Battery not Charging

[BGBronco]

I have a 302 w/ Fitech and for some reason / reasons the battery won't charge / stay charged. I can start it with a battery pack w/ a battery pack, no problem.

I'm creating plenty of volts to charge the battery (based on the fitech controller readings) but they aren't making it the battery.

I've had two (different) batteries in the Bronco at this point and both are being drained or not charging. Where are my points of failure?

Thank you.

 

[SteveL]

I had a bad voltage regulator cause it.

 

[EPB72]

Do you have a multimeter and test light .if so then test voltage at battery post for charging as first step 14-14.5 would be good...quick test for a draw would be disconnect neg battery cable put old school test light in between battery post and cable if lights up you have a draw ,,which then could be lots of possible reasons

 

[DirtDonk]

Is the wiring totally stock still? Or is there an aftermarket harness installed?

Dual batteries? What type of setup? Isolator? Switchable relay? Parallel?

So the FiTch controller shows higher voltage? What kind of readings are you seeing on the screen? And what are you seeing at each battery?

Paul

 

[BGBronco]

I've tried two batteries, not a dual set up And multiple Voltage Regulators.

I am still running the stock harness with the addition of the nightlight harness for the headlights. The fitech controller is showing that I'm 14 + while driving.

 

[DirtDonk]

So you need to measure at the battery then, as EPB suggested. Make sure it's getting to the battery.
Not sure how it could NOT get to the battery though, as the main charge wire that carries current from the alternator to the battery is also the one that powers the whole truck from the battery.
So if the fusible link was burned out, you would not be able to start the truck.

Let's see what it says at the battery then, and if different from your readout, try to figure out where the fault lies.

Paul

 

[jms5580]

Sounds like something is draining the battery while parked. As the others have said, if there's power from the alternator it should make it to the battery.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

[Broncobowsher]

Sounds like a drain on the battery more than it not charging. You are reading 14V running, that is a working charging system. When it is reading 14V what does your meter say across the battery. It is going to have to be really close to that same 14V.

Turn the truck off, disconnect the negative battery cable. does it spark as it goes on and off? That shows a drain. A test light (regular light bulb type, not LED, not a meter) between the battery and the battery cable is best for this. With a drain like you describe, it should glow. disconnect stuff. When you disconnect the drain, the light will go out.

It could be something really simple like the EFI wired wring, switched power connected to the battery so the EFI stays on forever. The engine still turns off because the spark is switched. Other sources have been bad voltage regulators, bad alternators, bad ignition modules, bad ignition switch, even heard of a bad starter solenoid. Once had a brake light switch that partially stayed on, got hot, ran the battery down. Relays wired wrong. The list goes on and on.

 

[blubuckaroo]

I'm with EPB72.
Why depend on the FiTech's readout for things like charge voltage?
Check the charge voltage with a voltmeter. Then there will be no question.

Then, if you need to find out whether it's the regulator or alternator at fault, you can full-field the alternator to see if the voltage rises. If it does, it's the regulator to blame.

 

[BGBronco]

Very perplexing. Even after driving 20 - 30 mins, there isn't enough charge to restart. I will be going through the above recommendations in the next few days. Thank you.

 

[Bronco4x4]

Also, check all electrical connectors for corrosion.

 

[Broncobowsher]

So what are the odds that the battery is found to be bad?

 

[DirtDonk]

If the two batteries he's tried so far were new, probably fitty-fitty maybe?;D

Not out of line at all to think in those terms these days. I've had good luck with batteries so far, but have heard enough horror stories of new batteries going bad within weeks to even days, to never rule it out anymore.
If they were both known good in other vehicles, the chances go way down.
But if they were both good, but both got drained badly while in use in this Bronco, then all bets are off!%)

Paul

 

[BGBronco]

Well, I think I found the culprit. I have had my fitech controller attached all the time. Last night, I was getting something out of the Bronco and the blue controller screen came on quickly and turned off. I watched this for a while and it was doing it every minute or so. In researching this, apparently the controller was not designed for continuous use. I will report back!

 

[Eoth]

Well.. Yes it does drain your battery if you leave it plugged in. With a 10 year old battery I see a .1 volt drop per day. So basically speaking, if I leave the screen plugged in all the time it becomes an issue if I only drive it once a week.
Edit: Just re-read your posting... Are you saying that your screen pops on and off without your engine even running?? It should turn off 20 seconds or so after you turn off your truck and stay off.... I could be wrong, but you wont be able to get the screen to come back up until you turn the ignition back on (not positive on that). But it definitely shouldn't be turning on and off by itself.

 

[BGBronco]

It is turning on and off by itself! It's just the initial Fitech screen.

Well.. Yes it does drain your battery if you leave it plugged in. With a 10 year old battery I see a .1 volt drop per day. So basically speaking, if I leave the screen plugged in all the time it becomes an issue if I only drive it once a week.
Edit: Just re-read your posting... Are you saying that your screen pops on and off without your engine even running?? It should turn off 20 seconds or so after you turn off your truck and stay off.... I could be wrong, but you wont be able to get the screen to come back up until you turn the ignition back on (not positive on that). But it definitely shouldn't be turning on and off by itself.

 

[Eoth]

Ya...... That aint right..... The screen will not turn on by itself even when you turn on the igintion (you have to press a button on the handheld unit and then it will stay on as long as the engine is on). HOWEVER I did notice that the screen will turn on when you plug the power cord for the handheld unit in.
So... With that logic... Either you have a defective handheld unit OR.... You have a short that is intermittently powering the handheld unit.
Or now that I think about it, you could have a intermittent connection going into the handheld unit or the pigtail connection coming off the Fitec injectors.

 

[BGBronco]

Well. The issue wasn't the controller being plugged in constantly as stated above. the search continues.

 

[EPB72]

So have you checked alternator output at battery (voltage..amps)??Have checked for draw at battery test light method or better yet amp meter in line to battery post and cable end that you disconnect from battery ...haven't seen your results from these test yet in this post.

 

[blubuckaroo]

So have you checked alternator output at battery (voltage..amps)??Have checked for draw at battery test light method or better yet amp meter in line to battery post and cable end that you disconnect from battery ...haven't seen your results from these test yet in this post.

X2.
Test the charging voltage with a volt meter rather than the Fitech screen.