I see. ECCs cost around $250.

CrazyWolfie mentioned that he's read about people replaving the VR. I he has any references to this, I'd love to see them.

Thanks for your replies.

Adam

 

Yeah, basically what it amounts to is bypassing the PCM VR, and putting in one of the 'old style' external VR's. I think there was a write up somewhere for that..... not sure it was on this site, or some other though.

 

I would test both the alternator AND the battery. Check all grounds for corrosion and battery posts as well. Corrosion sucks and prevents charging.

 

why! didnt someone say take your bat to a store to be tested? if bat is good take it to a store and have them test the system its free!!

 

https://dodgeforum.com/forum/2nd-gen...onversion.html

 

I have had that same problem in three vehicles. If you are asking people to guess what it is I would say it is the alternator (I make no claim that this is fact only opinion and take no responsibility for misdiagnosis!). That doesn't mean that the battery is good. When I had alternator failure I always replace the battery now. I have had three incidents with replacing just the alternator. On all three occasions the battery would fail within 2 days, and that was testing the battery's and the result showing good. Is it not worth finding out for yourself. If I lived so far away from a parts store I wouldn't risk it. I am not saying that the VR in the PCM is at fault or not but will say this is the first time I have heard of a VR in a PCM. My battery/alt experiences happened on an 87 Town Car (the biggest POS I have ever owned btw), 94 Suburban and a 98 Ram.

 

Alternators/ Generators and starters for that mater, need to be tested under load. Which is something your average parts store simply does not have the capable test equipment required.

 

^+1 on that Zman.
When I was working at the dealership we had on of those test machines. It takes a few different tests a different engine speeds (rpms) to test the alternator and battery.

 

If you need alternator parts, check out http://www.nationsautoelectric.com
Great prices, great service, and super fast shipping.

 

Thank you all for the links.

I took the starter into Advance to have it tested. Two tests showed that it's good. I don't know if those machines load the starter to real-world currents, but it tested good.

The guy I talked to recommended replacing the crank sensor, which is documented to cause a no charge condition. Given the fact that the battery didn't completely drain the first time the truck stopped running and I was able to start and drive it for a period the next day, I had suspicion that the alternator wasn't at fault. Also, a voltage regulator is a solid state component. If they fry, they stop completely and do not work intermittently, so I have doubts whether the voltage regulator is bad. Of course, I'm not familiar with the computer circuit, but I suspect that a bad voltage regulator would leave an open in the circuit.

We'll see.

Adam

EDIT: It was the alternator that I had "tested" at the parts store, not the starter.