Hello all;

Okay, this past weekend my truck decided that it was time to make my life interesting/frustrating by tossing me a strange problem.

On the drive home from work, my charge light, A/T Oil Temp. light and BRAKE light came on at the same time. Upon further inspection of my guages, I could see that the battery was losing some serious charge (needle was just barely w/in the normal zone) and, to top it all off, my tachometer needle started to bob up and down like it was a fishin' pole w/ a jig as bait. Luckily, though, I got the truck home, but now it doesn't seem to have enough juice to fire up. I changed out the brushes in the alt (they needed replacing) hoping that was the easy fix, but no such luck. I checked all the fuses and looked at the wire connections and all seems in order... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />


Any ideas?

Thanks guys/gals!

i noticed my volts droping while driving accross the country alone, so my first instint was to get to an auto parts store. right as i pulled in. all the lights you listed came on, and the truck stalled out. it was completly dead.. spent the night in the parking lot and got a new alt and battery and got the hell home.

same truck as you too.. 3.0 auto 91

How has your truck been since you replaced the battery and alternator? I'd prefer to not go that route since it's kinda costly, but it is option to consider if all else fails!

Check all of the grounds that you can find to ensure they have good contact.

Randy

i made it home... drove from az got to ohio and that happened, then made it home and hasent had a problem since 2+ years. i only got a new battery because i drove mine until it completly died and would not hold a charge. get yours tested. hell get both things tested

How does the rest of the wiring look? Nothing knocked loose?

If you can pull the alternator to get bench checked at the parts store, do so. I finally had my original alt have the IC diodes fail after 4 brush changes and around 300K miles of use.

I learned not too long ago that NAPA sells that subassembly now. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Well, I checked the wiring and everything (that I could find anyway) seemed to be securely locked down w/ no loose connections. Gonna take your guys' advice and just get the darn alt. tested. The original factory alt. that came w/ my truck is long gone, so I'm currently running a 'reman' I purchased from Napa about 3 years back. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" /> Hope I didn't get caught up in a vicious and expensive cycle by going that route!

Thanks for the replies every one! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

after i had my mishap accross county i decided it was time for a volt gauge other then just the idiot light.

It turned out to be the alternator itself as the source to this annoying problem. I took the old one in to get tested, and it was basically D.O.A.! I wound up purchasing another remanufactured one from O'Reillys w/ a limited lifetime warranty. Supposedly if this happens again, they'll take care of it as long as I keep my sale slip. We shall see... <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

As far as a volt gauge goes, I think that'd be a wise purchase down the road. Same goes for an aftermarket oil gauge!

I'm just happy to have my truck back in running condition! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Thanks again for all the responses guys/gals! It's greatly appreciated! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

glad the alt solved it. well shoot if u get volt and oil gauge you should look into the sr5 cluster swap. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />