2002 Ford Taurus Alternator Will Not Charge Properly

WFGARDNER

MEMBER
2002 FORD TAURUS
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
16,200 MILES

Dear Sirs, Since I replaced the front Head on my Tauraus in March of 09 I have been having one major problem with my charging system. When I start up the car I have to increase the engine RPM's to at least 3500 to get my alternator to start charging. If I do not the car will stop. I have replace the Alternator 4 times and have a brand new battery installed in it. I have conducted the following checks, Checked the mega fuse, checked the 30 amp fuse, Checked all the fuses in the system, checked all the wiring for resistance, and checked all the grounds. The first 3 alternators I placed in the car where from the same auto parts dealer, the last one I just replaced is from a diffrent so I could eliminate the alternator being from the same batch lot. I really hope you could tell me what is wrong or what I am missing on checking this out.

4 Replies

BMRFIXIT

MECHANIC
19,053 POSTS

Few clarifications 1st
you start the engine and engine will stall unless you raise the RPM?
With engine running did you check battery volts?
What is the battery volts before and after engine start
let me know

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Sunday, December 6th, 2009 AT 7:07 PM

WFGARDNER

MEMBER
3 POSTS

1. Yes, When I start the engine I have to raise the engine rpms to get the altermator to start charging.
2. & 3. The batterie valtage prior to starting is 12.62 after it starts it goes to 12.02 and starts to decrease. When I rev up the engine the batterie increases to 13.58 to 13.62 and stays in that range until I stop the car.

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Monday, December 7th, 2009 AT 3:05 PM

BMRFIXIT

MECHANIC
19,053 POSTS

Check belt and tensioner and I would suspect the wrong pulley on the alternator

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-1

Monday, December 7th, 2009 AT 5:10 PM

WFGARDNER

MEMBER
3 POSTS

The belt is brand new and is sitting with good tension None of the pulleys have been changed and the one on the alternator is the same as it always has been

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Monday, December 7th, 2009 AT 8:03 PM