Ford 7.3L Power Stroke (1999-2003) :: Dashboard Warning Light For Alternator / Battery Occasionally Light Up While Driving
Mar 14, 2016
The past few weeks the dashboard warning light for my alternator/battery will occasionally light up while driving down the road. Whenever it does, my plug in voltage meter shows a healthy 14.x reading. It usually goes out after a few seconds, but will stay lit up for as much as thirty seconds. So other than voltage being too high or too low, what else will cause the dash trouble light to illuminate?
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Alternator locked up in a parking lot. Replaced it and had to replace pigtail due to a loose wire in the harness. Now battery light comes on intermittently. New alternator is doing fine producing anywhere from 13.9v to. 14.4v. No output voltage correlation to battery light at all. The belt is still in great shape so I don't suspect slipping. Fortunately I caught the old one locking up almost immediately and had recently replaced the belt. Output voltage looks great. Are there any fuses for alternator?
Only thing I can think of that I did...when splicing in the pigtail that connects to the alternator, I briefly grounded whatever wire in the pigtail is hot. Was just a split second, but enough to see a spark and maybe enough to blow a fuse? I've seen people reference an "under hood" fuse box, but I don't seem to have one. My truck is a 2002 CC with just over 100k on the clock.
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Had a bad alternator, changed it, and now the battery lite stays on all the time..Changed the alternator again with a known good one, and the light is still on all the time..
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Background: '01 Excursion 7.3 4WD, 264,xxx miles, batteries less than three years old, new alternator [URL] .... , using an Edge Insight for digital readings.
Problem: I replaced the alternator about three weeks ago, first week all normal. Second week alt/battery idiot light comes on, then to add more frustration it is consistently inconsistent in its reading.
The volts (upon starting) jump around 11.6 - 12.1 when first starting. The light comes on while accelerating and goes off during no throttle while cold.
After warm-up the light will come on intermittently even though the reading is 13.0>, but never during off throttle.
It seems to do this more when cold but it does not completely stop when it's warm. Yes, I don't think that should be a factor but it is a reality .
I'm thinking it's a bad voltage regulator.
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I just wanted to share with you all a cautionary tale about belt tensioners and idler pulleys. I am now a firm believer in installing the aforementioned items when you replace your drive belt. 15000 miles ago I replaced the drive belt and didn't heed the warning of some here on the forum.
For the last month or two I have noticed what sounded like road noise which I dismissed because I had just had new tires installed that had a more aggressive tread pattern than my previous tires, I also noted that the ECT had been a bit higher than normal, like running in the high 190's to low 200's on average.
Well while driving today I get the alternator warning light and lose power steering and soon after the brakes got stiff, this was followed by ever increasing ECT which got to 242* before I could get it off the road and shut down. It is too early to tell if the noises and the ECT temp rise were the result of this tensioner going out...
For what its worth the only tools required were a 10MM end wrench and a bit of skin to get the job done.
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I have a 06 F250 6.0 My battery light has been coming on. Doesn't stay on but I'm planning a trip back east and don't want any issues to occur. I was thinking maybe the batteries. So I stopped at the local Oreilly's Auto store and had them tested. Told the guy what it was doing and he said it sounded like the alternator. He tested it and said it was going bad. He also tested the batteries and said they were good. So I went looking for a replacement alternator and they have different amp sizes. So I'm not sure on what size the original one is and if the replacement should be a bigger size amp wise.
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I have an early 1999 Ford F350 4x4 7.3. I purchased it used about a year ago. The trans was replaced with an ATS 4R100 and a billet torque converter. I have the paperwork for it to confirm it along with the mileage when it was installed. It currently has about 35k on the new trans.
Several months ago the trans heated up to about 200 degrees on my trans temp gauge that was already installed when I purchased it. Not a huge deal and after pulled over and high idling it off I went and no problems.
About a month ago I was towing my fifth wheel when I noticed the temp rising on a level grade. I also noticed the OD light flashing. I made it home and when I went to drive it the next day light was not flashing and it shifted and drove like normal without the trailer.
I towed the trailer again and same thing, OD light flashing and started heating up. I changed all the fluid and flushed it based on the trans flush procedure I got in this forum and replaced with an OEM trans filter. Towed the next day and everything was good. Temp was good and no OD light flashing but I lost 4th gear. All other gears shifted fine, no slipping, just won't go into 4th.
On my way back home the OD light started flashing again and instantly the heat started rising on the trans again. I was finally able to get it into 4th if I let off a little, but as soon as the OD light started flashing I lost it again.
I have a friend of a friend who works for Ford who offered to come over to hook his scanner up. When he hooked it up there was no stored codes from the OD light which we both thought was odd. Took it for a test drive and the OD light started flashing so we could get some readings. He said it showed an error shifting from 1 to 2 and another error when shifting from 3 to 4. I unfortunately forgot to ask him for the specific codes. He tried to read the torque converter info but said my truck was to old and the PID was not supported to read that info.
He said it appeared it was mechanical but without some type of break out box where he can physically shift the gears he couldn't say for sure if it was mechanical or electrical. He did not seem to interested in doing that test for me as he rebuilds trans on the side and said he could rebuild it for me.
It seems my overheating takes place when the OD light starts flashing. It still drives fine and shifts smooth with no issues with or without the OD light flashing. 4th gear usually doesn't work but on a rare occasion it will go into 4th fine which makes me believe it may be electrical.
I am new to diesels but have learned a lot about my 7.3 lately. I recently installed injectors, up pipes, hutch mod, and several other little things so I can get things done myself but am just a DIY'er who can follow good directions. I know very little to nothing about transmissions though.
While working on another issue I did notice there is a large wiring harness that connects up on the driver side of the trans. I unplugged it and was checking the wires and after removing the dirt and crud on it you could see the outside wire sheathing had deteriorated exposing the copper. I bought some liquid electrical tape and sealed everything up. I did look for a replacement wire harness at the time and the one I ordered was very similar but the plug was different so that is why I used the liquid tape at the time. I did not seem to have a problem at the time after fixing it but wanted to mention it here in case that may be an issue.
I also thought swapping out the solenoid pack may fix it. I did not want to drop the trans and send it for a rebuild if I did not need to. I know there are some other sensors associated with the trans like the TSS I think but don't know if they are even related to my issue.
I tried getting the codes from the guy but he does not have them and I can't get him back out. I have an OBDlink device connected to Torque on my phone but I couldn't get it to read trans codes. Could be user error.
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We've got a 2012 F550 6.7 with 138k. It recently got a battery light. The batteries are right around 12 volts with the truck running or off. I also tested the output on the alternator and its not charging. I put a new alternator in it and still no charge. All the connections are tight and clean. The batteries load test ok. Where to look next?
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So I have been having this little issue for a few weeks now. I will be driving along and out of nowhere my batt light will come on and my gauge cluster,radio and windows stop working and the ficim volts jump to 15.5-16.5. This is an intermittent issue. Yesterday I put my multi meter on the alternator and I am reading 13.5 or so this number was done at idle and the batt light was NOT on .
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On the final stages of prepping my truck for sale. I noticed today that occasionally while making a right hand turn the signal light will not work when you put the lever in the locked position (no dashboard arrow to the right and no front/rear light). I can pull the stalk upward, but not lock it, and it always works correctly. I am thinking a bit of corrosion on a switch, but I thought I would check and see if others have run into this.
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I've got a light burned out on my dashboard. No big deal (it still gets some light from an adjacent bulb) but just out of curiosity: How big a nightmare would it be to replace a lightbulb in the dash of a 2001 F-250 XL?
Do you have to pull the motor/trans and lift the cab off the frame like I've been told you need to do to replace a heater core? Local mechanics laughed at that job and told me to get some stop leak...
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Battery light came on about two months ago it would flicker. So i had Auto zone check it out batteries were good just needed a charge. so i charged them no fix so i said alright ill do the Alternator did that and then beginning of this week it happened again so checked it went back got a replacement alternator since they said it tested bad. Put the new one on and didnt change anything. Check my batteries they were reading 10v each. I charged them and they wouldn't hold a charge. so i replacement both batteries.
So i have a new alternator and two new batteries light is still on. Contacted my tech (whose a friend) he said to check the wiring going to the alt he said both wires should read 12v on constant other when the key is turned on. Tested the constant it has 12v other reads 6-8v with key on.
He also said sometimes the wiring on the X pipe can short the alternator? i unhooked all the wiring from the Xpipe nothing changed per battery light being on or off. So what should i do.?
Also my dash lights don't work but that's been like that for awhile (bulbs are all good).. Forgot to mention sometimes the light goes off but seems to stay on 90% of the time.
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I have an odd issue, 2003 7.3L f250 ... My battery light flickers on and off, I had the alternator tested at a alt rebuild sale place here locally, I don't always trust the auto zone techs, also had the batteries tested at interstate batteries. both batteries good, alternator good.
I think my connector is bad on my alt, not the one that goes to the battery, output is 13.8 to 14.1 btw......there is another connector that is a PITA to get off. I think it is bad, I played with it and applied some dielectric grease had the light go out when I wiggled it.
Can just the connector be replaced?
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I have a 2001 F250 (Platinum Edition). I purchased about a year ago. The water in fuel light came on. I ran an additive to remove water and changed the fuel filter several times. Light still on. How to turn it off? I missing something? Only fuel filter I see sits on top of engine...
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External LED hooked to GPR
I have gone through around 7 alternators in the past 18 months. I currently have a new NAPA alt and new interstate batteries. Today I noticed that my battery light is on again. I also noticed that my yellow squiggly Glow Plug inrush dash light was on at the same time. However, I do not believe that my GPR was active BECAUSE... I have an external red LED that lights up any time my GPR is active. When my GP dash light came on my external light was off. I had just driven 26 miles and my truck is warm and the outside temp is around 70 Fahrenheit.
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My battery light come on this morning. The volt meter is sitting right where it always has though. I noticed that the battery light is kind of pulsating with rpm and at idle its very very dim.
E99 F-250 PSD ....
Where should I start?
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In the last couple of days my battery light comes on after about 30 mins of steady driving. I have no starting issues as of late. Batteries have been tested under load and checked out okay. Alternator is a few months old. Other than the battery light coming on there no other
problems, yet. Is my alternator over charging? A couple of month ago my truck would shut off when I turned a/c or heater on in the mornings. My alternator was over charging. After I replaced it I had no more problems. Could any of this be related to the life time led bulbs that I'm using?
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My trouble is that the alternator light on my 2004 F-250 Diesel began to come on occasionally, but never constant. Taking in the fact that it was still the original alternator, and over 70,000 miles, I figured it was time for a new one. I installed the new one and after two days the light came on again. I tested the alternator and it read 13.84 volts while running. With the engine shut off, I had 12.59, and 12.6 volts at the batteries. What may be my problem? Diesel down.
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I have a 99 f350 7.3l 4x4 and my battery light flickers randomly. I have checked the alternator and both battery's. All brand new and seems to be ok. They only are getting a charge when the battery light is flickering. I put both new batteries in on Thursday and on Sunday I needed a jump at the store.
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Bit of a confusing one as of late. Doesn't happen every time I drive, maybe 50% of the time. When I start the truck up, torque pro reads voltage at 13.9-14.1 consistent. After 30 minutes it usually drops to around 13.7/13.8. Sometimes, battery light comes on, voltage doesn't drop. I can drive the truck, park it, turn it off, restart, no side effects.
I notice if I stop, turn off the truck, and restart it, torq pro will begin to read a voltage of 12.8.13.0. Sometimes it won't budge for an hour, sometimes it climbs right back up to 13.8, sometimes the battery light goes off, sometimes it stays on.
Alternator was replaced a month ago, both batteries replaced a week ago, all terminals cleaned and secured at the time of replacement. Truck behaves perfectly normal, I'm almost at the point of putting a piece of tape over the light and ignoring it, but was curious before I go that route.
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I bought a 7.3 f250 with 300k mi. It had a battery light on but didn't show any signs of trouble. Eventually started dropping volts a few days later and I replaced the alternator. The light is still on and flickers in time with the idle of the truck and sometimes goes out when I'm on the gas pedal. Some nights when the lights are on the voltage drops ever so slowly until its drained. Why the new alternator didn't fix the problem? NAPA's scanner says the truck has 12.4V at idle and 12.1V at idle with the lights on. Batteries are relatively new and test fine, dual Interstate Mega-tron Plus batteries-top of the line.
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