2011 ford edge "check charging system"... solved

[Jrod-13]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Hopefully this can be of a help to others, as i battled it it for months.

 

Back story..

My wifes 2011 edge lost an alternator last winter, at around 210K.  I replaced it with a reman from autovalue, and all was good for a month.  Suddenly it would give random "check charging system" lights, and charge anywhere from 13.8-14.2 when it would happen. The light would stay on for a matter of minutes to hours at a time.  I removed the alternator and brought it in to warranty. Obviously it "tested" good on their machine, but i was able to talk them into exchanging it.  The new one made it several weeks before the same problem started occurring.

 

After just ignoring the random "check charging system" light for 6 months, i decided enough is enough...  Mind you during this time it progressed to fluctuating voltage of anywhere from 13.0-14.8, in rapid oscillation, enough to see the headlights pulsing.  I read every thread related to charging systems on this forum, and watched every youtube video on the topic, non seemed to pertain to what i was experiencing.

 

After digging deeper I found the alternator connector was slightly burnt, and replaced it with a oem ford pigtail, no change..

All KOEO and KEOR voltage tests checked out, and with the genmon/gencom connector unplugged it would self excite and hold a steady 13.7V, as it should.

 

I finally invested in forscan, and the readings were about what I suspected.

 

The first attached Photo is a scan from when the check charging system light is ON, idling, minimum electrical load.

The second was from when the CCS light was OFF, idling with minimal electrical load.

pictures 3-5 are graphs of what each relevant pid was outputing.

 

After this post is approved, and make another with the eventual solution.

[Jrod-13]

After scouring some other forums(mainly f-150) i found people saying there are issues with aftermarket voltage regulators not getting along with ford computers.

The solution ended up being putting on a OEM motorcraft alternator. 

The first picture is of the PID outputs at idle, minimum electrical load, followed by the live scan graphs.              

 

Finally, the same screen grabs at idle with full load, lights, heat wide open, heated seats on, rear defrost on.

 

[edge in Tucson]

I have this exact problem with my 2011 edge limited! Thank you so much for posting this. I noticed my headlights would randomly pulse when the car is sitting in the driveway.

 

I have yet to replace anything! 

 

So you're saying just get an OEM alternator and it'll be good? Do I also need to purchase a voltage regulator? 

 

Thanks again!