What could cause a 2006 Taurus alternator not charge the battery?
Asked by mrrobinhood5 May 31, 2014 at 11:19 AM about the 2006 Ford Taurus SE
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I replaced the power steering pulley recently. After this, the "Check charging system"
indicator came on.
- I checked the voltage, and it idles @ 11.8V
- Took battery to check, it checked out good, it takes a charge. Got it charged.
- Took alternator to check, it checked out good, it gives off 14V in store. They would
not replace.
- Checked fuse @ breaker box. 10A fuse is OK.
- The return cable from fusebox to alternator has continuity.
- Both cables that go from alternator to PCM have continuity.
- Replaced PCM because it was suggested that since 2006 Taurus charging system
are controlled by PCM, it may not be telling the alternator to turn on.
So far, none of these option have worked. The battery still sits at 11.8V idle.
What else can I try or look into? I am out of ideas.
8 Answers
Just a thought but might want to check belt routing. Was belt but back on correctly? Is there plenty of tension on it?
TopShadeTree answered 9 years ago
If you have replaced all you say,there is a grounding issue,search for bad ground,start from motor block to frame.
agree..... check your ground. One simple way to check. Connect black side of your jumper cable from the engine block to the neg side of battery. Then re-check your voltage output. It might be better to take a voltage reading above 1500 RPM too.
mrrobinhood5 answered 9 years ago
Thank you all for your suggestions. While checking for grounding issues, I found that the 175A fuse from the breaker box was burnt. No idea how, maybe alternator arced somehow. $5 fuse from auto parts store, and it was fixed. I feel bad now, that I have to return the PCM. Should have stuck to the basics. Thank you all for your suggestions and time!
Glad you got it going.
having the same problem,tried it all,belt,battery,alternater ,bleave its a fuse in the breaker box.
Check the "MegaFuse" mounted to the battery junction box. It has a red hotwire coming in from the battery and a black ground wire running to the alternator. I replaced 2 alternators before stumbling upon this.
