Battery/Alternator Light On Even Though Battery Is Charging and Alt Checks Out

30

Asked by CVPI_Checker_Guy Mar 14, 2019 at 08:58 AM about the 2011 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I've got a 2011 CVPI that had a failing alternator (66k miles, low idle hours,
pulley clutch was failing anyway, then it just stopped charging one day). I
purchased a re-manufactured alternator at Advance Auto and swapped it
out. Replacement alternator did not cure the battery light, and when bench-
tested, came up faulty, so they swapped it for another unit. Installed that and
battery light disappeared initially, but came back after a night of driving. I had
just replaced the battery before installing the replacement alternator and
made sure it was charged fully before trying it out. Battery terminals are
clean and properly installed. New alternator does check out in-spec with
13.52v no load, and 13.50v with load. This is the 200 amp police interceptor
alternator and I was used to seeing 14.2v before, but now I only see 13.5 (I
have an OBDII mini-display I'm using to keep an eye on system voltage
while I figure this out). Wires all look OK, but that doesn't mean there isn't
some sort of short somewhere, maybe in the com wires to the PCM?
Anybody have any suggestions?

2 Answers

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UPDATE: Further investigation shows that the PCM says that GEN_COM is talking and requesting the alternator to provide 14.2-14.4v (desired voltage), but that no signal is being received on the GEN_MON channel. I will be tracing the wires from the alternator to the PCM to see if there are any breaks or shorts, and will try testing for output directly from the GEN_MON pin on the alternator to see if it's even working. Is there any way to specifically test the PCM other than through the OBDII port? Can a Ford dealership bench test a PCM?

3 people found this helpful.
260

I’m having the exact same problem on my 08 P71. What fixed your issue? What was the problem?

2 people found this helpful.

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