I have a 2003 X-type 2.5 with a manual transmission. A few weeks ago I rnoticed the battery light was on so I went through the usually trouble shooting and, changed the battery which had gotten old (2006 installation) Now occassionally the battery light comes on and off a times. I had the altenator checked and the battery and both are good. I haven't added anything to the vehicle except running an ipod adapter through the cigarette lighter.

 

Cer, what I want you to try is going out to your car and turning on the A/C on high (manual mode) and then turn on your headlights (this will supply about a 45 amp load on the alternator). Now, with the car in NEUTRAL or PARK, rev the engine. Does the battery light come on? If yes, then your alternator is starting to go, replace the alternator. If it isn't, then let me know and I will give you a few more checks to do. But, what you are describing is the alternator starting to go.

A common failure mode of the Ford based alternators is that as the motor RPMs are raised up to the 3-4,000 RPM range, they start to be unable to generate the necessary voltage/current. This causes the battery light to come on.

 

Thermo,
I ran the car like you said for 10 min. with all the accessories on and cranked up. I didn't get any change from normal operation even the lights stayed on strong without any flicker.

 

Cer, then it sounds like you have a loose wire. Odds are, it is the wire running between the computer and the alternator. A simple bump in the road may be enough to move the wire to cause it to act up. if you want to tackle this project, let me know and I will tell you what you need to do.

 

Thermo, can you post about the wire to the alternator from the computer? I think mine maybe loose. I had the alternator replaced and the light stays on.

 

Chuck, if you have this problem all the time (which is sounds like you do), then I would first check fuse F82 in the central junction box. If you blow this fuse, you loose all power to the field of the alternator and it will cause it to light the Battery light due to not outputting the correct voltage.

Next, with the engine off, connect a multimeter across the battery. It should read 12.6 VDC (12.5 to 12.7 VDC). If not, charge the battery to achieve this condition. Once at 12.6 VDC, leave the multimeter connected and start the car. Does the multimeter jump up to between 13.6 and 15.3 VDC and stay in this band (may fluctuate, this is normal based on the ECM controlling the voltage based on what it determines is needed for the battery)? If yes, you have a problem with the circuitry to the battery light, let me know if this is the case and I will give you some more stuff to check.

Now that we have proven the alternator is not functioning properly, the next check will be to connect the multimeter to the red/green wire to pin 1 on the alternator (do this with the engine off). With the engine running, this wire should be seeing about 7 VDC (any voltage is fine as long as it is not less than 1.0 VDC or more than 12.0 VDC). Do you see this voltage? If you are getting less than 1.0 VDC, then you have a wiring problem, repeat this check by connecting the multimeter to pin 53 of the ECM. If the voltage is the same, problem in the ECM, if it is different, open in the wiring between the ECM and the alternator. If the voltage as seen at pin 1 of the alternator is at the voltage initially seen across the battery with the engine running, you either have a bad alternator or the red/green wire between the ECM and the alternator is shorted to battery voltage (highly unlikely as this will tend to cause the alternator to output something in the neighborhood of 15.3 VDC. Have the alternator tested and if it tests good, you have a bad wire between the ECM and the alternator.

If you are getting roughly 7 VDC on the red/green wire on the alternator, move the red lead over to pin #3 on the alternator (orange/green wire). Are you getting roughly 7 VDC here (something between 1.0 and 12.0 VDC)? If you are getting less than 1.0 VDC, you have an internal problem with the alternator and it needs to be replaced. If you are getting over 12.0 VDC, either an internal problem with the alternator or the wire is shorted to battery voltage. Test alternator and if it is good, troubleshoot the orange/green wire). If you are getting a good voltage, then odds are your problem lies with the signal wire that runs between the alternator and the ECM. Let me know and I will give you some more info on this.

 

Where is the central junction box. I have my manual from the car, but do not see anything called a central junction box or a F82 fuse. I am in the states also....could be called different if you are in the UK...

Thanks!

 

Nevermind. I figured it out. The fuse appears to be good. Just add to the issue, my front seat heaters have not been working either since the alternator blew and was replaced. Are there any ties b/t the two? Also, I noticed my dash lights dimming a little bit earlier. Would that most likely mean the alternator I received when I got it replaced was bad to begin with?

Thanks for all the help.. it is greatly appreciated.

 

Chuck, the lights dimming is simply saying that the alternator voltage was fluctuating. Could be a bad alternator, could be other issues. Hard to say since you have feedback between the two systems. Getting the alternator tested probably would not be a bad idea, it would help eliminate possible problems.

 

Since the alternator was under warranty still, the repair shop is replacing it for free. After I told them about the research that I have done and the thoughts of others, they agreed the alternator was most likely bad. Thanks Again for the help!

 

no, the biggest issue on Xtypes is not the alternator but the positive battery cable. we replace 10-20 a year if not more for that issue. run the car awhile, the cable gets hot, resistance goes up and you no longer have the correct voltage to the battery even though you do at the alternator, a resistance check many times shows okay when cold or sometimes hot. But if you press and hold the trip button then start the car and hold, you go into test features, then cycle through till you find batt voltage and go drive. It will eventually go down to 12.6 or less and then the light comes on too.. you can test the back right off the alternator, but its really hot and right by the fan blades. or you can monitor by cycling the instrument pack through the test features till you pull up battery voltage. but we normally just use IR temp gun and shoot the cable, if its alot hotter than the negative and the metal around it, theres your problem...Again it does pay to go to people that work on the car all day and know the issues. Although, we are one of the largest dealers and see alot of the problems that smaller dealers dont. Then again some techs and shops never discuss issues they find with each other and the fixes. We always try to...

 

Well, I got the alternator replaced. The light is still on. The mechanic said something about a suppressor that would make the light turn off was burnt out. Any ideas what this is? Mentioned something about the suppressor changing the voltage from negative to positive therefore turning off the light.

 

Well, I got the alternator replaced. The light is still on. The mechanic said something about a suppressor that would make the light turn off was burnt out. Any ideas what this is? Mentioned something about the suppressor changing the voltage from negative to positive therefore turning off the light.

 

see post above, he's full of it....
I have seen maybe a total of 3 alternators replaced on Xtypes since theyve come out, and 2 were probobly done mistakenly too...come on guys we work on hundreds of these a year if not thousands. like I said above we replace cables like theyre on sale.....please tell him to go back to electrical class 101. check the back of the alternator for exact voltage and check for voltage drop at the battery, should never have more than .2 volts drop. but like I said above might need the cables and engine hot to duplicate. although if its on all the time then should be easy. which is why I like to use the vooltage reading through the test feature in the meassage center of the instrument pack. press and hold the trip buttoon ,start the car continuing to hold the button. hold it until it the message center goes through to the test feature. now release the button and press and press to toggle through the features till you come to batt voltage this lets you monitor the voltage while driving and you can watch the voltage drop in many instances. note if you have good voltage and the light is on you have a bad instrument pack(solder migration)

 

Hello all been long time since last posting but still having same problems.
Done what said in above but car jumps from 13.8 to 15/16 in test mode then bat light comes on,would this still be same wire fault or am I looking at something else
Any help is welcome cheers

 

hi all and yes im a newby, 2004 x type 2.0 d . i have same problem but light comes on after 2 or 3 minuits of starting and interior lights are slighly flickering aswell . put some jump leads on to start it ,when it started bat light came on but no flickering ,took jump leads off and lights started flickering again could this be the leads ??

 

i'd listen to brutal before going to any shop :+)

 

x type 2.0d had a mecanic/mate look at my car and he said gem module is my problem battery light comes on after 3 or 4 minutes and lights pulsate/flicker any one else had this problem , and can i just get a gem module and plug in or does it have to be coded into the car

 

Any luck with this?