5 Alternators Later...STILL Not Charging?? (Ford Escape V6)

I feel like I'm married to this 2006 Ford Escape :(
2 years ago we replaced a failing Voltage Regulator inside the Alternator to fix a severe OVERCHARGING condition (30 Volts!!)
1 month ago, the SAME thing happened, and I installed ANOTHER new aftermarket voltage regulator.
Now, the customer says the Battery Warning light has been coming on for the past few days.
They tried driving the car to my shop but STALLED OUT at night with a mile to go!!
WHAT DO WE DO? I REALLY don't want to swap out this miserable alternator AGAIN!!!!!!
We still need to DIAGNOSE the issue before jumping to conclusions.
This time the alternator is shutting OFF while driving, unlike the previous Overcharging events...
After an extended test drive, I'm not convinced that it needs ANOTHER ALTERNATOR...
You won't believe the findings...
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TOPDON TORNADO 90000, 90A Smart Charger:
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OTC 3820-06 Low Amp Probe:
www.amazon.com/dp/B000F5ECJA?...
Enjoy!
Ivan

[@stevenlatham4397]

You defeat some of the weirdest automotive problems. I wish I didn’t live 1,400 miles away.

[@scientist100]

You don't need to find him. I do these fixes and there are a few solos that do it as well. People from shops will not spend time to fix it right because they move quick to make money. I do it as a hobby like Ivan does so we can afford to spend a bit more time, Ivan still needs to make money but with his KZbin films, he offsets his cash flow.

[@metoon3092]

@@scientist100 film?

[@robarnt6]

I KNOW, scientist.. I love these crazy diag videos. Make some!

[@scientist100]

@@metoon3092 indeed, film...

[@TheWilber09]

I'm sure Ivan charges accordingly. It takes as long as it takes for weird issues.

[@Discretesignals]

The charging system has two circuits. Gen Com (GENRC)and Gen Mon(GENLI). Gen Com is the PCM commanding the alternator. The PCM pulls the voltage from the regulator low to generate the command signal . Gen Mon is basically the regulator talking to the PCM telling the PCM that it is doing what the PCM is commanding on Gen Com. The regulator pulls the voltage low from the PCM to generate the signal. If you short the Gen Com to the Gen Mon at the connector and look at your GENRC and GENLI data pids the values will be bouncing back and forth because the PCM is seeing itself. That lets you know the PCM and circuits are good. You're only seeing one coil in your voltage waveform, so you could have another coil wacking the PCM and causing a reset. You also need to set your voltage scale higher to see those flyback spikes. They are maxing out at 200 volts. Set to 400V. If they max out above 400V, you have an issue.

[@kendom33]

Great explanation

[@PonkyKong]

ripple current from failed elctrolytic capacitors in the ECM?

[@1dave301]

In 2002, there was a TSB that said Ford claimed the voltage sense wire was too small of a gauge that would cause erratic charging. We soldered an additional wire in parallel and it solved the "several bad alternators" issue on the car we had.

[@1967250s]

I had a similar problem, my 944 Porsche would run all day, come night, battery was not being charged enough. Eventually found a small connector under the dash for the exciting volt had 2 strands of the wire hanging on, the rest of the (small ) wire broken. A quick splice and never a problem again. The 2 strands was enough current to charge during the day, but not enough at night with lights on.

[@D2O2]

Voltage sense wire "should" have virtually zero current and therefore size shouldn't matter.

[@nickmalone3143]

​@@D2O2should be high impedence on a voltage sensor

[@gmv0553]

I have never met or seen another mechanic attack problems with the approach that you take. Love your videos and always look forward to the next one.

[@MrGerryoc]

I love how you stick with it till it’s fixed awesome😊

[@harrylister804]

Ivan is very good. His approach is the scientific method, you know proving stuff. That takes proper tools. If you want to determine if a mechanic can be trusted to solve a difficult electrical problem, ask to see his tool box. If you see a laptop, a thinktool, DMM, picoscope, lots of funky connectors, then he could be qualified. If you see a bottle of Jack Daniels and lots of air tools, maybe he can do pads and rotors or a control arm.

[@maxwebster7572]

@@harrylister804 Yes this is true but I saw a diagnostic guy that couldn't plug a tire.

[@jdawglawler8833]

Just recovered from smashing my thumb in a car door, I feel your pain!

[@nathanhurst5155]

I noticed that too and saw he had the ole hole drilled into it to relieve the pressure.

[@HollomanUFOLanding]

My only complaint about Ivan's videos is that they're finished too quickly! I could watch them for hours! I love a good detectiove story and there's none better than watching this man and his craft. Thanks, Ivan.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

I do love to share the mysteries 😄

[@HollomanUFOLanding]

@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics hahaa In your case Ivan, it's not "Murder She Wrote' but "Misfire He Fixed!"

[@jerrymoore7669]

Must be a ford thing. Reminds me of a video Eric o did a few years back. Had a Ford fusion that was turning on a light for an emissions related code. I don't remember the exact one. He did the testing and replaced the part but problem was still there. It would set the light as a certain rpm. He was getting ready to call an ecm. Thinking outside the box, problem occurs at 3000 rpm, what else happens at 3000 rpm. The power steering had a switch that activates at 3000 rpm. The switch was chattering, sending a signal back to the ecm that it could not process. As a result it would turn on the light for the emissions fault. He unplug the switch problem went away.

[@paulstandaert5709]

I remember that episode. It was an EVAP code if I remember correctly. It is also possible that a new ECM would have actually fixed it. That ECM may have had a (failed) circuit within it to deal with this dirty input chatter from the power steering pressure switch. I would have saved that power steering pressure switch and tried it in another vehicle, mostly for curiosity / fun.

[@porky7753]

This reminds me of the old days, start off with new plugs and wires and go from there. Great catch Ivan.

[@mikechiodetti4482]

This reminds me of the Ford 2003 and 2004 6.8L V10 engines in the (Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power) F350 1 ton utility vehicles I worked on in the early 2000's. The PCM code was for the Input Shaft Speed Sensor in the front of the transmission. Some of the vehicles came to our Main St shop from other shops. The speed sensor, the connector, wiring and tone ring were all good. After reading an article in IATN about a Chrysler minivan spark plug wire causing a misfire and that caused other electrical problems I decided to check the spark plugs. The vehicles are L.A. DWP City vehicles with LOTS of stop and go driving. ALL 10 plugs were worn down with over a .060 (60 thousandths) gap. 10 new plugs AND 10 new upgraded ign coils, all Motorcraft.......No more ISS code. Many of the 1 ton utility's came to our shop from other shops for the same Code and fix. The trucks would wear out plugs in as little as 35,000 miles. City driving and heavy loads will do that. Most never made it to 100,000 before changing parts. The 5.4L V8 2 valve engines would misfire with worn plugs at 80,000 to 100,000 miles. New plugs and coils and off they'd go. Good one Ivan, hope the neighbor appreciates what you've done!

[@dustcommander100]

Back in the early 2000's, my dad was convinced his Buick's transmission was toast. Turned out to be the plug wires, and he was past the recommended replacement mileage. I think the next couple of cars he had had neither the recommended internal or the issues when they weren't changed. I've heard that on some Fords, bad plugs can damage the engine computer! That would ruin your day!

[@Bryan-Hensley]

A bad rpm sensor in ,I think, the alternator can ruin an automatic transmission in a Ford diesel truck from the late 1990s and early 2000s..

[@Paramount531]

I had an 85 FWD Cadillac Sedan deVille that had bad wires, making the transmission slam shift. I was convinced the trans was done the first time it happened. The bad wires were confirmed by going somewhere really dark, opening the hood and looking for sparks on the wires. The second time it happened I just replaced the wires again.

[@Pillers4Momoms]

I swear people will look at you crazy after this case study. Job well done.

[@brianmacadam4793]

I've found a electrical rebuild shop for my 50 yr old Lucas alternator. The shop immediately COMPLETELY disassembled and then replaced EVERYTHING. Everything works and has worked for a decade. Find a good shop and let them go to work.

[@volvo09]

I had a rebuilder do an alternator for me once too. It was a rare option high output alternator for an early 90's maxima and it was like $500 for a parts store one!! The shop rebuilt it in a day or two for like $100.

[@robertsmith2956]

My local one didn't survive the covid shutdown, or the machine shop next door to them.

[@on-site4094]

My uncle use to rebuild alternators. Rebuild kits were only. A few bucks Starters he says mechanic change all parts he said we repaired almost everything I said we live in the computer era reduce scrap recycle.

[@volvo09]

@@on-site4094 I got pretty lucky with mine... The stator burned up so it wasn't a quick fix with a voltage regulator or brushes. The shop I used is probably long gone now too.

[@erik_dk842]

@@robertsmith2956 All part of the plan(demic)

[@flatdaddio]

You have had some really weird case studies with coils and plugs. I would never have thought something like this could happen. Very difficult to find. Great job Ivan!!

[@robarnt6]

Well, and the only time this issue might come up is where the owner neglects routine maintenance - making this scenario extremely rare.

[@garyalford9394]

Kind of reminds me of that Subaru with the junk cheap coils !!

[@phildion8010]

You’re the reason I have a scope by the way. Thank you

[@phildion8010]

From Vermont

[@calholli]

I bought one too.. Still haven't needed to use it yet.

[@brianw8963]

Ivan convinced me long ago that a scope is a must have tool, but as I only do this stuff part time on the side , I’m not willing to drop 3K for a 4 channel, which is what I want. Could a guy purchase way lower priced two 2 channel’s and use them in tandem and get all 4 channels on a single screen?

[@calholli]

@@brianw8963 Get a DHO804 .. It can do everything you need. 4 channel. 25M deep memory, 12 bit vertical resolution. (EEvlog has a great hour long review of this thing and you can learn all about it-- it's less than four hundred bucks). This is the one I got.. after months of researching scopes. The only other one I would get is the pico.

[@calholli]

@@brianw8963 I got the dho804 .. watch 'EEvlogs video about it.

[@fritsprive]

I love your video's, but I'm always a bit sad when there is no bonus footage...😢

[@GarnConstructionInc]

Its the circus of circuits that have a built in shut down! Nice work Ivan!

[@scottschantz2553]

The value of a good test drive. Great job Ivan!

[@tomsawyer4776]

I have watched nearly every video you have ever made.....and this is the most unusual I have ever seen. GREAT JOB ! Best diagnostic tech in America.

[@rogerrocco5211]

Every problem has solution but few people are as willing as you to discover it. You deserve all the accolades that you receive! Congratulations for your dedication to success! Bravo!👏

[@Jerroh6]

Woah ! blew my mind twice this week. I just went thru an intermittent coolant leak that would never leak when I was looking at it. Replaced the expansion tank cap and no more leak.

[@kevincrawford6734]

Noticed the 1mm drill hole in your left thumb Ivan, THE only way to burst a blood blister!! Well done 👍😂

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Unfortunately nothing came out...damaged the nail even further haha

[@colinellicott9737]

​@@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics Fifty years ago my Mum (a nurse) used a paper clip heated to red hot over the stove to burn a hole in my big toe's nail to release the blood pressure from a bad contusion. Sterile, quick, easy, but with a distinctive smell ; )

[@htownblue11]

Incredible scenario and even better diagnosis and theory proven. Well done Ivan. Always learning from you.

[@hikerJohn]

AMAZING!! We are lucky to have these videos. Not that I'm a mechanic but I just love thinking about mechanical things and solving puzzles. Between you and Automotive Diagnostics & Programming If I were young I would be addicted and what to go into this line of work . . . I would of course have to be good enough at math to take electrical engineering in college. But when I was young I could lean anything I was interested in so I would be motivated to learn math better than I did 55 years ago. I was just a C student in math.

[@victorborges9523]

Regret? I am like the guy you described. I was fully motivated in these fields for automotive. I touched the ceiling professionally. Pierced it, went through it, surpassed the ceiling, won many recognitions, prizes, TV, newspapers, interviews. About 3,000 students later and about half a million vehicles fix later, still not rich. Great life, but not rich. On the other hand, a professional pot smoking customer asked for my help with his boat engine. This kid was from California. Bought three houses in Hawaii, two in NYC and was buying his second in Puerto Rico when I met him. All he did love was smoking marihuana. So he harvested. Sold the leaves for profit. It was the times of Melaleuca oil skyrocketing sales. So, in his mental trip, grabbed a bunch of branches and squeezed it. The rest of this multimillionaire is history. He invented THC. In the conversation he said he was not good in school. All C's.🤔

[@hikerJohn]

@@victorborges9523 I went into Landscaping and did pretty good. It's good work and pays well enough to retire on. If this guy you speak of thinks he invented THC he's smoked a few too may doobies

[@tonep3168]

Brilliant diagnosis Ivan!

[@kerrylewis2581]

This information needs to stay in my memory bank. Great diag and resolution

[@mmichaeldonavon]

Ivan. Once again I'm astonished by the fix! You never seem to amaze me. Thank you.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

I didn't believe it either...almost like that weird Subaru lol

[@Runco990]

Crazy!! At least it wasn't the RADIO causing the problem..... 🙃

[@billsimpson604]

I bet the Ford engineers who designed that system didn't know that an excessive spark plug gap could destroy part of the alternator.

[@victorborges9523]

With all due respect, I do believe they spent over 5 million dollars making certain it will fail if over gapped.

[@michaeltichonuk2176]

My goodness! Well, it speaks volumes of your diagnostic style and skill set!

[@robiecarmichael9958]

Wow! What a diagnosis’s! But as always you follow the clues, test, and verify. I would be surprised if very many techs would figure this one out. Not surprised you figured it out. Thanks for another great video.

[@richard1835]

Been awhile since I visited your channel. Missed the diagnostic work. Thank you for a great diagnostic and repair video.

[@FixthisCD]

Still think you need a customer reaction video. Imagine the reaction for not charging and you replaced spark plugs. "That's not why I brought it in for" ;)

[@victorborges9523]

NO, NO, NO ! Just imagine the customer face when told: the spk plgs gap was incorrect. It created a high voltage spike that tripped: the alternator charging. 😮 The technical part is easy. Dealing with this planet humans: PRICELESS

[@billsmith5166]

One heck of a catch! Good job.

[@jrehtil1494]

Great job and tutorial Ivan

[@j.t.johnston3048]

Awesome build! That's way more elegant than I thought it would be.

[@fredsalter1915]

12:00 purple thumb.... been there, done that lol! Great vid, sir ivan!!!!

[@Fishingmaniac1]

Superb diagnosis !

[@MrJet30]

This man is a straight up Genius!. The troubleshooting and the stuff he solves is remarkable.

[@johnz8210]

Awesome, thanks for the video. I have a 2006 Ford Freestyle here right now with identical symptoms. Cuts out under load, bucking, battery light comes on, returns to normal.

[@brianmiller-iz6vf]

I hope you put in new NGK spark plugs !

[@Bellboy40]

It sounds like you need a need set of spark plugs! 😁

[@kyletuttle9064]

Great diag and repair.keep the videos coming.thanks for sharing.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

You collect weird cases, Ivan! I was still watching, but my first thought was: could it be an intermittent bad ground with engine shaking? Well, you proved me wrong :-) Go figure, bad plugs cause spikes that the electronics don't like - insane! That's why I love the old "dumb" alternators :-)

[@willgeo2215]

I want to thank you for this video. I had similar issues with my 2007 Escape where the alternator would charge if I installed a freshly charged battery, but the next morning it wouldn't show it was charging and the battery would read 11.5 volts while running. I was about to take it to the Ford dealer for a $900 alternator replacement when I came across your video. I installed NKG plugs and the battery light went out and the alternator is charging normally now. You saved me a ton of money! What caused the battery light to come on in the first place was an engine light that came on after I put fuel injector cleaner into a tank that had about 2 gallons of gas in it (a mistake on my part). It caused the engine to misfire. I filled the tank and the engine light cleared away but the battery light kept coming on.

[@Frank19184]

Wow!! Crazy stuff! Good job on the diagnosis. 👍

[@petepeabody8905]

Thanks Ivan. Great info

[@billbarney4937]

5 alternators? wow thats crazy. i like rockauto too and get my parts from them also. you have very good diagnostic skills.

[@jatco84]

Crazy ...Great diagnosis ..and it appears new plugs properly gapped was the cure...Kudos

[@Rodewerksahed]

Brilliant technical video. Love it 👍🏻

[@jthampshire]

Nice work. I actually figured it out early. For electrons to flow across a gap air has to be ionized. If the gap is very wide, voltage has to build higher to make the jump. Add pressure from throttle opening and you can get a no spark situation. That results in a voltage spike on the trigger wire. Now. Why the computer can't tolerate that spike is another story. Great troubleshooting.

[@craigtegeler4677]

Good job Ivan! You're the man! I'll just about bet that anything of these sorts of problems like this one are sure to be met with intense scrutinizing!! Maybe I just need to take a ride down where you are at and have you solve some of my gremlins that I have on my 03 Jeep Grand Cherokee! I'm only about 2 hours away from you.

[@glenharper3136]

Thanks for the video Ivan.

[@robbflynn4325]

Top work, Ivan.

[@RJon2006]

One of the coolest diag videos yet. Super wierd. Nicely done, sir. 🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@DS-ss7vl]

That's great info. Thanks Ivan!

[@MikeyMack303]

Never heard of anything like that before! Thanks for sharing that with us.

[@DuaneDonaldson]

YES, Bernie Thompson training, add redundant grounds to the ignition system and head for ignition specifically to battery for a sure path for the high voltage to return to ground and starter to battery for that system specifically for the same reason plus to help prevent magnetism within the block and trigger wheels specifically during a super high amp draw for the starter initial kick, cheers.

[@RupertReynolds1962]

Glad it's fixed! First thing I thought of, when you linked the fault to a misfire, was either 1) misfire rocks engine -> trapped wire shorts or 2) trapped wire shorts -> misfire!

[@johnplump3760]

Years ago I built and tested computers. We did have a "Glitec" that we could not see because the capacitor of th scope remobed it. We could only see it when we used a cutrrent scope. You are very patient and excellent ar diagnosing!!

[@ubeenlookingforthis]

I have followed you for some time now. You have taught me that I don't have a chance in hell of fixing any of this stuff, even if I had the $$ for all the equipment, where am I going to get the 10 years of knowledge to put it to good use. My next auto, when the present one dies, will be a 1964-1967 Mustang. It will have a 289 and C4 with a/c and steering. I'll pay a pretty penny for it, but still cheaper than buying a new car at $40-$60K and it will always be worth what I payed for it, no depreciation. I'm totally through with Check engine lights and a level of complexity that is beyond my talents to understand let alone repair. Keep up the good work , I wait for your videos like a kid on the stoop waiting for the ice cream man!

[@joe-yj6du]

outstanding work!!! Thanks for sharing this video

[@gsaegerjr]

I had a friends escape with the same symptoms. I tried about 3 different alternators. finally I though go with oem parts so I went to the dealer and was standing at the counter waiting for the parts guy when a ford tech came in for parts and he said let me guess you had an escape and it's over charging. don't tell this place I told you this but go to napa they only seem to be the ones beside oem parts that will work with this car. so I tried it and it actually work.

[@paulstandaert5709]

This actually makes a good deal of sense. In the most Layman terms, when an inductive load cannot discharge where it is supposed to, it has to discharge somewhere else, and that inductive kick can make its way back to the PCM and set some logic chip bits in prohibitive states and stuff like this happens. It is also possible the PCM has a capacitor or something to deal with this, and that capacitor has failed. After all, its only 18 years old.

[@robertoruiz7069]

I had the same thought,a bad cap somewhere in the system driving the ecm or alt stuff wacky.The plug diagnosis though made me think.Feeling a slight miss fire when it's slight {fishbite} well you need to have learned that from experience.IVAN picked up on it right away.I do remember something about the ford wire years ago.My 1st thing to do,for issues ,is to look at ground wires,for corrosion.It's a habit now!!!haha

[@calholli]

I think your smoking gun was that first capture on the test drive.. Where you showed the voltage spikes on the PWM signal from the alt.. You could literally see the spike on the square wave. Pretty crazy. I just wonder if it was actually arching/shorting on the alt wire somewhere in the harness-- or if it was actually back feeding to the PCM through the coil control wire? Very cool capture. (17:50)

[@flinch622]

I am thinking computer buss was pushed so hard trying to fire coils and throw spark across that chasm of a spark plug gap that something else had to lay down, having lost proper bias. Bias is everything to a semiconductors p/n junction. In this instance, alternator control took the hit. I'd have to see board layout and chip diagrams to nail down why. If they used opto-isolators attempting to serve low impedance loads [less than 300k or so], I have seen funny faults in the past: an overcurrent extendig past 30 minutes would fail an output on - wide open, 100%, no reset possible. Anyway, the problem of half baked designs usually revolves around failure to analyze current requirements and associated fault tolerances. Could be weak system analysis by Ford, or could be faulty spec sheets on chips selected.

[@calholli]

@@flinch622 The problem is that the coil charges up and then it wants to arch to ground when it collapses.. But if that ground is too far away for the arch to jump, then it doesn't have anywhere to go, so it winds up back feeding into the ECM.. Most circuits will account for this by adding a diode or even a resistor across it, so that when it collapses, it can just jump to ground across that resistor/ diode.. or however else they choose to filter it. But for spark plugs, they specifically don't add that filter because they want it to jump across the spark plug and no where else. So I can understand why the internal circuits don't have a typical filter to prevent this back feed.. because it might cause misfires sometimes, by allowing your spark to "choose" it's path to ground. So anyway, as long as you run good plugs, it won't ever be a problem. It's still a weird rabbit hole that it leads you down

[@mike-cl1mm]

Wow good diagnosis! That is awesome work,

[@richb419]

Hi Ivan, very good catch! I never have seen a spark plug kill anything but the coil or make noise in the radio, naturally I have never had to work on these computer cars! I did see that the problem was load generated which does point at the ignition system. Rich

[@SS-cc3km]

How did he determine that it was the plugs and not the coils causing the backfeed problem? I think I missed that part in the video. I love this channel, all kinds of weird issues 😂.

[@richb419]

Hi, my spin on it, the plugs needed changing any way and it was missing under load indicating that something in the ignition was faulty. the spark plugs were the cheapest thing to try. the scope showed that the coils seemed to be charging fine. Rich@@SS-cc3km

[@roberthall3841]

Outstanding videos, very informative, thanks.

[@BillyJ57]

Great work Ivan.

[@tonymccarthy9273]

that's very good work Ivan , well done,

[@jerryking2418]

Another brilliant diagnostic.

[@gizmocatz3478]

That was a very interesting case, but as you said that smart charging system it can disable the alternator s soon as a voltage spike is detected. You are the man when it comes to electrical gremlins. I looking forward to the next case.

[@wallebo]

Yes, sir. Another amazing video. I had no idea that plugs could cause this. That's why I am here to learn.

[@edwardsilva895]

Remi is reman by BBB in mexico.. worked at their ca warehouse as a truck driver..right at the time they started doing brake calipers in Stockton ca

[@mattirae4191]

Very good diagnostics!

[@chrishill5166]

Another brilliant tutorial. It'll take me a week though to work that one out.

[@dougkubash8673]

Great catch!!

[@Collinnaidoo5276]

Hi we learn something new everyday. Thanks

[@robertsmith4954]

I noticed the ABS light was on during your test drive . My 2007 Escape had the tone rings cracked on the front drive axles. I had lest than 25, 000 miles . The rings are very thin. Thanks for the great video's.

[@PineHollowAutoDiagnostics]

Some monkey damaged a rear tone ring during a bearing replacement :(

[@tommiller4490]

I had the exact same issue with my 07 Montego. First replacement lasted 6 months, and the next two aftermarkets lasted like no more than a week.I put in " the last one" dealer remanned one from a Ford dealer in Montana about 6 years ago. It's still running. Going through receipts, it looks like I did indeed just happen to replace the sparkplugs when I did the last replacement! Before that I went through Yes they are a PIA to replace!

[@petar443]

What the heck ? First thing i think about is Bernie Thompson at ATS. He had a "2003 Ford T Bird throttle defaulting" and car was going into limp mode because of spike when the AC coil turned off. Always enjoying to watch your videos. You've saved your neighbors for sure ! Many mechanics would go down the rabbit hole. Well done Bernie .. ops i mean Ivan 👍😂

[@ChrisWilliams-pu8pj]

Ivan, That is what you get with talented technicians!

[@theoldbigmoose]

Great diagnostic skills mate. This is what happens now with sneak circuits, EMI/RFI and all the microprocessors in the cars.

[@shakey2634]

This is the kind of time consuming diagnostic that dealerships and most independent shops either won’t do or can’t do. So gratifying to watch this. I’ve seen some guys test new, supposed name brand plugs only to find out they are poorly made fakes. Ever had that experience?

[@raymondhorvatin1050]

Great catch

[@tzvi-goldenberg]

Wow well done. It happened to me once with a Cadillac srx that the customer put Ford plugs in the car, and there it happened to me that the charging was not good and the command to two injectors would stop intermittently and there were even two injectors that broke down... really crazy.

[@baxrok2.]

Thanks Ivan!

[@cephasrodgers9417]

I suppose this is another reason to make sure that the scheduled maintenance (spark plug replacement) is done as scheduled ;-) Another great video, thanks for sharing

[@moefuggerr2970]

Good to know. I have seen other electronics act up because of the high voltage circuit. So that makes sense to me.

[@DonDegidio]

Hi Ivan, Another excellent round of sleuthing. Who would have thought that spark plugs would have caused an alternator problem. Noticed a blackened thumb nail with a hole. Did you happen to whack your thumb? I've done it a few times and needed to relieve the pressure with a red hot pin to make a hole. What a relief when the blood spurts out.

[@nevillegoddard4966]

Brilliant diagnosis mate! 😃👍! Gotta think outside the box sometimes with all the electrickery going on under the bonnet of modern cars! Hey your left thumbmail! - OUCH!!!! Car door? Rat trap? Looks like that hurt! D'oh!

[@robertdiehl9003]

Awesome video and repair.

[@vpimike2646]

I'm not sure that you definitely diagnosed this issue with a clearly proven fault Ivan, but your experience and gut feeling seemed to be spot on. Hopefully this issue won't return.

[@gonzgarr1592]

very interesting case study

[@BlackOpsJuJu]

Nice Case Study for sure Have Never Seen Spark Plugs cause a No Charging Fault But after that many Alternators Figured it had to be something Else Great Diag for Sure

[@albutterfield5965]

You worked your magic again

[@scrappy7571]

So the ignition coils were acting like a emp bomb and disrupting the PCM. Good find!!!

[@raymondjones7489]

Great video as usual 👍👍👍

[@Sta2200]

Man...are you GOOD !!!

[@juanmanuelgil3436]

Amazing diagnostics. I have a 2007 Ford Escape, and you know they do are sensitive about spark plugs being on good condition, 50k is ok for these! 80-100k is pushing it. Also you customer /neighboor was lucky the PCM did not fried the coil drivers, because that is what happens on these years of Ford cars and SUV's, when the spark plug gap is to big, it damages the coil, shorts it out, then fries a driver. Happens on Fusions too which uses a similar PCM to the Ford Escape.

[@scottjanoso4475]

Really nice work. Before getting started on repairs you may need to add checking spark plugs along side oil levels. Some of the basics are causing unrelated issues. Glad you didn’t have to swap out another alternator.

[@marksmith7896]

Very cool !!!!! Nice thought and diagnosis process. Like !!!!

[@marianodeocampo5569]

Thank you for posting this, I just got into the oscilloscope, I bought a 4425A kit, and have been using my Honda as a test bed to get wave forms and learn Picoscope 7. Anyways I had a Ford Five Hundred that has had 3 alternators put on it, voltages are normal at idle, and spike to 15+ when the engine has rpm’s increased. PCM or another issue under load causing higher voltage spikes in charging value and the battery light would turn on. Makes me think a coil, excessive plug gap, spark plug issue, or PCM issue. I’m gonna look at the car in the next few days and hopefully find that issue with Pico