The past couple of weeks my volt meter on my dash has been falling and then I started noticing that my truck was having a hard time starting, so thinking it was the batt. I instaled a red top optima last week, day latter it hit the fan belt and melted a small hole in the side...I waited it out for a few days....same thing, low volts and hard starts and finely died...got jumped, drove a mile and stuttered dead in the road. Dropped a yellow top in thinking it was the hole....day latter, no start. Just had alternator tested and was told it was good. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> any ideas? Thanks for the help -Corey

Follow all your cabling and check for loose connections, maybe shorts through frays touching ground. If there's nothing obvious you could start by reinstalling or replaceing the batt cables, see if it helps, then other such main cabling.

check your belt and make sure that it is tight and not slipping. also make sure to go through and check ALL the wiring to make sure there are no corroded connections or shorted wires. also make sure to clean up or get new battery connections.
good luck with everything. I know electrical problems are a PITA to deal with, I had about 5-6 months of them.

erick

ok...thanks for the suggestions, I checked that conections are tight, no grounds, belt is tight and batt. cables are about 6 months old and still look good....new theory

hmm....what are the chances that o'rileys is wrong and my alt. is bad?? he told me that it was good and putting out 12.something volts, almost 13....he didn't mention amps, could that have any relevance?

chiltons said its supposed to be 13.9-15.1 volts and 60 amps, is that right? why does the volt range vary, upon what conditions? and if it is putting out 13 when it needs at least 14 it sounds like that could be the problem, its charging enough to run but not enough to start back up or maintain a charge, my radio wont evan stay on for more than 30 sec. when it is running......

replace alt. despite what 'handy dude' said?

sucks, i already re-instaled it. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/angry.gif" alt="" />

Did ya start truck and pull off + batery terminal to see if truck dies?? I did this to check a alt. and it died, changed alt. all was good.

Your alt can be fubar'd and still show fine on output tests. But if the diodes have screwed the pooch or the brush wires are grounding internally (mine did this) it will drain your battery. Best way to check for draw is to hook up a meter between positive cable and +battery terminal, leave everything turned off and see what the draw is off the battery. Anything higher that a few hundreds of a volt is to much. With meter still hooked up go around disconecting things....pulling fuses. When the draw on the battery drops you've found the problem.

~Darin <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/baby.gif" alt="" />

it should read 13.6 and up. Anything below is not enough. If the clerk tested the truck with a dead batt the alt may not put out as much 'cause of the batt. When testing the alt make sure the batt is fully charge and the voltage reading is at least 13.6. If under 13.6 it is not charging enough. Advance AP has a good roll out machine that is capable of reading voltage-amperage and the condition of the diode. You have to be able to run the engine at a constant 2k rpm for one of the tests. It does sound like the alt is not putting out enough. Make sure you bolt down that batt, so you don't have to invest in a new one again.

quite good...i had one that repeatedly tested fine on the bench (i.e., put out 14.4 volts) but did not work on the car (i.e., did not put out anything...which meant the electrical system was running at 12.x volts--off of the battery--instead of 14.4 volts with the alternator recharging the battery).

actually, after the first time i took it off and tested it and then put it back on, it worked OK for about a month. then it stopped working again, but still tested OK when i took it off of the car. i spent many frustrating hours trying to find some other problem that did not exist.

rather than drive the car off of a cliff <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" />, i figured i would just try replacing the alternator even though it was still testing OK. and that solved the problem. (even at this point, the old alternator tested OK on the bench.)



yes, i would think that is the problem.

your alt. should put out at least 14 volts. most of the ones i have had any dealings with (not that many) put out around 14.4.

i don't think your alternator is putting out enough volts to properly recharge the battery. it may not even be able to support the electical demands of the engine while running, which means your battery is being discharged instead of recharged while driving--even though your alternator may not be completely dead.

and, like darin said, it could be shorting internally and draining the battery that way.



i think so...or rebuild it yourself...which is much cheaper but, obviously, a bit more work.