I'm sorry that I'm starting a new thread on this, as there are so many others with the same story, but I've read countless others and still really haven't found any definitive info.

2006 GT Premium Convertible - 25K Miles.
Shaker 500 amps, Pioneer head unit, Ford Anti-Theft System.

Car starts fine, even if I don't use it for a few days.

My Check Charging System message has been popping up intermittantly for the past month or so, usually when I'm far from home and in the middle of a reasonably long trip (scary), always when I am driving, not when stopped at a light idling or whatever. Sometimes the battery light comes on, sometimes it doesn't. Once it comes on, it usually goes out on it's own after a while, but also usually comes back on during that trip. Sometimes I turn things off trying to get it to turn off, which may or may not help, can't really be sure.

The very first day it happened on about a 20 mile trip, all of the accessories in the car turned off and the battery meter pegged at full blast for a couple of seconds, then everything came back on and the message went off (and then on again off again...), but that only happened the one time.

No trouble codes are being stored, but I have tried to replicate the problem by turning on everything in my driveway and leaving a meter on the battery - but could never get it to come on. However, when I had everything on (Lights, a/c full blast, stereo cranking) I had about 13.26 volts on the battery, which I thought was maybe a little low, but when the message and light came on last night and I was close to home, I was able to get a meter on it before the message went out and there was 13.96 volts on the battery, which seems fine to me...?

Call me old school, but if the battery is dead, I want to hear it go chug chug choo or maybe even click click click when I turn the key, this battery starts the car immediately and seems to exhibit no issues.

Most threads I have read on this subject say that I "should have the battery tested", which I will do, but my fear is that either the parts store just wants to sell me a battery so whether or not it's the battery or not, they're going to say it's the battery, or, even worse, if the test is inconclusive or the guy doesn't really know what he's doing, or the test just isn't sensitive enough to meet Fords computer specs, they're going to say the battery is fine when it's really not and I'm going to be replacing the (from what I've heard) ridiculously expensive alternator...

So, does anyone have any intimate knowledge of exactly what this message means? Is there some specific test that I can run either on the car or the battery that will clearly show what the issue is?

I'm one of the unlucky folks who have lost thier jobs and so I can't afford to go throwing any amount of money at it right now, but I also need reliable transportation, so I'm kind of in a bind. I'm afraid to take it out for any distance at this point because folks have said that sometimes the car will quit with this issue - a real bummer with only 25K miles...

 

If you're not comfortable troubleshooting per http://iihs.net/fsm/?dir=361&viewfil...ing System.pdf , then I'd find a shop or dealer that I trust.

Considering the # of alternator and battery issues on our S197's, I'd suspect one or the other or both. But when I read thru the shop manual, it could be other things as strange as that sounds.

 

That document was exactly what I was looking for! However it concerns me that the symptoms chart does not even list "battery" as a possible culprit for this error message. Do you think that is based on an asumption that the battery is tested before getting to this chapter, or it simply isn't the battery?

 

hey guy's I'am havin that issue too but i know some basic car stuff. so i checked the battery it was dead changed it out for new one, then two weeks later happened again checked the alternator it was bad got a brand new one, check battery it was fine just need to be recharged. Now almost 2 months later started to happened again.... please help if i can't fix it am goin to have to bring it to the dealership and have them fix it and I'am not under warranty anymore got 40k on my 07 GT. But i did noticed while i was drivin when i hit the brake pedal the battery level drop alil and alil more each time i hit the brake.

 

I did wind up having the battery digitally tested, and it passed with no problems found, but I replaced it anyway, which didn't solve the problem. I still have no problems with the battery charging, but I still frequently get the error. I pretty much ignore it now when I get it, but I know that will end badly at some point, probably when I am very far from home

One of these days I plan on following the diagnostic procedure in the service manuals provided by Nuke, but after reading the test procedure I'm concerned that the problem is going to be a matter of degrees resulting from how over complicated the charging system actually is.

Apparently, its not enough that the computer calls for a charge and the altenator kicks on, but the computer sets what it feels is the best voltage to get the immediate job done and the altenator must respond with the correct voltage within a certain range. If your altenator is charging just fine but it just slightly out of that range, you get this message.

MustangGT13, being that you already replaced your battery and your altenator, the only thing left according to the shop manual is the car computer itself, but realisticly it may just be that the altenator you put in is just not precise enough to satisfy the expectations of the computer. I share your pain because I'm in the same leaky boat.

Just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for your altenator, what kind did you put in, and did you do the job yourself? It doesn't seem that hard to do the altenator if I can get my big hands in there

Can anybody who has permanently resolved this problem by swapping the altenator tell me what brand altenator they used? I'd like to get the Ford one of course, but I just can't do the $800 people say they paid for it, and mine only has 26K miles on it anyway, so I wouldn't want to buy another lemon.

 

You can get a brand new PA Performance for around 260$, a remanufactured Ford for a little less.

How off is your voltage? do you have a VOM to measure it, you can log it if you have a flash tool (SCT, DS, etc.)

I have the same trouble and decided to stop the car for now until I get the new alt.

 

Just curious if you've ever had water on the carpet by the front passengers kick panel.

 

But would the aftermarket fix the issue, that is the question... It may be the best altenator in the world, but if the computer wants 13.5 volts, does the aftermarket comply with 13.5, or does it simply chug along at 14.2?

I don't know how off my voltage is until I run through the diagnostics as detailed in the shop manual, it's going to involve me finding certain pinouts which I haven't found the motivation to do yet. All I can tell you is that my battery charge is fine and every time I have thrown a meter on it, with or without the error message, I have always had over 13 volts (13.26 - 14.0 has been the range I have seen at various times) I have a scan tool, but it interfaces with my notebook, so I haven't bothered hooking it up while driving yet, and I'm not sure voltage is one of the logging values anyway.

I have certainly curbed use of the car, but the A/C is out on my truck so it was being used on hot days (quite a few this summer), but fall and winter fixes that.

 

Not to my knowledge, certainly not with any regularity. I generally drive my truck in inclemant weather and keep the Mustang in the garage unless it's nice out. I've probably had it out in heavy rain maybe as much as 5 times since I got it in '06, but honestly I've never gone over and felt the floor. I've never seen any water leaking through the roof though.

Is the water you're asking about supposed to come from under the car, or from the roof (convertible?)

 

There's a TSB for a chronic water leak that's very prevalent on the '05 and '06s plus some '07s. It comes in from the cowl area and leaks onto the SJB in the passenger kick-panel and eventually corrodes connections such that ugly gremlins begin popping up.

Next time you wash the car or let her sit in the rain, make it a habit to begin checking the carpet at the kick panel. You never know. And I'm not sure how you'd know it was related to that being that you seem to have just that one issue.

My both mine and the g/f's Stangs are garage kept but get driven in the rain. Neither one seemed to leak until one day recently when I had taken mine to work and it poured for 20 minutes. When I got home, something told me to check and my carpet was wet. I removed the cover on the panel and felt around and it WAS dripping in from above and forward of the SJB. I was NOT happy...