battery light, windshield wipers

[Witness7]

I think now I am posting in the right place, thanks to a couple on here that pointed me in the right direction...

Anyways I have a couple problems going on... The battery light has been on for days now.. It is weird though if you let it idle the battery light will say off.. if you give it gas while in park.. the light comes on and stays on till you let it idle then in a few it goes back off.

Another thing also happened while driving it for a few hours last night... the battery got really hot it got so hot that it actually blew the two pieces off the top of the battery the plates where you put water in and threw that stuff all over the engine.

also after this happen the windshield wipers will not work at all now... it has a metal type maybe you can call it a fuse in the fuse box under the dash.. it is for the windshield washer and the wipers... the washer works so I would not think its bad... so just do not know whats wrong there either.

anyone have a ideal on all this it sure would be appreciated, being on a fixed income i sure have limited resources.

Thank you.

 

[sperold]

My guess is the voltage regulator in your alternator had failed and you are overcharging your battery. Chances are your battery has suffered, and may be on its way out now.
Check all your wiring near the windshield as some of the battery acid may have melted a supply wire to your wipers. You may have to do some troubleshooting on your wiper motor by removing the wiring connector and putting a supply wire from your battery to one of the terminals.
I would either get a lifetime warranty alternator locally, get your unit reconditioned by an old-time shop in your area, or get a used Motorcraft original alternator in the "wanted to buy" section of this forum.

 

[Witness7]

is the voltage regulator apart of the alternator? and then would be best to just buy complete alternator oh also thank you for replying to me

 

[sperold]

The voltage regulator is built-in to the alternator.

The least expensive and probably the best solution is to buy a used one on this forum. The people who sell them know how to test them and shipping is something like $12.00 from anywhere in the USA. They come with the proper pulley installed usually. Get one from the same year as your car. I think a 93 SHO with an automatic has a slightly different output than the 94 - 95 (maybe 10 Amps less) and I don't know enough about them to say they are all interchangeable.

Look over the parts for sale listings and if nothing jumps out at you, put an ad in the "wanted to buy" section and people will respond with what they have and how much.

After many failures on the little 90 amp alternators from parts stores, I bought one on this forum for $50.00 shipped and it stopped all my problems.

Wait for other responses on your problem as someone else may have another explanation for what went wrong with your car.

 

[Witness7]

I would say your right by how it did... I know the alternator has 120amps cause i already looked it up on different auto parts stores... I found one online a reman from carid for around 89.00 free shipping so i probable will get that one... course I will have to save up now to get it.lol.. thank you will let you no how it goes once I can get it.

 

[rubydist]

the only alternators that I have found to last are the NAPA lifetime warranty ones. you can buy the cheap ones and replace them often (generally just after the warranty expires) or buy a good one that lasts - your choice.

the breaker tripping on the wipers suggests that the wiper motor or wiring has a short and is drawing too much current. I would replace the wiper motor with one from a jy - all Taurus/Sable wiper motors from the same year are the same. but, they did change the connector at least once, so make sure you get the right year or the connector will be wrong.

 

[sperold]

Get a price on here before you buy a re-manufactured alternator.
The sellers are informed and provide a great service. If no one comes forward with a price after your request, contact a seller like SV&HOdan or Rubydist to see what they have in stock. If the wiper motor is pooched, you can get one of them, or the wiring, at the same place. And you still have your original alternator that you can have rebuilt at your convenience.
If you don't like the price or the sound of the service, then get the re-manufactured unit.

 

[Witness7]

ok thank you all for the ideals... I did get to check the wiper motor today... this wiper motor for a 1993 ford taurus 3.2 automatic v6 .. has two connectors and I have no clue which one to check... One of the connectors had firing on it all the time rather the key was on are not... the others did not have no fire with key on and wiper switch on.. I was going to first check to see if firing was getting to the wipers before buying another motor. so if you are standing in front of the engine facing the wiper motor the one on the left hooked up has firing at all times in the center of the connector.. the one on the left connected has no firing on it with key on and wiper switch on.... could use help from someone that has dealth with this before who knows which connector to test and how it works... thank you

 

[Witness7]

Does the wiper motor have a relay for it? I have only found one fuse under the dash a silver type fuse and to be sure it was ok I tried a regular fuse in its place and the wipers still do not work.... I am getting fire to one of the connectors that connect to the wiper motor but only one wire gets fire to it. I bought another wiper motor off this forum from a person, but in case it turns out not to be the problem then wondering where else the problem may be. 1993 Ford Taurus 3.2 sho v6 automatic

 

[itwonder]

There is no wiper relay. The wiper motors are pretty reliable. The other part in the wiper system is the wiper governor; see this post for more.

 

[Witness7]

ok that might be it, cause the motor seems to work ok when i unhook the smaller connector from the motor and use a ground wire and a hot wire to the connectors in the motor then the windshield wipers turn fine... but there is no fire coming from the middle wire for the small connector when key on and wipers on, but again if i hook up a hot wire after unhooking that connector and putting the hot wire on the center one in the connector then the wipers work fine.... So i will check out the governor.