I have a weird problem, so I hope someone can help. About two weeks ago I was driving in my check gauges light came on for a reason. I looked at all the gauges and they were operating correctly. Then the light eventually went out. Today after stopping for some gas went back to my truck and it tried to start, but it would not start, and it had absolutely no power. It was like somebody had cut the switch off no power at all. I had a couple of tools with me, so after messing around with it. I disconnected the battery terminals and put them back on and it had power and the truck cranked up and ran fine. Has anybody else ever had this happen to them. If so what should I look for. The alternator is original that came with the truck and the PCM is the original that came with the truck. I'm going to make sure that all the ground wires are completely clean and connected correctly. The battery is brand-new and is reading 14 volts with the meter. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Sounds like you just had a poor connection at the battery. Were the terminals loose at all? Dirty? Did the installer not sacrifice a small animal when he put the battery in?

 

That is funny as hell. The only small animal I have is a Pug, that is 15 years old. And when he finally goes OMG the kids are going to freak out. Yes the terminals were tight I instead the battery. I even spray that battery crap on the terminals to keep them from getting corroded. I just wanted y'alls thoughts see maybe if I should be looking at replacing the alternator or looking at other things possibly.

 

Family pets don't work for the sacrifice. You have to purchase them directly from the Sacrificial Animals Outlet that is approved by ASPCA. (Hint, they are usually filled with cotton batting.....)

Wonder if it was just annoyed? You can check the various connections, just follow the main cables around, and see if anything seems out of place. Given that nothing was working, going to have to be one of them.

 

I don't want to sound like a stickler, but the battery should have read exactly 12.6 volts while off. That is completely charged, unless u checked it while it was running. I would check ur alternator output with your meter and make sure its not gettin AC leakage out. I don't know if that would cause ur problem, but its just what I would try. I ain't not expert tho, I'm just throwin out ideas. Hope it helps

 

I've had that happen and it's always been a loose connection on battery terminals. 14 plus volts is right when truck is running. 12 plus with it shut off. Animal sacrifice? Do you have the procedure? I just put a new battery in and skipped that part, hope for no curses.

 

It think that part of the procedure was listed in the Diagnostics manual, which we don't seem to have.

 

Well I have had A LOT of experience with this kind of thing reventkg and yout battery really needs to be 12.4+ to effectively start. 12.2 is generally too low.

Of course what really starts your truck is amps but this is just a quick check with a meter

Check your actual terminals, I had A hairline crack in mine and it caused problems. Get brass/brass colored ones or whatever. They are worth the money

 

Just for your reference when checking your battery voltage, 12.6v+ is 100% charge, 12.4v is 75% charge, 12.2v is 50% charge 12v is 25% charge 11.8v or less 0% charge.

 

Also the generators minimum output should be 90amp for 117amp generator and 100amps for the 136amp generator. To test voltage output: with battery fully charged, record battery voltage across terminals with ignition off no electrical load. start engine, run 1500rpm with no engine or electrical load and check voltage across battery terminals, the voltage should be no more the 2.5v more then the battery voltage with engine off. Turn on blower motor at high speed and turn on headlights, run engine at 2000rpm check voltage across battery terminals. the reading should be no less than .5v more than battery voltage with the engine off. If reading are not satisfactory the charging system is not working properly. ex bad regulator bad weak generator, excessive resistance ect...