93 escort-No output from alternator

[Kaysea2]

I have a 93 escot that will not chargethe battery. I intalled a new battery and have now tried 3 rebuilt alternators. There is only 11.8 volts at the battery with the engine running. I removed the last alternator and took it down to Napa to get tested and it was good. I checked out the wiring close and could not find any issues with it, ran a ground cable directly to the alt. bracket and installed a new belt. All of the fusible links and fuses inside the car are good and the car runs fine off the battery. Nothing I have tried has worked so far and I am absolutley stumped. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[AzTumbleweed]

I was looking at a schematic and there is a fuse in the fuse box under the hood labeled 'BTN'. Check that. I would hook a volt meter to the alternator output and try wiggling around the wiring to see if I could find something loose or broken.

[Kaysea2]

[quote=Kaysea2;6799608]I have a 93 escot that will not chargethe battery. I intalled a new battery and have now tried 3 rebuilt alternators. There is only 11.8 volts at the battery with the engine running. I removed the last alternator and took it down to Napa to get tested and it was good. I checked out the wiring close and could not find any issues with it, ran a ground cable directly to the alt. bracket and installed a new belt. All of the fusible links and fuses inside the car are good and the car runs fine off the battery. Nothing I have tried has worked so far and I am absolutley stumped. Any suggestions would be appreciated. [ Thank you for thr advice tumbleweed, I have tried these things and still could not find the problem. I checked for a short in the wiring systems for the stereo and the command start systems, which were in the car when I purchased it and they checked out good. I can not find a good wiring schematic for this car so I broke down and took it to a repair shop (ouch). I will post what they find when it is repaired. /quote]

[AzTumbleweed]

Thanks, you've sure got me curious!

[zzyzzx2]

There is only 11.8 volts at the battery with the engine running

At what RPM? You do know that that you should rev the engine some, to maybe 1500RPM for it to be a better test. Having said that even at idle I'd expect it to be at least 12V. Get the factory service manual EVTM for the schematics.

[Kaysea2]

The problem was a break in the electrical circuit panel on the backside of the instrument cluster (probably not the best terminology). I bought this car about 4 months ago and it appears that someone had soldered in a piece of wire to repair this brake in the past. The circuit that powers the low battery charge light in the instrument cluster was interrupted so the circuit could not be completed. Had to buy and install a used instrument cluster to repair it.

[zzyzzx2]

Wow! That sounds like it would be difficult to find!

[AzTumbleweed]

Originally Posted by zzyzzx2

Wow! That sounds like it would be difficult to find!

Sounds like you found a good mechanic

[Intuit]

I was about to guess at the ignition switch. When I had a severly worn key it was easy (albeit, still took some effort) to run the car without the instrument cluster being active. No cluster, no alternator.

[Intuit]

Not that it much matters since you're primarily looking to tweak search engine results, but aiyain't click'n on your stupid links spammer. :P Do like other folks and PAY FOR ADVERTISING SLOTS. Ya cheap bastards...