Electrical malfunction CUCV

[br44]

Hi all
I have had a malfunction and I can't figure it out. Today I got in my M1009 to drive a employee home, and after the wait light went out I tried to start the truck. All i got was a loud click and all power went out. Nothing works. I took a look at my batteries and the rear one was very corroded. After cleaning it off, The power still didn't come back on. Any Ideas?

Thanks

p.s.
I searched first.... nada

 

[CycleJay]

Hello Br44,

Perhaps the rear battery is drained due to the corrosion, I could be wrong.
But get a voltmeter, and test both batteries to see if either has enough energy.

That is a start... Good luck...

 

[ARYankee]

Start simple.... I would check the batteries and make sure they are fully charged. Then check the connections to the batteries. There are several really good threads in the CUCV section for troubleshooting such issues.

Here is a good one you may want to look at:
http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/54292-cucv-alternator-symptoms-diagnosis-fix.html

 

[Warthog]

Never start any electrical troubleshooting until you know the condition of the batteries. Don't guess, check.

You need to make sure the batteries are fully charged and load tested. I have seen brand new batteries off the shelf that where bad.

You can get a cheap but desent load tester from Harbor Freight for under $30.

 

[markg]

Hi all
I have had a malfunction and I can't figure it out. Today I got in my M1009 to drive a employee home, and after the wait light went out I tried to start the truck. All i got was a loud click and all power went out. Nothing works. I took a look at my batteries and the rear one was very corroded. After cleaning it off, The power still didn't come back on. Any Ideas?

Thanks

p.s.
I searched first.... nada[/QUOTE

i'd bet 5 dollars you have a dirty battery connection,(check all 4). or your ground lug at the rear of engine( just below the fuel filter) is loose.

 

[br44]

I have to get to a drafting class later, but as soon as I can i will test the batteries and check the ground.

 

[cliffyp]

My wife's car does what you described. Every once in a while you turn the key and nothing, acts just like a dead battery, not even a click. For some reason it loses connection at the battery. I just grab the leads, give them a shake and then it will crank over with full force. One of these days I'll get off my lazy butt and put in new connections!

 

[erniemigi]

Like the other SS members said, "check the Batts" then also check all your grounds including the one up under dash on the drivers side wall, mine broke off one day and that kept mine from starting back up

 

[br44]

UPDATE***
so i finalyy got around to checking my batteries, and i discovered a goof i made a while back. so a while ago i had needed to move the rear battery to do some repairs. when i put the battery back in, i put it in wrong and the cover that goes on top squished two of the little caps for checking the electrolyte. this caused the center of the battery to bow in, causeing acid to leak out the other caps. this caused corrosion in the connection of the battery(corrosion i couldnt see without pulling it apart. it also caused heavy corrosion on the pole. so after a cup full of baking soda water and a wire brush and 30 minutes, i fixed the problem. After jumpstarting the truck with the john deere i disconnected the batteries to make sure the alternators still worked. all was A O good . now i have the batteries on a trickle charge.

all i can say is
THANKS GUYS! I wouldnt have rechecked the batteries if you hadnt mentioned it.

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

Good stuff, BR. Now you should consider coating the terminals with some dialectric grease to keep them clean.

 

[rickf]

Disconnecting the battery while the engine is running to check the alternator is the fastest way to blow out the diodes in the alternator! If you are lucky you will lose the regulator first and the spike will not take out the diodes.
Bring on the flamers

Rick

 

[cpf240]

Disconnecting the battery while the engine is running to check the alternator is the fastest way to blow out the diodes in the alternator! If you are lucky you will lose the regulator first and the spike will not take out the diodes.
Bring on the flamers

Rick

That has always been my understanding. Though I will say that a friend of mine told me that when he had the battery replaced in his newer model car, I don't remember what it is - sorry, they left it running while swapping in the new battery.

He was told that it was designed that way, so the computer and radio would not lose all the stored info.

Personally, I think someone spent too much time sniffing the exhaust...

 

[MarcusOReallyus]

No, it's not designed that way. Just because someone does a dumb thing and gets away with it doesn't mean it's a good thing.

 

[85CUCVtom]

There is a good sticky regarding battery maintenance. Check that out for some tips on cleaning terminals and the like. It's pretty informative.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/cucv/72880-battery-wiring-maintenance.html

 

[br44]

So i have a new malfunction. now the truck sometimes has power, sometimes only a little power. the starter relay no longer clicks as much as it used to, and it resets whenever try to actually start the truck(after glowplugs cycle).

ideas?

EDIT
this all started after doing the battery maintenance from above.