"That alternator on your vehicle is controlled by the computer"

I did not know that. In my '03 Windstar there is a voltage regulator built into the alternator. Or does it have 2 regulators?

Peter: I am loyal to my mechanic too. It pays off in the long run.

I've heard of that before, but I'm thinking that there could be some bent pins loose connections on the plugs. it may be rare but it does happen. and when the lights are on the a/c somehow it's running off of the battery alone and not allowing the alt. to do its job

Without getting into too much detail, there is a voltage regulator in the alternator, however, that regulator in this case gets signals from the vehicle's computer as to when to increase the charging rate and by how much. As Grindman stated if the connections from the alt to the PCM and back are defective the PCM signals can't get through or the PCM is the problem.

Thanks, hanky! Now I understand.

Bluewind, Am I glad somebody understands me because my wife doesn't, my dog doesn't and I don't.
Somewhere I picked up that part that goes like this;
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull**** !
A little humor goes a long way , just like the saying on the bottom of your posts.

I kinda wish that they stuck with the old way of hooking up the alt. if one can remember how that went. it gets so frustrating when trying to chase down wires and make a good connection when all you have to work with is plugs with little pins that get bent and go bad all the stinking time. even the battery cables suck nowadays because they got thinner had more of them. now you have one going straight to the starter and one going to the solenoid and god only knows where it goes after that. they even screwed that up

I agree without a doubt !!!
There are supposed to be benefits for doing things the way they do/did, but I think the problems outweigh the benefits. Somehow I think $$$$$$$ always gets into the picture.
The trouble is we're paying not only when we buy them , but also while we own them.

:D:D

If it helps, hanky: you don't need to understand yourself, that's what the alter ego supposed to do!;)

I know that I don't always solve the problems that my vehicles have or can have when it comes to all the electronics and such, even when they run with no problems I have trouble trying to figure things out like what does the pcm really control and how it controls it. I'm not sure if I really even want to know the answer to that one

Grindman, you are doing pretty damn good in the problem solving department. Even though it has become more complicated. The engines are adorned with stuff like Christmas trees.
I used to be able to just look at a subsystem and figure out how it should work. Now all of that is overlaid with digital technology. I figured out that these things do on- board first aid to an engine with a minor defect. And they raise a yellow or red flag if it goes beyond what the controllers can handle. I.e. we get a P0170 and look for a vacuum leak. Without that we might keep running until the piston looks like a piggy bank with a hole in the top. As a side effect today,s cars last much longer. Even cars that have been somewhat neglected easily go to 200,000 miles. The nations fleet is older than ever: about 12 years.
And if I can't figure out a problem I come here to the forum. Funny how that works: digital technology causes headaches and digital technology cures them...