Hey y'all.
I'm sort of stumped. During my saga with the cooling system on my ranger I made a boo boo. I was rushing and tried to remove the alternator before unhooking the battery. Of course I know better, but again, just diving in and forgot. I shorted the hot lead from the alternator on the body of the alternator. I figured it was cooked and sure enough once I got the car repaired I had a low battery and a battery light.
I first charged the battery and that did not work. Then I got a new battery. Then a new alternator and battery. Same result- low on the volt meter on dash, batteries don't seem to be charging via the new alternator same as old.
One strange phenomenon is that if I run the rpm high (it's a manual) the light will go off and stay off for a while if it's run at semi high rpm for a bit of time. I don't have a tach on this truck- but it doesn't seem to be crazy high rpm. The battery light will stay off until you turn the truck off. Next time you start it....battery light on.
I have been trying to keep battery charged with a small charger overnight.
The last factor is this- this truck has a bad radio and I think in the past it may have drained the battery some. So tonight I removed the radio to eliminate that variable- I need a new one anyway.
I have checked all fuses, connections and wiring to the alternator.
I believe the regulator is on the alternator. Alternator is from O'reilly and it was not a reman- but I know those can be suspect. I can change one out in less than 10 minutes at this point.
Thanks for the help!