Need Help :(
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Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 8
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From: Phoenix, Arizona
Need Help :(
I have a 98 Dodge Ram 1500 V6 3.9 and the trouble that im having the truck will randomly shut off rather driving or parked... from time to time the amp guage in the truck will start to drop and my check guages light will come on and shortly after the truck will shut off because the battery has died.... i have taken the alternator in and had it checked several times at different shops and they all say its good and the same with the battery... one day it started to drop again so i jiggled the wires from the alt and it kicked in so i started thinking that its wiring, i have torn apart that entire truck and i cant seem to find a bad wire but every so often it will give me the same trouble and today it did it again and this time i could not fix it by shaking the wires.... what could cause this??? any help would be appreciated
if wiggling the wires on the back of the alt fixed it before, i would think thats the problem. some of those electronic testers that auto stores use dont always tell the truth. i like using mechanical testers. the VAT-40 is my all-time favorite but they dont make em anymore.
mess around with a multimeter and do some open circut tests and some voltage drop tests to see if the alt is charging properly. if its charging properly, you should read a little over 14 volts.
although its not the greatest way and probly not highly recomended (its pretty tough on the starter), you can also do a simple load test on the battery by by pulling the fuel relay and having a buddy crank the engine for about 10-15 seconds. if the voltage drops below 9.6v, replace the battery.
mess around with a multimeter and do some open circut tests and some voltage drop tests to see if the alt is charging properly. if its charging properly, you should read a little over 14 volts.
although its not the greatest way and probly not highly recomended (its pretty tough on the starter), you can also do a simple load test on the battery by by pulling the fuel relay and having a buddy crank the engine for about 10-15 seconds. if the voltage drops below 9.6v, replace the battery.
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Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 12,204
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From: Gainesville, Ga.
the voltage regulator on our trucks is built into the PCM. so either you have an intermittently bad alternator, bad wiring, or a bad PCM.
there's a lot of old threads about isolating the voltage regulator circuit, and even building an external regulator.
pcm's are expensive, so are alternators, so it'd be good to figure out how to test and verify the exact problem. unless you can identify when or how the alternator goes out, its probably safe to assume that if its sometimes good, its always good.
i'll look for some regulator threads.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...onversion.html
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...-computer.html
cmckenna has some very detailed threads.
there's a lot of old threads about isolating the voltage regulator circuit, and even building an external regulator.
pcm's are expensive, so are alternators, so it'd be good to figure out how to test and verify the exact problem. unless you can identify when or how the alternator goes out, its probably safe to assume that if its sometimes good, its always good.
i'll look for some regulator threads.
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...onversion.html
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...-computer.html
cmckenna has some very detailed threads.
Last edited by dhvaughan; May 1, 2012 at 09:48 PM.