Charge system now

[Ranger3]

So I pulled into work light came on....then all of a sudden truck completely died. No power. Couldn't even lock my car. So I used key. Walked into work and went back out. Opened hood and openend fuse box where I have a fuse tap installed. For my 3 light bar. And the ground is on the negative terminal. I pulled it out and reinstalled and came back on. No lite everything as normal. So my question is could the fuse have been loose? Dealer did say 3 weeks ago to replace battery? Thoughts will be appreciated....I am going to buy a new battery tonight.

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[Frenchy]

What happened is you installed your accessory incorrectly. Any additional electrical accessories including that light that you installed has to have the ground put at the body or chassis ground. Not directly at the negative battery terminal. This is thanks to the good old variable voltage and the lovely amp meter you have on the negative cable. This is normal practice for modern vehicles. Ignoring this rule will cause issues like this.

 

[Ranger3]

Okay so The fact that I pulled the fuse out and put it back in kind of reset it or what? So I can't ground it to the battery. Where can I ground it? Can you help me out.... Do you think the fuse tap is okay?

 

[Ranger3]

What happened is you installed your accessory incorrectly. Any additional electrical accessories including that light that you installed has to have the ground put at the body or chassis ground. Not directly at the negative battery terminal. This is thanks to the good old variable voltage and the lovely amp meter you have on the negative cable. This is normal practice for modern vehicles. Ignoring this rule will cause issues like this.

Do you think it was draining the battery of some sort?

 

[Frenchy]

Remember how I mentioned the sensor on the negative cable? The light you added was causing that to read incorrectly. As for the fuse you used, it all depends on what that fuse powers.

Also like I said you need to use either a Body or Chassis Ground. Simply connect the ground of the light to the Body or Chassis and it will be good. It's not hard.

 

[Muscleford]

What happened is you installed your accessory incorrectly. Any additional electrical accessories including that light that you installed has to have the ground put at the body or chassis ground. Not directly at the negative battery terminal. This is thanks to the good old variable voltage and the lovely amp meter you have on the negative cable. This is normal practice for modern vehicles. Ignoring this rule will cause issues like this.

What is your source of this information?

My Amp Research power boards installation instructions say to connect the positive to the positive terminal of the battery and the negative to the negative terminal of the battery.

 

[Frenchy]

What is your source of this information?

My Amp Research power boards installation instructions say to connect the positive to the positive terminal of the battery and the negative to the negative terminal of the battery.

This is straight from vehicle manufacturers. Also multiple accessory companies are stating to have the ground going to the chassis or body for a solid ground. I can also state that AMP Research is incorrect on the Ground Wire placement.

Now I don't have the information from the Factory Owners Manual for Ford, but I do have it from my Frontier(Nissan) that runs the same thing(just a minor variation at best). It states to not ground any Electrical Accessories directly to the Negative Terminal on the Battery.

Here is the information from Nissan and it does follow to all vehicles that run a Variable Voltage System. This doesn't just apply to Nissan Vehicles.

 

[Ranger3]

What is your source of this information?

My Amp Research power boards installation instructions say to connect the positive to the positive terminal of the battery and the negative to the negative terminal of the battery.

So u think it's a battery issue? Dealership told me 3 weeks ago I need a new battery. It failed.

 

[Ranger_Rocks]

What is your source of this information?

 

[Ranger3]

Ok thanks so can I ground here?

 

[Frenchy]

Ok thanks so can I ground here?

Personally I would go a little lower like the bolt you see on the side there.

 

[Frenchy]

So u think it's a battery issue? Dealership told me 3 weeks ago I need a new battery. It failed.

It is possible the battery could be failing as well

 

[Frenchy]

I appreciate you sharing that

 

[Muscleford]

Thanks for the info Frenchy. Guess i'Il be regroudingng the power steps. Just a matter of info, they have been grounded to the negative terminal for 3 years with no issues so far.

 

[Ranger3]

Hey guys so I got a new battery, installed and grounded it to the frame. ....when I left work everything was still rigged the same way and the fault came on the minute I pulled out....so I drove right to the battery place and installed at my home....here is a screenshot of the Ford pass notification.....only time will tell if it is all ok now.

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