Hi

I have a 53 plate Ford KA that is giving me no end of problems at the moment, so would like to pick your brains on what you may think the problrm is!

My battery light started coming on constantly a few months ago and assumed that this meant the alternator was on it's way out, escpecially as my lights were dimming in and out. I had this replaced with a second hand part and proceeded to break down a few days later as my alternator was over-charging. We thought it might have been a dodgy part, so got the old alternator re-conditioned and put in the car, but the alternator is still over charging at 16v. The mechanic seems to think that it might now be a problem with the ECU, but I have been told that it could just be the battery???

Any advice would be great as I really don't want to spend out anymore money on something that doesn't need fixing.

Thanks

hi mazzamc

alternator has a built in voltage regulator (mechanic should know this).

it sounds to me that this has gone and requires replacing,

it may be worthwhile getting the battery checked at the same time.

tom

have you tried a diffrent battery from a friends ka if possible or from a fiesta(make sure battery the same spec)

it does sound like the alternator to me or the battery at fault.

to be honest you have really eliminated the altinator so most prob the battery ??

take car in the a battery check as lot of garages will do a free winter check

it maywell the the ecu as it controlls the altinator current so i have been told

as on here if there is anyone that lives local to you that you can do a battery swap check

let us know how you get on m8

Hi Mazzamc

check this out.

Definition: A part of the charging system that controls how much electricity the alternator puts out (See Alternator). The voltage regulator on today's cars is an electronic black box, which means you can't adjust it or repair it if anything goes wrong with it.

On most newer vehicles the voltage regulator is located inside the alternator and cannot be replaced separately. On some cars, the powertrain control module (PCM) regulates the alternator. A defective regulator can cause the alternator to produce too much voltage (which can damage the battery, lights and electronic components) or it can prevent it from making enough voltage to keep the battery fully charged. The toughest challenge when diagnosing a charging problem is to figure out whether it's the voltage regulator or alternator that's at fault. Using a procedure called "full fielding the alternator" that causes the alternator to put out maximum current will reveal which component is at fault.

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just to add the ECU has nothing to do with the alternator current.

My ford ka 04 plate is overchanging the battery what could it be please 

Alternator.