[SOLVED] Charging System Service Now”+ Starter Cable-Cable diagrams Available?

[biggsy]

This is a stretch but does anybody have access to cable diagrams? I just swapped in an engine and am getting “Charging System Service Now” light. Battery is good. New alternator. New battery/starter harness. During idle, voltage across battery is 14V. No loose grounds. After some process of elimination , I believe it is due to the having the wrong harness for my car.



I know there are unique starter harnesses for each engine, trim and transmission. I just realized that I put in the wrong one, WC96636 (GR3Z-14300-AN). The correct one for my car is WC96709 (GR3Z-14300-BA)



Before I go through the effort of taking out the harness, I would like to see the difference between the two cable assemblies. Maybe they have different BMS sensor and I can just take the sensor off my old harness and swap it in.

 

[steveespo]

Do you have the original alternator? If so swap it in. I will buy the Boss alternator from you if that is the issue, I do not think it is though. Did you swap an AGM battery in to test? If the car is running well with no other codes/warnings I think the Anti Gravity battery is the issue. Same symptoms I had using that battery. If an AGM was tried and still have the warning then alternator may be incompatible with Gen 2. (Again I doubt this).

 

[steveespo]

Also try and unplug the connector on the alternator. Leave just the main charge cable connected. See if error goes away. The lithium battery doesn't act as a capacitor as well as conventional and AGM batteries do. A lot of Mustang racers run without his connector plugged in. I do not and had no issue with Braille or now returned to OEM AGM, with Boss alternator.

 

[biggsy]

Thank you Steve as always for the insight. I will see about a new battery. I put the car in ET mode and found a code related to battery but it shows has historic instead of current. Interesting find

Code is F00316

 

[steveespo]

What F00316 Means (IPC Engineering Mode)

• • Instrument Cluster Specific: According to driver discussions on platforms like Reddit, F00316 appears inside the hidden engineering/diagnostic menu of the instrument cluster. [1]
  • Historical or Non-Critical: Many codes in this menu are stored for internal record-keeping or tracking minor electrical/cluster anomalies rather than signaling a mechanical failure. [1]
  • Battery Check: Some users note that minor cluster or voltage-related quirks can trigger unusual codes, making it a good idea to test your 12V battery health if you are experiencing electrical glitches. -Note the Battery check comment. The battery isn't bad, it just doesn't act the way Ford engineering expects it to.

 

[Dave_W]

From the Googles (have not verified myself) --

Manual BMS Reset Procedure
1. Turn on ignition: Switch the ignition to the ON position (do not start the engine; press the start button twice without pressing the brake pedal, or turn the key to ON).
2. Flash high beams: Within 10 seconds of turning the ignition on, pull and release the high-beam headlamps 5 times (ending with the high beams off).
3. Press the brake pedal: Press and release the brake pedal 3 times.
4. Confirm reset: Watch the instrument cluster; the battery warning light will flash 3 times to confirm the BMS reset is complete.
Alternatively, you can let the vehicle sit undisturbed for approximately 8 hours with the doors closed and no key fob button presses so the system can automatically relearn the battery state of charge.

 

[biggsy]

update: ive done the BMS reset several times. No luck
replaced battery with standard interstate agm battery and same issues.
Looked at the relevant fuses and everything is fine.
checked grounds again.
I really think it is the harness or an Alternator that was DOA.
Removed fuse 36 which is the alternator monitor. Same issue.

I will have access to a windows laptop tomorrow so will see what’s happening with Forscan.

 

[steveespo]

update: ive done the BMS reset several times. No luck
replaced battery with standard interstate agm battery and same issues.
Looked at the relevant fuses and everything is fine.
checked grounds again.
I really think it is the harness or an Alternator that was DOA.
Removed fuse 36 which is the alternator monitor. Same issue.

I will have access to a windows laptop tomorrow so will see what’s happening with Forscan.

Wow this sucks. We did tighten that main battery harness ground at the motor mount stud right? Could be the alternator. I have a 2018 original, can ship up if you want.

 

[biggsy]

Thanks for the offer Steve. I am really thinking it’s a bad alternator. Going to reach out to Ford Racing and the shop I purchased from. It should be covered being that I just bought it in July.

All the cabling looks good. Quadrupole checked the chassis mounts and on the engine.

This is a few seconds of live recording using an ODB device. Don’t know if anything can be found looking at it.

Will hook up to Forscan later today to see what the PCM is reading.

I’m hoping Adam can still tune while I’m trying to figure it out.

 

[biggsy]

Called Ford Racing and they said the alternator looks to be eligible for warranty claim. Sent email with invoice. Hoping for a quick resolution.

 

[honeybadger]

Here's what's shown in the service manual for my 2017. Looks like pins 26 and 13 on the PCM are used for the generator connector. Maybe do a continuity test from the pcm side to the alt side make sure the same pins are used?

 

[biggsy]

OKAY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE...I THINK I GOT IT!

Upon another inspection, and if I learned my colors in kindergarten correctly, it looks like the alternator connector was pinned wrong. pin 2 and pin 3 are swapped. I tried zooming in with my phone, but you can see pin 3 is currently blue/orange wire when it is supposed to be inserted into pin 2. I will confirm this tomorrow with a DMM. Fortunately, I already have a new pigtail that I planned to use to repair the old harness I ripped out.

 

[steveespo]

Hope that is it. Odd but I just had a brand new battery harness from Ford that had the Bank 1 Sensor 1 O2 connector pinned upside down. Had to depin and correct it as well. Good catch.

 

[biggsy]

UPDATE: Finally got to fixing the harness last night. No more Charging System alert. Man that was a chase.

Now on to finally getting tuned next week!
Here are close up views of how the connector was pinned.

 

[steveespo]

So violet and blue were reversed? Good find. Sorry I made you chase the battery. Keep an eye on it and keep it on tender. They will drain because the car is always drawing power. If it goes below 10V reviving them is a pain.

 

[biggsy]

So violet and blue were reversed? Good find. Sorry I made you chase the battery. Keep an eye on it and keep it on tender. They will drain because the car is always drawing power. If it goes below 10V reviving them is a pain.

The blue/orange and green/red were reversed.

All good Steve! I'm just happy its sorted. As long as I'm not driving the car, it will be on a tender for sure