Charging system issues?

TERRANCE D FARMER

MEMBER
2011 FORD MUSTANG
5.0L
V8
2WD
MANUAL
82,000 MILES

Car starts after a jump but drops voltage, is it my alternator? Should I even start there I don't have any wiring diagrams for it, every place tells me it's a different fuse I need to check, is there a way to bench test an alternator that isn't confusing as heck? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.

3 Replies

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,942 POSTS

Once the car is running, use a voltameter to check the alternator output.

Here is a guide to help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator

If it turns out the alternator is working, I would say the battery is bad. here is a charging system wiring diagram so you can see how the system works. This guide can confirm the battery failure:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test

The wiring diagrams show the fuses that run the system so you can check them as well. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.

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Thursday, October 27th, 2022 AT 9:47 AM

TERRANCE D FARMER

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thank you so much for exactly what I was looking for I appreciate the help! I don't quite understand the wiring diagram.

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Thursday, October 27th, 2022 AT 10:04 AM

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,942 POSTS

It is like a road map game; follow the wires and they show you how it works, and the components involved. Usually the alternator is the problem, I would get a top-quality rebuilt unit and install it. Let me know.

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Saturday, October 29th, 2022 AT 1:59 PM