Printable Version | Subscribe | Add to Favourites
New Topic New Poll New Reply
Author: Subject: Ford ST170 Smart Charge Alternator
Pigsy

posted on 6/7/18 at 11:06 PM Reply With Quote
Ford ST170 Smart Charge Alternator

Does the smart charge on the alternator need to be connected for the ecu to work? Must I have a silver calcium battery? Will it run on a standard lead acid battery? I know it pokes +/- 14.5 volts and probably won't be a good idea. What does everyone else do? Just disconnect the plug?
Thanks in advance.

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
big_wasa

posted on 7/7/18 at 09:50 AM Reply With Quote
Your using the ecu so why not let it control the alternator ?
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
Pigsy

posted on 7/7/18 at 10:27 PM Reply With Quote
No problem with that. A new battery is only about £80 as well. BUT, silver calcium batteries suffer from excessive sulfation amongst other things. Not good.

What I am really asking is: Will the ecu allow the engine to start if I just don't use smart charging?

Without smart charging, it is a straightforward alternator.

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
ttalps2000

posted on 8/7/18 at 06:29 PM Reply With Quote
i never bothered with the calcium battery on my Cmax i had with smart charging. A mate who is a mechanic never fits them when replacing and has not had an issue in 15 years.
View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member
obfripper

posted on 8/7/18 at 08:41 PM Reply With Quote
You'll be fine with a Ca-Ca battery (usually marked as maintainance free but not always as calcium), the charging voltages are the same as Ag-Ca ford batteries.
Most batteries you can buy now are calcium tech anyway, conversely this is a problem with older cars as they don't produce the correct voltage to fully charge this battery type.

Dave

View User's Profile View All Posts By User U2U Member

New Topic New Poll New Reply


go to top






Website design and SEO by Studio Montage

All content © 2001-16 LocostBuilders. Reproduction prohibited
Opinions expressed in public posts are those of the author and do not necessarily represent
the views of other users or any member of the LocostBuilders team.
Running XMB 1.8 Partagium [© 2002 XMB Group] on Apache under CentOS Linux
Founded, built and operated by ChrisW.