Re: 1996 F150 - short?

Posted by Bruce(OR) on November 08, 2017 at 08:45:21 from (65.102.61.220):

In Reply to: 1996 F150 - short? posted by dhermesc on November 06, 2017 at 08:10:22:

Battery every 4 years or so....is it past due? Have you started by removing and cleaning the post and cables, or just saying "It looks clean."

Pulling off a cable with the alternator equipped engine running is a good way to blow out ignition modules, computers, body control modules, fry alternators. . .
If you have a generator equipped engine, then you can pull off the cable. A "generator" does just that. It generates and does not need a source voltage for reference. If you pull the cable on the alternator, you no longer have source voltage and the alternator goes full field and can easily produce better than twice the highest rated out put. So basically your talking upwards of 24 volts and about 200 amps. ZAP.
Your battery acts as a giant capacitor smoothing out voltage spikes. Take off battery and create your own voltage spike. POW!
In olden days, pulling off the cable with the engine running was a good way to check generator output. If the engine died, you had a bad generator. Pull the cable off with the alternator and YOU can kill the engine electronics.

To check for your short, Get yourself a DVOM. (Digital Volt Ohm Multi meter) The old needle swinging analog meters will draw enough current and can also blow out computer circuits. That fancy new digital scale meter is what you need and you also need it to read amps. Most small meters will read 10 amps.

Some of the smaller amp reading DVOM's have an internal fuse to protect the meter from overloading it and blowing the meter up. That fuse is generally not one that is typically found at the auto parts store. So, get yourself and inline fuse holder and a 7.5 amp fuse, I prefer the auto spade fuses, splice that into the pos cable on the multi meter and now you won't be blowing the fuse inside the meter. Instead, you can rplace the external fuse easier than the internal fuse, should you overload the circuit.

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