My alternator tested fine on three occasions plus I had a new alternator put on. With either alternator installed the system is not receiving a charge. The car runs off the battery until it’s depleted. I checked all fuses and fusible links that I can find and they all test fine. A man at the Ford Dealership sold me what I think is an in-line fuse only later to find out my model doesn’t have that. It would have attached to the end of the black/orange positive cable where it meets the fuse box at the firewall. So far I can’t find out why it’s not charging. Could it be that there is a short somewhere and that it’s sending the power directly to ground? Where should I start troubleshooting?
Also, I noticed that the Mass Air Flow Sensor was unplugged, when I plug it in when the car is running the car immediately dies and will not restart until I unplug the MAFS.
Thanks for your time.
Sorry, Don’t know how to edit my post. The car is a 94 Ford Taurus 3.0 U.
Question first. Does the red battery light on the dashboard illuminate when the key is on?
Problem one: Almost certainly, one of the control wires going to the alternator is bad or the connector is. These are pretty simple to troubleshoot. The factory service manual includes a set of simple tests to get to the bottom of this problem.
Problem two: The MAF is bad or very very dirty. When it’s unplugged, the engine runs in failure-effects-management mode. You’ll get better mileage, life and performance if you fix it(replace the MAF).
No, the battery light does not illuminate with key on. The battery is also losing it’s charge over night while hooked up. With fresh battery the light doesn’t illuminate.