Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Alternator Not Charging Battery

I recently joined the Air National Guard which means that I have the opportunity to drive the Mustang to UTA one weekend a month. The base is only about 25 minutes from my house so it makes for a decent drive. This month was odd in the sense that UTA was Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I was driving home on Saturday evening when I noticed that my battery wasn't charging. The Volt meter was reading just under 12 volts. I didn't have the time to troubleshoot on Saturday night, and since I had to leave the house early the next morning I took my wife's car. I popped the hood a few days later and started checking the various connection points between the alternator and the batter. I checked the cable on the back of the alternator, the fuse, the connection on the starter solenoid, and then the connection on the battery. I noticed that the cable was loose so I took a closer look and noticed that the connector was broken.



I went and bought a new cable from the local parts store, but before I got the chance to hook it up I noticed that the alternator belt was gone. That is most likely the cause of the non-charging battery.



I haven't taken the time to go back and buy a new belt, or hook up the new battery cable since I don't need the car running. I'll probably try to fix it before I head out of town.