, just a little bit of juice but not enough to start the engine. so I try jumping it. It takes about 30 mins but it finally starts up. I let it warm up and idle for a good 15 or 20 mins, before driving. I got about 10 mins of driving when i lose all power and it dies. So a wire on my soleniod was lose, fix that and then got to jump it again. But now it wont start. I tried jumping it for 30 mins, and nothing. Figure the battery is toast, i take it out and home to charge it. Later that day i go back with fresh charged battery and it dont start, even try jumping again and nothing. Is this a alternator issue? Or a battery issue? FYI when i was driving for those 10 mins the warning battery light on the dash was on.
 
Well there is an alternator issue there if the battery light is on.

That said, your starting issue is wholly unrelated if it still won't start with a brand new battery. You have an electrical or starter issue. I'd start by pulling the starter and taking it down to advanced, get it tested. If it'd good, wires. If not, buy a new one and go from there.
 
Here's how the system works ...
  1. WHEN STARTING ... the battery is used to turn the starting device (starter, in this case)
  2. WHEN RUNNING ... the alternator (or generator, in older vehicles) provides power to run the truck and to charge the battery.
If it won't start, it is a
No circuit or no power to the starting device (bad battery, bad starter, or bad connections between them) problem
If it runs (with the alt or battery light on), there is no ( or very little) power from the alternator ... your truck is running on battery alone or draining from the battery to make up for lack of power from alternator. This can go on for a long time or a short time (depending on load). It can also kill the battery.

Charge the battery for a full day and then check the battery static (should be about 12.6V) and under load (should be 11V or more) . If it is good, clean and check the cables from battery through the starter (including cables to the solenoid and relay) all the way to ground. Then pull and check the starter at an auto parts store.
 
why did it lose power while you were driving? as long as it was started you can take the battery out and it will still run, and the alternator just charges the battery.

as for it not starting i agree with the guys above me

NW
 
why did it lose power while you were driving? as long as it was started you can take the battery out and it will still run, and the alternator just charges the battery.

as for it not starting i agree with the guys above me

NW
:icon_thumby:
 
If it didn't start back up after it lost power I would assume something is wrong with the alternator. because it probably died due to the fact the alternator wasn't getting power to the battery and thus not to the rest of the truck either leaving me to believe you had it running on the battery alone till it died (aka battery dead). When jumping a dead battery especially an old battery its near impossible I found to get it going again fast. I am thinking you may have (as stated before) blew the solinoid, if you can hear clicking noises like a dead battery then it is certainly not the solinoid, then it would be the starter. First thing I would check is the Grounds though especially your negative cable to the block. If its turning over but not starting I would look at your fuses and the inerta switch for the fuel cutoff It may have tripped when it died.

As for stuff that i think i know... I would pull the alternator and get it tested somewhere, if its fine clean all of the connections to it. Check the Voltage regulator if its external (located on the driver side fender) check your connections from alternator to battery and battery to solinoid to starter and grounds. I know if a ground is not getting good contacts it may seem like it is but still won't start. Hope this helps
 
When you said it was parked for a long time you didn't mention where you are.One possibility is that the battery discharged and froze expanding the now water between the plates and shorting them out to each other.As you sock it to it with jumper cables the plates break up a little and the pieces shorting it out worse and worse.When you charged the battery did it take a charge[Quite taking a charge by the meter] do the lights work?You can test the voltage start chasing it that way Rangers have a very common battery if there's another car around with a group 24 put it in and see if your problem goes away or not.Some other giveaways are that as you jump start the battery it's warmer than it should be and the alternator is working hard [high voltage on dash] but the battery is never charging because of the short eating juice.
 
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