Hi, just had a fun one! My gf was out on a 'froading weekend when I got the text; "Does she always crank slow?" "Well, she doesn't fire right off, so I guess so..." "Oh, ok" A little while later she texts that the truck is making a lot of noise, the guys she was driving with said it was an exhaust leak, but a bunch of the dash lights were on, so she was coming home (1 hour drive).

I met her at her house and sure enough, she had drug the muffler, broke the inlet pipe to it, bent a couple of hangers, which gapped the pipe between the O2 sensor and the cat, so lack of power due to low back pressure. I went out to our two 'donors', pulled a muffler and cat off one and, viola! Exhaust fixed!

Still cranked slow. Drove it back to town (another 40 minutes with headlights blazing) for a battery and charging system test. The battery was ok but low, alternator failed for the regulator (on car test). No brake lights, radio, clock, windows, sunroof, etc. The next morning while pulling the alternator, she checked fuses. The 100 amp charging system fuse under the hood was blown, well, it could just be 20 years old... all others were ok. I had her take the alt to the parts store for direct testing, just in case, it tested good... hmmm... reinstalled it, dropped in a new fuse and as soon as the negative battery cable touched the post, the fuze popped like a paparazzi flash bulb! Well, that looks like a dead short, on one of the 'always on" circuits, well over 100 amps! So, off to the wiring diagrams. The only circuit that is isolated on that is the two wires going to (and from) the alternator. The other circuits under it are fused much lower in amperage and they would have blown before the 100 amp. Well the darn wiring bundle runs under the battery box, along the head, turns and passes over the bellhousing, and turns back forward to the starter and alternator, a journey of probably 8 feet, much of which is inaccessible without pulling the engine or the body. hmmm... do I pull the harness back with a rope tied to the other end so I can pull it back? What to do...? She says "why cant you just run new wire across the front?"

Not a bad idea! 15 feet of AWG 8 (2 parallel wires, as per factory), 4 ring terminals and 4 feet of fat shrink tubing later and the new alternator wires are running from the underhood fuse block, through the wire chase just in front of the radiator top tank, down under the air box, and to the alternator. The old ones are disconnected and tucked out of the way, I'll never know where the short was, but on battery reconnection, all is good as new!