It really makes me wonder if it is the alternator now...it would make sense.
We were sent on a wild goose chase after my truck threw the code for low fuel pump output. The Ex died in the middle of an intersection yet started about 3 minutes later. It ran fine until I parked it, but the check engine light came on. I ran the DTC and decided instead of being stranded 200 miles from home in the middle of nowhere on my way back, I'd replace the fuel pump. I did so in the parking lot of the hospital in the 100 degree heat. That was fun
It drove home fine, and the other half insisted that I replace he fuel filter. So, we did. The next morning I drove to work (a whole 9 miles) and the Ex used 1/4 of a tank of fuel. Now, I could smell diesel, but the inside of the truck smelled like diesel because of the changing of the fuel pump and me wearing some of the fuel (I got the pump changed with all the wrong tools-I had no way of pinching off lines!). The truck was running just fine, but I noticed a mist on the back glass. Needless to say the fuel filter hadn't seated right. Hubby left an O-ring down inside where the filter goes so it didn't seat right and created a fuel fountain under the hood.
The truck 2 days later started acting like it had weak batteries. Then, it died. This whole mess destroyed the alternator-it failed every test in less than 6 seconds. So, we replaced the alternator. Ever since then, and NOT before, has the battery light done its on/off stuff. The alternator itself and batteries have been checked without any sign of anything being wrong. Ford inspected the wiring looking for shorts and testing electrical routes for 3 days and said everything appeared normal. Today I am going to check and re-clean connections on the alternator, and if that doesn't work, I will go exchange the alternator and see what happens.
The good news is that I did find the instrument cluster last night at a decent price. I am hoping it will be covered under the warranty that I have if it does in fact need to be replaced. Also, my cluster lens has a scratch on it, and I thought I would have to purchase another cluster to fix it, but I also found the lens by itself, so even if I end up not replacing the cluster, I can fix that
Thanks everyone! I am headed out to install my XM radio
