Wierd Charging System Problem !!!

[TampaSport20]

I have a '00 Fed Emissions 1.6L

I've recently had a problem with bucking and hesitation on the highway, which is still yet to be determined......No CEL's and there appear to be no vacuum leaks, new MAF on the car

Then today I had this.....

While cruising at about 3000 RPMS ,it started to hesitate, then the blower fan for the A/C suddenly got louder, then the Battery Light came on......It didnt stop until I brought the car to a stop...

Battery Checked out fine, belts appear to be ok, alternator was tested ON the car, appears to be charging fine, however wasnt bench tested

[TampaSport20]

after further research....the FSM shows many reasons for a charging system light, but they all point to the same problem....

bad or dirty IAT(part of the MAF)

or

bad alternator

or

slipping or missing belt

.....I may replace the belt anyway, as it NEVER hass been replaced the life of the car, and I'd probably get a new one if I need a new alternator anyway

[dwsscs]

Same problem and a new alternator fixed it.

My alternator was overcharging according to the guy who tested it.

The same symptons were on my 2000 1.6 protege. Ran fine after new alternator and battery. Battery was shot from overcharging.

[TampaSport20]

ding, ding, ding...you get the gold star !!! New alternator, and it's running like a champ !!!

[dwsscs]

Glad I could help. I was kind of lost on it, because I never heard of a bad alternator without a dead battery. The alternator was giving too much current to the battery causing my weird surges and engine dying at lower rpms.

Glad my $80 diagnostic fee (to the stealer) helped someone else out.

The alternator wasn't that bad to put on either. Which I did myself to save some money after the $80 spent.

ding, ding, ding...you get the gold star !!! New alternator, and it's running like a champ !!!

[dwsscs]

At 110K I had to replace the spark plug wires because of a check engine light. It had to pass emissions here or I would not have bothered since it ran fine.

The error message was random misfires, and the fix was the $50 plug wires from the dealer. It was only 2 wires from the coil packs to the plugs. I was told to get them from the dealer because they fit perfect compared to aftermarket ones which almost cost the same (39.99 cheapest i found) and had to be special ordered.

[TampaSport20]

At 110K I had to replace the spark plug wires because of a check engine light. It had to pass emissions here or I would not have bothered since it ran fine.

The error message was random misfires, and the fix was the $50 plug wires from the dealer. It was only 2 wires from the coil packs to the plugs. I was told to get them from the dealer because they fit perfect compared to aftermarket ones which almost cost the same (39.99 cheapest i found) and had to be special ordered.

good to know......

[dwsscs]

I figured it would probably be your next repair. I think I replaced a gas cap also due to check engine light (low emission loss or something was the code). Darn emission laws.

Autozone or Advance will read your check engine codes for free.

Unfortunately the alternator was not a CEL code, and I had always thought if a alternator was bad it wouldn't charge the battery.

Funny thing was when the guys at Advance put the alternator on the testor sparks were flying all over the place. It was screwy they had never seen anything like it.


good to know......

[TampaSport20]

I figured it would probably be your next repair. I think I replaced a gas cap also due to check engine light (low emission loss or something was the code). Darn emission laws.

Autozone or Advance will read your check engine codes for free.

Unfortunately the alternator was not a CEL code, and I had always thought if a alternator was bad it wouldn't charge the battery.

Funny thing was when the guys at Advance put the alternator on the testor sparks were flying all over the place. It was screwy they had never seen anything like it.


I knew autozone checked codes....what happened it seems with both of our cars is that the voltage regulator failed, and it is built into the alternator....luckily the battery was absorbing the overcharge and keeping the extra power from frying the system.....

After the new alternator the car is running perfectly...no bouncing idle and no bucking on the interstate.... (thumb)

Amazing the shit a bad regulator will make your car do (boom07)

[dwsscs]

Yeah it was the voltage regulator, but I simplified it with alternator (since it was built into it). If you read some of the service bulletins , some people thought it was transmission issues. And stupid mechanics replaced the whole tranny and they still had problems.

Unfortunately my battery was bad also, too much voltage going to it. So I had to replace it at the time.