Another Alternator thread

[John235]

Hi folks.
Yesterday, first problem, speedo going up and down at random as I was driving. Then various lights came on then went off. ABS, and battery lights
Got ihome. battery flat! Charged overnight. Started okay this morning, but battery is not charging from engine. Sits at 12.2 volts.
Would the usual small loom cause this, or should the battery still charge?
Just want to confirm this before spending an arm and a leg on a new alternator!
All lights currently are off!

[metalworker0]

Usual small loom - what's that ?
so you reckon there is a common fault on the loom a break in wiring etc ..yes it would do ...but so would the alternator.

i would start by :
cleaning battery posts ..looking for earth connections to the chassis and engine block ..cleaning them ...taking off connections on alternator ....clean them.

Then do another assessment.

Yes ABS, battery lights,gauges not working is what you get when voltage in the system goes down below a certain amount say 11.5 volts or so

if it was charging it would should be showing + 12.75 volts

but start on the cheap solutions first

if this "small loom fault" is fact, then others here will be able to tell you exactly where to look .....
i know on mine (someones botch)..that a thick wire has been replaced in the loom with a domestic house wiring 6mm yellow and green earth wire ..and appears to be running down to the starter .

all the best.mark

[John235]

Yeah, there have been various threads on here. There is a short loom of three relatively light wires, that contol the alternator, and they are prone to corrosion and failure.
What I was hoping to discover is whether the alternator would charge at all if this loom is damaged!

[John235]

I spent most of the morning, with reference to the Haynes book, and ended up getting nowhere! I can't even get the plastic cover off the back of the alternator! On mine the main charging cable is clipped into the cover, so you have to undo this as well. Even with this disconnected, the cover moves back, but fouls on the starter solenoid! I could not disconnect the small three wire loom from the alternator end, as I could not see the retaining clip.
I give up for now, have booked it into the local garage! Please god it does not cost too much!

[John235]

Just to finish the thread, it was the alternator itself! The garage has replaced, a pattern part. I don't have the bill yet, but he reckons about £150. A lot less than Fords!

[Altransit]

Just to finish the thread, it was the alternator itself! The garage has replaced, a pattern part. I don't have the bill yet, but he reckons about £150. A lot less than Fords!

Thanks for finishing off, that's a rare feat on here

£150 sounds like a bargain, I paid almost double that for the same part on my 1.8TDDi Focus, and that was a few years ago.
The alternators do suffer on these engines, maybe due to the positioning at the front, but the next one, which was 18 months later, I did myself.
It's not too bad to do on these, and I wasn't paying out that much again!

[John235]

Final message. Just got the garage bill. Including doing a couple of minor jobs, the whole bill was £286.
Glad he did not use a Ford alternator!