2000 Focus SE Alternator Problem?

Rather than ask us, why not take the care back to the mechanic?

It sounds like it could be the voltage regulator, which is usually part of the alternator or a problem the electronics in the alternator.

IMO, you are loading the electrical system very heavily, and the alternator may be over heating

Our 2003 1.6 Focus, if you have the blower on '4' then the air-con is switched on without the telltale diode in the switch illuminating. Do you also need the rear screen heater on for 15 minutes ? It may be better to slightly open a window or two.

I have been running tests on our Focus; when the front and rear screen heaters are on, the headlights on, the fog lights on ( which I have never had reason to use in 28 years as a road user) , and the blower on '3' , and air-con off, the alternator cannot output enough electrical energy to maintain the load and the battery voltage drops to 11.7 volts, even up to 1500 rpm.

I'm not at all surprised that your electrical system is struggling under all that load, it may help to clean all the earth points under the hood to remove unwanted volt drops.

HTH

David

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I did, and they cannot duplicate the problem with their meters attached. Normally, these guys are pretty good about finding electrical problems but this one seems to have them stumped.

At about the time of 12/31/2009 10:12 AM, David Skelton stated the following:

I wonder if the alternator was replaced with a lower-capacity unit. It seems to me to be a design flaw if the alternator cannot output enough power to run all those loads on your focus. When I'm driving home, I run the engine between 2500 and 3000 rpm so the alternator is turning plenty fast enough. Something else that I noticed though...it only seems to act up when the vehicle is moving, not stopped, and it seems to act up more on bumpy roads. That tells me loose connection somewhere. What do you think?

Hi Maelstorm

I made an error in my previous post; I stated that the air-con was switched on by selecting position '4' for the blower. That is incorrect. I should have stated that the air-con is switched on when the air distribution control is turned fully clockwise to the 'screen only' position. My apologies for that error.

It sounds that indeed there may be a continuity issue somewhere in the electrical system within your car, but finding it could well be more difficult than the rectification. An easy way would be to 'borrow' known good components, and substitute them one at a time till the culprit is identified. Good luck with that.

I know of a problem with our Focus; there is a poor joint somewhere on the starter motor connections. Either the alternator to starter motor terminal, or the starter motor to battery cable terminal seems to be a high resistance joint. Before I can confirm that the alternator is performing below what is needed when most of the electrical consumers are on, I have to resolve this connection.

I, too, think that the alternator 'should' be able to support the demands of the system when required, so there may be an error in the design of the system. Considering that my own tests have not had ALL the electrical consumers on at the same time, I think that the alternator should be able to satisy the required demand.

Regards

David

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Did you take it with lights on, rear defroster on, radio on, blower on

4, and windshield wipers on continuous low, and 10-15 miles of freeway driving it will start acting up. However, with just lights, radio, blower on 2, and wipers on 3 or 4 intermittent, after 44 miles of highway driving?

That might be the only way to duplicate the problem. Of course, you need to have the mechanic set up with the meters and all, so that she can just put them on as soon as you pull up to the shop.

And, what happens when you drive the car for more than 50 miles without all the electric stuff on?

Also, do the light dim, motors slow down, etc., more than if you shut off the engine? I am wondering if there is something that is shorting out, causing a big drain on the system. If the voltage drops low enough to reset your clock, it sounds more than what would happen than if just the alternator stops making electricity.

If you're going to reproduce the problem, that might be the only way.

I am also wondering if you can get any info out of the OBD II. You are also able to hook up an iPhone or iPod touch to the OBD II, but you need special cables and devices (I think starting at about $100). This may help you.

Jeff

Well, after 20 miles of driving. Something else that I mentioned though in another post has me wondering. It only seems to act up when the vehicle is moving, more so over bumpy roads. That tells me it's a connection problem somewhere. Could be a cold-solder joint in the voltage regulator too, that would explain BOTH the voltage cutout AND the fact that it only really happens while moving. I just recently made this connection myself.

It rarely acts up until I stop for a few minutes then start moving again.

It doesn't reset the clock on the raido. What I was referring to was that the CD player in the radio will crash. The radio itself works fine. I have to remove the faceplate for a few seconds and then put it back to get the CD player to work again while I'm on the road.

They already tried that. No codes were stored in the computer.

The thing that gets me though, is that this didn't start happening until AFTER the alternator was replaced. The original one was replaced due to the bearings going out. I really want to put some hurt on the engineer who designed this thing though. Who in their right mind would place the alternator between the engine and the firewall where you have to dismantle the top half of the engine compartment to get to it?

At about the time of 1/6/2010 7:51 AM, David Skelton stated the following:

I was wondering about that. It does that on mine too. When it's set for full defroster the A/C light is on. But I can turn it off by just hitting the button.

[...]

It's designed to do that to speed up screen defrosting; it's pretty standard on many cars with A/C.

WRT your alternator problem; did it have the problem before the alternator was replaced? If not, surely the alternator or the connections to it have to be the cause?

Chris

"snip"

On ours, the tellltale light is not lit, even though the air-con is operating when full defrost is selected. Ours is a 2003 1.6 litre model (facelift), so that may be one of the differences.

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Also, one wonders if it was a "new" unit, or a reconditioned unit. I'm sure that something is getting too hot and causing a high resistance or a component to temporarily shut down.

HTH

David

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In message , Maelstorm wrote

There are some diagnostics on the dash

above also works on my 2001 UK Focus The above gives instructions for using the diagnostics whilst driving (for a digital tachometer) but by selecting the voltage setting I assume that you will be able to the same monitoring the battery voltage. You may be able to see if the voltage falls gradually or just "dives over the cliff".

"David Skelton" wrote in news:hi4t1b$276r$ snipped-for-privacy@adenine.netfront.net:

I've put on "brand new" reconditioned alternators on other cars, only to find out they were no good. I would bet there is a 50% chance the replacement here was no good. The other 50% chance is the high amp connection to the alternator. It may have corrosion. I had a Ford Mustang and there was recall to replace that connector. Due to corrosion it was developing high resistance, voltage drops and heat, causing fires. I had that car a long time, so I replaced the alternator a couple of times. By then, even the rebuilders were including a new connector with each reconditioned unit.