Charging system issues?

TERRANCE D FARMER

MEMBER
2011 FORD MUSTANG
5.0L
V8
2WD
MANUAL
82,000 MILES

Car starts after a jump but drops voltage, is it my alternator? Should I even start there I don't have any wiring diagrams for it, every place tells me it's a different fuse I need to check, is there a way to bench test an alternator that isn't confusing as heck? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
47,196 POSTS

Once the car is running, use a voltameter to check the alternator output.

Here is a guide to help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

If it turns out the alternator is working, I would say the battery is bad. here is a charging system wiring diagram so you can see how the system works. This guide can confirm the battery failure:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

The wiring diagrams show the fuses that run the system so you can check them as well. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.

Image (Click to make bigger)

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Thursday, October 27th, 2022 AT 9:47 AM

TERRANCE D FARMER

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2 POSTS

Thank you so much for exactly what I was looking for I appreciate the help! I don't quite understand the wiring diagram.

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Thursday, October 27th, 2022 AT 10:04 AM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
47,196 POSTS

It is like a road map game; follow the wires and they show you how it works, and the components involved. Usually the alternator is the problem, I would get a top-quality rebuilt unit and install it. Let me know.

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Saturday, October 29th, 2022 AT 1:59 PM