charging

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JACOBOSNESS
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I have a 1989 lincoln town car with 120087 miles, 5.0L. I have replaced the battery with a new one, put on new pos and neg battery cables. i have taken out the alternator and had it bench tested at the local auto parts store,(it tested good). But when i drive the car it does not seem to charge. i have also brought it in to the ford dealership to have them look at it and they could not find any thing wrong. but then when i picked it up it wouldn't start,( dead battery again). what could be causing this? is there a fuse or something for the alternator?
Sep 8, 2007 at 6:07 PM
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RASMATAZ
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 75,988 POSTS
[quote:e5bc0b998f="jacobosness"]I have a 1989 lincoln town car with 120087 miles, 5.0L. I have replaced the battery with a new one, put on new pos and neg battery cables. i have taken out the alternator and had it bench tested at the local auto parts store,(it tested good). But when i drive the car it does not seem to charge. i have also brought it in to the ford dealership to have them look at it and they could not find any thing wrong. but then when i picked it up it wouldn't start,( dead battery again). what could be causing this? is there a fuse or something for the alternator?[/quote:e5bc0b998f]

If you full field the regulator meaning bypassing it and the voltage increases-the regulator is defective if not the alternator.

Recommend you have the stator and ignition circuit coming off the alternator to the ignition be check.
Sep 8, 2007 at 6:36 PM
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TOBYU
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A bad voltage regulator will keep a good alternator from charging.
It is on the passenger fender well IIRC...and you can get a cheap one for 12.00. I would recommend the cheap one for test purposes and if it fixes your problem...go get a motorcraft one at the dealer and put the cheapie in the glove box for a back up, as the motorcraft ones are very good regulators....the aftermarket ones are very cheaply bulit and are regularly poorly adjusted for voltage output and don't last long.
I think FoMoCo ones are around 49.00
Nov 15, 2007 at 5:46 PM
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