Hi, a neighbour knocked on my door the other day and said his 2005 transit connect wouldn't start. Ok I'll have a look I says it's that time of year for battery failures etc.
Turn key engine just clicks, put battery on charge, next day van starts fine, use a multimeter to check charging output I get 12.5v going down to 11v with lights on ok system isn't charging, tell neighbour I'll look into it further. Google leads me here stating known issues with short loom from alternator to connection by fans, remove short loom strip plastic casing off, there is some wear to insulation on grey wire (pin1) but nothings broken and a continuity check shows everything to be conductive. I then strip the other half of the loom as far back as the airbox again all is well inform neighbour he needs to source an alternator.
Recieved the new alternator today, fitted it and now both my multimeter and obd reader show it's putting 14.7v into the battery, that's a bit more like it but the battery light is now coming on after 30 seconds of startup, it didn't before.
I've checked the following,
Calcium battery fitted and charged (12.5v with everything off)
3 pin alternator plug removed, ignition switched on
Pin 1 grey 10v
Pin 2 blue 0v
Pin 3 red 12.5v
3 pin alternator plug removed, engine running
Pin 1 10v
Pin 2 0v
Pin 3 14.7v
The above confirms the alternator was faulty but there is also an issue with the smart charge system putting the light on, where is the pcm located on this model connect? What pin numbers are the grey and blue wires at the pcm my next step is probably to bypass both those wires at the pcm to confirm if there's any issues in the wiring, the red wire from the 3 appears to be functioning correctly so that leaves pins 1 or 2 causing the issue unless anyone else has any other ideas?
Thanks
Chris