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Ford Focus Electrical and Lighting Problems

286 messages,  Last post on Nov 13, 2009 at 4:52 PM

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What is this discussion about? Ford Focus SVT, Ford Focus, Lights, Electrical, Coupe, Hatchback, Sedan, Wagon

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#256 of 286 Re: Pemanent bat light, stalling at idle, erratic voltage. [axelv] by mickeymouse2 Jul 30, 2009 (4:51 pm)
Replying to: axelv (Jul 29, 2009 6:07 pm) Guru here,   The loose/bad conection may have been the initial problem of the alternater over charging, Resistance in the system causes the regulator to put out too much. This can also be caused by dirty cable ends, poor grounding, ect. Modern cars have grounding issues due to the number of plastic components. Its important that all those little ground straps that the manufacturer put on there are still there. You also have to understand that you have a computer controled vehicle. Sensors do not react well with too much voltage. A damaged sensor might have occured also. You might be lucky and just have to reset the PCM by disconecting the negative or use a scan tool to go through a relearn proceedure to get the vehicle to stop dieing. 14.6v is not too high of voltage, try testing it with the lights on also. If bat light still on, the PCM might be sensing a diod ripple from the alternater and turning your bat light on. Here is an example; Vehicle was overcharging like yours, problem was fixed. Bat light still on. PCM data showed charging voltage at 15.5v when in reality it was now 14.0v. Ya, PCM's can get damaged by too much voltage and then simply be reading it wrong. This is why all manufacturers do not recommend ever jump starting your vehicle, your sending a voltage spike through out the entire system.   Finish your repair and see what the end result is. Even go ahead and put that other used alt in if you want. Scanning the PCM with a scanner that shows data (like a snap on) may end up being what you have to do. Good luck with it. Replies to this message: axelv (Jul 30, 2009 6:44 pm)
#257 of 286 Re: Pemanent bat light, stalling at idle, erratic voltage. [mickeymouse2] by axelv Jul 30, 2009 (6:44 pm)
Replying to: mickeymouse2 (Jul 30, 2009 4:51 pm) Thanks Guru, for your insights! I just finished the work on the Focus. See some pictures by clicking here. It was a pain getting that connector off. I think I broke the old connector completely and also the alternator side has suffered a bit. Getting the insulation off the wires on the pigtail behind the alt was a pain too. Then, doing the soldering in that small a space was not easy either! But it was ok. Worst was getting the insulation off. Triple checked to make sure the wire order was correct the way i soldered it on and plugged the new connector in. Took me about 3 hrs total. Needed a lighted dental mirror, a soldering iron, a sharp knife, some tweezers, and a beer. Before the work I checked again. Voltage was 14.2 this time and the battery light still on permanently. Idle was bad, stalling. After the work was done, the battery light was off, voltage stable at 14.7V. With everything on, it went down to 14.3V. I did a short test drive. No issues. The gauges didn't flicker any more. Will drive it to work tomorrow and post my findings. So far I'm happy, but I don't trust it completely yet. Thanks so far guys for all the messages I received. Stay tuned for updates. BTW, the pigtail costs $37.
#258 of 286 Still high and varying by pf_flyer HOST Jul 31, 2009 (3:27 am)
"Above 14 volts" means just that. With the voltage out of the regulator varying, I'd wager you're still going to need to replace it.   The whole idea of the regulator is to provide that rock steady voltage. Replies to this message: axelv (Jul 31, 2009 5:18 am)
#259 of 286 Re: Still high and varying [pf_flyer] by axelv Jul 31, 2009 (5:18 am)
Replying to: pf_flyer (Jul 31, 2009 3:27 am) So please tell me, what's the actual voltage it has to be at? And what's the tolerance it can move around in? And is that independent of system loading? Thanks for your help.
#260 of 286 VOLTAGE by oldfordmech Jul 31, 2009 (11:13 am)
14.2 IS THE IDEAL VOLTAGE TO HAVE AT THE BATTERY WITH THE ENG RUNNING AT APPROX 1,000 RPM WITH A GOOD LOAD, ( a/c,wipers and headlights on) Are u still having problem w/red alt light still on after doing above test ? Replies to this message: axelv (Aug 02, 2009 10:29 am) oldfordmech (Aug 02, 2009 6:00 pm)
#261 of 286 Re: VOLTAGE [oldfordmech] by axelv Aug 02, 2009 (10:29 am)
Replying to: oldfordmech (Jul 31, 2009 11:13 am) 14.2, that's good to know, thank you for the information! With everything off except the engine I now have 14.6...14.7, steady. When I add some load (high beam, music, full blower motor) it drops to 14.3, also steady. The battery light was off since the repair, I drove 35 miles since and everything is normal. No flickering, no idle problems, no stalling, steady blower motor, steady headlight output. As a quick history of the problem again: first the red battery light (not the orange engine light) came on intermittently. When it was on, I was normally able to shut it off by pressing the clutch pedal completely (it's a manual) or by changing gears, which involves pressing the clutch, so I figured it's probably not rpm related. The the light came on more frequently so I looked in the manual what could be wrong and started reading the forums and measured the voltage (up to 16.3V varying constantly with engine on) and so on. Then eventually the instrument lighting started to flicker and the headlights and blower motor rpm started to vary, and also the rpm and speedometer gauges started to have a life of their own (zeroing, going to max, then back to normal, also all warning lights came on - probably the instrument cluster self-test or calibration, and there was a bell (like when you forget the headlights and pull the key)). Then I looked in my book and the forums also said replace voltage regulator/alternator when voltage is over 14. While starting to work around the alt, I noticed the corroded wire, which then came off completely (the red wire on the 3 pin connector on the back of the alt [blue and white cable were still ok] - see some links to pictures in my previous posts). Once the cable was off completely, the symptoms changed: battery light on constantly, voltage stable at 14.7V, but now it was also stalling when at idle rpm. Then I bought the pigtail #118 from Ford ($37) and did the repair. Car is running normally ever since. (knocking on wood 3 times). Note that I did not change the alternator, and did not change the voltage regulator! Here's the link to the pictures again: Pictures Replies to this message: oldfordmech (Aug 02, 2009 6:00 pm)
#262 of 286 Re: VOLTAGE [axelv] by oldfordmech Aug 02, 2009 (6:00 pm)
Replying to: axelv (Aug 02, 2009 10:29 am) From your pics i would say u found and fixed the problem. Keep an eye on your voltage for awhile, as long as it does not go over 15 at any tme and stays above 14 u should be ok. High voltage can warp the plates in your battery plus a host of problems with other electrical parts.
#263 of 286 3 bad alternators in a row?! Or.....? by floridagirl85 Aug 16, 2009 (12:52 pm)
Does anyone know of an electrical wiring issue that can cause alternators to fail? I drive a 2002 Focus ZTS and have replaced the alternator twice already and am now looking at alternator #4. The alternator in the car is barely 7 months old and today the battery light came on and stayed on, not even going off when I revved the engine to higher RPMs as I have usually seen it do when the alternator was the issue. Had the charging system tested at Auto Zone who said the battery was fine and it was the alternator. I find it hard to believe that the brand new alternator just randomly decided not to work at all halfway through today.    It was also coincidental that one headlight went out yesterday and I had just had a mechanic friend replace the bulb today just before the drive home when the battery light came on. He didn't mess with anything but the light, but I have a hard time believing they aren't somehow related.   The first alternator went bad in August of 2006, when it started charging intermittently. Replaced it with a remanufactured alternator and got a new battery. Then that alternator supposedly went bad in late December of 2008. The symptoms that time around included some less typical for a bad alternator (i.e. audio system randomly rebooting in the middle of a drive) and I was suspicious of an underlying electrical issue. I mentioned my concerns to the guys at the Tuffy's where I had to take it (car wouldn't hold a charge more than 3 minutes so I had to take it to the closest possible auto shop). They pretty much just patronized me, told me they'd check, and acted like I was an idiot for thinking it could be anything other than the alternator. The alternator they put in is still under warranty so I shouldn't have a problem getting that replaced but I don't want to keep treating this rather expensive symptom if the real issue is something else.   From what I gather from reading others' complaints, there are a lot of electrical/alternator problems with the Focus, so if anyone has any ideas about what could be causing my '02 to eat alternators, I'd really appreciate it! Replies to this message: mickeymouse2 (Aug 16, 2009 5:08 pm) oldfordmech (Aug 16, 2009 7:29 pm)
#264 of 286 Re: 3 bad alternators in a row?! Or.....? [floridagirl85] by mickeymouse2 Aug 16, 2009 (5:08 pm)
Replying to: floridagirl85 (Aug 16, 2009 12:52 pm) What is overlooked most of the time is poor grounding or bad or dirty conections at the battery or the B terminal on the back of the Alternater, A clue you gave about the radio resetting is telling me a loose conection somewhere on your battery cables. Try adding some extra ground cables to the engine and fender. An overworked regulator will burn out early due to the heat from any resistance in the wiring.
#265 of 286 Re: 3 bad alternators in a row?! Or.....? [floridagirl85] by oldfordmech Aug 16, 2009 (7:29 pm)
Replying to: floridagirl85 (Aug 16, 2009 12:52 pm) Hi; My name is Cliff-an old Ford mechanic. #1.check the wiring plug in at the alt. pull slightly on the wiring at the plug in to see if you have any loose connectors also check plug in wiring for any sign of (GREEN) corrosion. Next check BOTH ends of each battery cable and make sure they are CLEAN & TIGHT. Next check that you have a GOOD ground from the eng to the body. You should have approx 14.2 volts at the battery with the eng at 1000 rpm and a good load on the system, headlights, blower motor on high,wipers on. Let me know what you find out.

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