1995 Ford Contour ALTERNATOR

OK, You say you have 12 volts coming down the grn/blk wire with key on. That's good.
The red wire from the fuse block, alternator term A, should be 12 volts at all times. YES??
Red battery at the alternator, B+, should be hot at all times. YES???
Grey wire should jumper from alternator term S to term S. YES???
If you can wiggle the wiring harness at the alternator, but it quits when you turn the car off, you're losing the connection somewhere at the grn/blk or the gray wire where they connect tothe alternator. I would look closely at the grn/blk conn. If this wire is bad, the wiggleing may make momentary contact to charge the fields of thealternator. It will keep charging until you break this connection, ie. turn the key off. Hope this helps.

YOU MENTIONED THAT THE RED WIRE GOING TO THE ALTERNATOR IS COMING FROM THE FUSEBOX THE RED WIRE ACTUALLY COMES FROM THE BAT+ TERMINAL IN THE ALTERNATOR AND YES IT IS ALWAYS HOT.... DO YOU THINK THAT CHARGE INDICATOR LIGHT THAT IS INTERMITTENTLY INOP... MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE ALTERNATOR NOT WORKING?

According to my schematic there are 2 red wires going to the alternator. One from the battery," B+", and one from the underhoodfuse block, "A". "I" is grn/blk and "S" is grey. Does this not match what you have?? Let me know.

I DO NOT HAVE ANY RED WIRE COMING FROM A FUSE BOX... JUST THE WIRES HOWN IN PICTURE ATTACHED MY SCHEMATICS
(HAYNES) SHOW ME THAT THERE IS ONLYTHE GRN/BLK WIRE AND THE RED DIRECTLY FROM THE BATTERY. THAT IS ALL THE WIRING THAT i HAVE... mAY i SEE A COPY OF THE SCHEMATIS THAT YOU HAVE. THE THERE IS ALSO A PICTURE OF THE DASH WILL THAT RESISTOR SHOWN IN PICTURE CAUSE THE NO CHARGE SYMPTOMS THAT EXIST..? SIT IS RED-BLK-RED-GLD, AND IT MEASURES AT 7OHMS IT IS RATED AT A 2K OHMS.. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

According to my chart;
Red = 2, Blk = 0, Red = 00, Gold = + or - 5%
That's a total of 2,000 ohms. wattage just indicates how much load it will carry.
If, with the car running and you unplug the alternator, is the dash light(charge) come on? If yes, put 12 volts to the grn/blk wire at the alternator connector with it still uplugged. Does the dash light go out???
If you have, or have access to, a fax #, I'll ship you a copy of my diagram. This way we'll both be on the same page. let me know.

THE DASH LIGHT (CHARGE) DOES NOT COME ON AT ALL... i HAVE SWAPPED IT OUT WITH A KNOWN GOOD BULB AND LIGHT IS STILL INOP. THE OLD BULB WORKS IN ITS NEW LOCATION... THERE IS ZERO RESISTANCE FROM THE GRN/BLK WIRE FROM THE TERMINAL GOING TO THE DASH THROUGH THE WIRE GOING TO THE "I" TERMINAL AT THE ALTERNATOR... AN OTHER SUGGESTIONS? I DO NOT HAVE A FAX AVAILABLE. WHERE IS THE SCHEMATIC FROM?

By "0" resistance, do you mean you have continuity through the grn/blk wire, or the wire is open, no continuity?
If you run a test light from the battery + to terminal "I" on your alternator it should charge. Also, if you ground terminal "I" the dash light should come on. Let me know asap. it's midnight here.
The diagram I have is from the Mitchell library.

YES I MEAN I HAVE CONTINUITY THROUGH GRN/BLK WIRE. I DID WHAT YOU SAID AND i HAVE SAME RESULT OF NO CHARGE...AND THE LIGHT (CHARGE) DOES NOT COME ON AT ALL WITH OR WITHOUT THE ALTERNATOR CONNECTOR CONNECTED OR DISCONNECTED. ALSO THE VOLTAGE COMING OUT OF THE "S" TERMINAL READS AT 2.2VDC.? IS IT NOT SUPPOSE TO BE 6VDC COMING OUT OF THAT TERMINAL? LET ME KNOW ASAP PLEASE

Check to see if you have 12 vols, or close to 12 volts ay the connector end of terminal I. If you don't, you have an open between connector twerminal I, and the fuse in the interior fuse block.
Grounding terminal I at the alternator connector should light the das light with the key in "on" position.
There is a "resisting diode" in conjuction with the dash charge light that allows fuse block voltage to run around the charge bulb to allow reduced voltage to bypass the bulb as it goes to the alternator. When the alternator starts to charge, it sends voltage back up the grn/blk wire and with 2 positive feeds to the bulb, it goes out.
Do you gave a "grey" wire that loops in and out of the alternator? If yes, make sure these connections are good. Let me know.

THE GREY WIRE IS JUST A JUMPER... FROM THE CENTER TERMINAL OF THE WIRE CONNECTOR TO THE "S" TERMINAL.... I HAVE 12V AT THE TERMINAL FOR THE GRN/BLK AND THE RED WIRE COMING FROM THE "S" TERMINAL hOW ARE THE WIRES SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE TERMINAL... I HAVE GRN/BLK AT THE LEFT AND GREY AT CENTER THEN RED AT THE RIGHT... IS THAT THE WAY THAT IS SHOULD BE WIRED? WERE YOU ABLE TO SEE THE PICTURES THAT I ATTACHED WITH A PREVIOUS MESSAGE....

I'm sending you a shot of the diagram I'm using. I'm trying to dig up a schematic for the internals of the alternator itself. I'm thinking ourproblem may be in the Grey wire circuit. Let me know if you don't get the diagram as an attachment.

This diagram didn't come very well, I'll try another.

tHE IMAGE DID NOT COME OUT TOO WELL BUT I THINK THAT THE PROBLEM MIGHT BE IN THE GREY WIRE ALSO BUT IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE BECAUSE IT IS ONLY A 6INCH WIRE AT MOST.... IT GOES FROM THE 3 TERMINAL CONNECTOR TO A SINGLE TERMINAL CONNECTOR ABOUT 1 INCH FROM THE MAIN CONNECTOR TO THE ALTERNATOR.... AND IT HAS ZERO RESISTANCE GOOD CONTINUITY THAT IS WHY I THINK THAT THE ALTERNATOR COULD BE WIRED WRONG BUT THEN IT WOULDN'T HAVE CHARGED THE TIMES THAT I WIGGLED THE WIRE HARNESS.... I AM STUCK ON THIS.... WHAT DO YOU THINK COULD BE WRONG WITH THE GREY WIRE... BAD CONNECTION AT THE TERMINAL? FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME A DIAGRAM... [email protected]

The attached looks like the voltage regulator is a screw on unit. I can't get a very good shot at it. Take a look at yours. This could very well be our problem. Let me know and I'll keep looking for an exploded view. This little project has now become a personal vendetta.

GREAT NEWS IT WAS THE REGULATOR AND ON TOP OF THAT THE i WENT TO REPLACE THE ALTERNATOR AT THE PARTS STORE AND THERE WERE TWO RIGHT OF THE SHELF THAT FAILED THE ON-SITE ALTERNATOR TEST AND THE FAULTY PART WAS THE REGULATOR... THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE HELP AND DIAGRAMS... CAN YOU GIVE ME SOME INFO ON THE MITCHELL MANUAL THAT YOU USED TO HELP ME.. THANKS AGAIN... I REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR WITH A GOOD ON AT ANOTHER STORE AND CHARGE LIGHT WORKS NOW AND THE BATTERY IS GETTING 14.8V AT A STEADY CHARGE...

Glad you found it,chief. I love it when a good plan comes together. Anything else, you know where to find us.