Constantly charging

[jperls]

Hi everyone,

So for the past couple of months (ok since October really), my car has been reading between 14.0 and 14.8 volts (sometimes it drops down to 12.8 volts, but only after an extended time of driving and even then it is for a very short time). I suspect I have a short somewhere, but I am wondering if there is any other reason why I would be constantly charging?

The modifications that I have done to the electrical system are as follows:

1. Diode Dynamics interior kit
2. Diode Dynamics sequencers
3. Diode Dynamics switchback turn signals
4. Diode Dynamics rear sidemarker lights

I was involved in an accident in October which the repairs involved replacing the driver's side headlight. Later that month, I had Ford replace the backup camera and check the wiring for shorts. Other than that, no other electronic modifications have been done.

Before the accident, all of the above modifications were done and the voltage was reading correctly. I brought this up to Ford and they of course came back saying, "it is within normal parameters, just enjoy your mustang". Just the fact that my battery is constantly charging makes me feel a little uneasy, that the alternator is doing more work that it really needs to be doing and will thus wear prematurely. Any ideas?

Jason

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[mikes2017gt]

The accident is the red flag here. You would THINK that when a reputable body shop replaces something like a headlight, they use all OEM parts, proper connectors and such but that isn't the case.

I had Focus that was involved in a minor accident and I had the drivers headlight replaced and some supporting brackets. Everything was cool for a while, then the headlamp would experience random dimming. Then it would go away. And then one day after I parked, I smelled it. The unmistakable smell of wires burning.

Opened the hood to find the bulb socket almost fused to the headlight assembly. Got it pulled out and the wires wire spliced with 1" of black tape, the wires were jammed into the socket, with no metal connector tabs. I almost sh1t myself, I was so pissed.

But, knowing what I do about "customer service" at body shops, I knew to fix it right, I"d have to do it myself. If there was a lot damage, wiring harness fried, that would've been a diff story.

I bought the proper pigtail online and properly SOLDERED it with heat-shrinked connections into the headlight wiring harness. Worked flawlessly after that. Go figure.

Long story short, I would bet you have a wire pinched or shorting out somewhere in the vicinity of the damage site. Double check yourself. You may have to pull the headlight housing.

OR, you could take it back to the place that fixed it and hope for the best. Good luck.

ps
It woudl be a good idea to double check any aftermarket lighting you installed that uses t-taps or splices to ensure nothing is lose and shorting out against a piece of metal.

 

[jperls]

The accident is the red flag here. You would THINK that when a reputable body shop replaces something like a headlight, they use all OEM parts, proper connectors and such but that isn't the case.

I had Focus that was involved in a minor accident and I had the drivers headlight replaced and some supporting brackets. Everything was cool for a while, then the headlamp would experience random dimming. Then it would go away. And then one day after I parked, I smelled it. The unmistakable smell of wires burning.

Opened the hood to find the bulb socket almost fused to the headlight assembly. Got it pulled out and the wires wire spliced with 1" of black tape, the wires were jammed into the socket, with no metal connector tabs. I almost sh1t myself, I was so pissed.

But, knowing what I do about "customer service" at body shops, I knew to fix it right, I"d have to do it myself. If there was a lot damage, wiring harness fried, that would've been a diff story.

I bought the proper pigtail online and properly SOLDERED it with heat-shrinked connections into the headlight wiring harness. Worked flawlessly after that. Go figure.

Long story short, I would bet you have a wire pinched or shorting out somewhere in the vicinity of the damage site. Double check yourself. You may have to pull the headlight housing.

OR, you could take it back to the place that fixed it and hope for the best. Good luck.

ps
It would be a good idea to double check any aftermarket lighting you installed that uses t-taps or splices to ensure nothing is lose and shorting out against a piece of metal.

Thank you for the reply...

1. I think you might be right about the possibility of a pinched wire because they also had to take off the right front fender to roll it back into shape...but I am not so sure because the headlight housing is self contained and all of the wires /bulbs plug into the housing...but there is always the possibility of a pinched wire. I will need to take the car back to the body shop since some of the work was also done to the driver's side fender (not going to pull that off myself...rather have a body shop do that work instead)

2. All the aftermarket lightning I have installed is plug and play...no t-taps, splices, or anything like that.

Cheers

 

[wildcatgoal]

Check battery voltage when car is turned off and watch it over time to see how voltage drops, if at all. Shouldn't really dump below 12.6 and normal operating charge is typically a steady 13.8 unless it's heavily drained, then the alternator will spin up >14. Battery, right after the car turns off, as far as I've seen on variable charge cars, be >13.

 

[jperls]

Check battery voltage when car is turned off and watch it over time to see how voltage drops, if at all. Shouldn't really dump below 12.6 and normal operating charge is typically a steady 13.8 unless it's heavily drained, then the alternator will spin up >14. Battery, right after the car turns off, as far as I've seen on variable charge cars, be >13.

I took the car in for an oil change last Saturday and the dealer said my battery is in good condition (which is actually a little surprising considering the car was manufactured in October 2014...I thought these batteries drained quicker because of the key less features (especially the remote start function)

 

[wildcatgoal]

Yes but the variable charge on these modern cars is designed to prolong the battery's life while at the same time reducing drag on the belt system/crank/engine. You see even in GM cars they charge usually at 13.8 which is like feeding a battery candy, so I'm told.

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