Hi all, had some start up issues, requesting Sage advice

[WatchDawg]

All,

History of issue
I've been having an issue it appears with the drivers alt. Gen 1 light has flickered since i have gotten it about a month ago. Then approx a week ago the headlights went out, tried to replace switch, had to run a cable from one battery to headlights to get em to turn on again.

Current state
Yesterday was running fine, took a 40 min drive prior to stopping for the night, and everything was working. This morning (was a bit cold approx 32 degrees with a 10 degree wind chill). Started up after a bit of effort (weak crank), and turned over, after waiting approx 10 min for high idle to go down, took off for close by store, got a quick drink, and it was dead. Got a jump from AAA, and even that didn't crank it, so did a spirt of ether, and fired right up. Got to work (20 min drive), turned it off, and tried to turn back on, and was completely dead).

yes I've read the TM's and the wiring diagrams, got em all in my google drive for quick reference when shopping or working on it.

What I have done so far -
Front front side battery, ran 12v cable inside cab (master 12v on/off). From that switch into a small terminal blocks to give 12volt to things that require them.
Replace lighting pull / push switch, didn't fix headlights

-headlights with an on/off switch and inline 30 amp fuse
-dome lights with an inline 20 amp fuse
-interverter with on / on switch and 30 amp in line fuse (2 built in fuses 15 amp) [taken out of line]
-got 2 nice new batt's put in back near the rear junction box so i can (eventually) charge off the 24v system and always be able to jump (as I would have needed to this morning)

lingering issues
-no gen light at all now for some reason
-using blackout light switch to turn parking and service lights on and off
-indicator (left right) relay stopped working this morning (couldn't multimeter it yet, was rushing into work, worked just fine yesterday)

Here is what I'm thinking of doing for next steps and would appreciate any feedback


-Head to parts store, pick up batt charger, charge back batt's and have em ready to go as a spare / jump. or at least so i can get a jump from anyone (jumper box on one, car on other)
-installing new alt on drivers side (Part Number:DL7157 ) will rebuild original and have a spare for $80. I think this will fix charging system and any latent issues with power, starting at source, I will run new wires from back of alt, on wed during major maintenance

 

[Skinny]

That is a lot of information to take in. Before I go any further I would disconnect anything that is not stock to eliminate any issues trying to diagnose the problem. Start with the obvious, your 12v battery sounds questionable or your Gen 1 isn't charging. Charge both batts, load test them to verify that they work, and then start the truck. If it cranks over fine, then move on to testing the charging voltage which should be about 14-14.5v while idling. Always check it throughout the RPM range and with a load on (like heater blower and hi beams).

I would bet money that this is all because of a battery that is dead or has been beat up along with an alternator that is no longer producing what it should. Both of which are high probability.

Once you have some data on these parts, then we can go further along. Your truck should not need all this rewiring and fuses to work correctly. Good luck, let us know how you make out.

 

[WatchDawg]

Skinny,

Thanks for the info, I try to provide more then less, I work in troubleshooting and try to have most of the info as needed.

This all started because P.O. put in a POS cig adaptor, with no fuse link, so when it took too much draw, it blew a lot in line, and I'm trying to fix / upgrade as I go. I have taken (I think) all his stuff out of line, back to stock as I could.

I have a strong suspicion that me using this as a daily driver may have put an strain on an failing alt. I am heading to parts store after work to see if they may have an alt that will work for me. I got some dinky little POS multimeter for like $6, so I'll get a real multimeter next time, the dinky one just dosn't seem accurate, and doesn't really work correctly. ALso will pick up a battery charger and a pair of jump cables so i can jump myself if needed off the batt's in back.

worst case, there is a shop down the road that used to work on these when the local PD had a bunch of them. They are very familiar with them. I'd rather replace alt, and rebuild old one myself so I know how to do it, and have a spare.

In the cab the 12v on/off switch act's as basically a master kill switch to any external non-stock within the truck, and completely takes off non-engine load from alts. (tried to design it that way for on-the-road troubleshooting)

I have 2 new batt's in the back, I picked up yesterday. May be a bit more heavy duty as well. The idea is to charge them eventually off the rear junction box in cab, however if the current eng. batt's are borked, I may just swap the battery's, put a new alt on it, run 12v stuff from that and be done.


So it should be the Gen 1, drivers alt, I shouldn't need an isolated ground alt, correct? just the type listed in the wiki ?

 

[Skinny]

I would take the new batts out back, charge them to 100%, stick them in front and see what it does. Your cheapo meter should have no issues measuring DV volts accurately enough for what we need here. I would get any replacement as an isolated ground since I like to keep them matching in case you ever get a spare or need to swap them around. I highly recommend just getting a good rebuild kit and tackling it yourself. Its simple and cheaper. Not to mention you will end up with a better alternator than what you would get off the shelf.

 

[WatchDawg]

Got it fixed, after getting a multimeter and finding the battery at about 5 or 6 volt, and the alt giving out approx 7 or 9 volt, i changed out the batt. and everything was working great !. Thanks for the help and feedback

 

[Warthog]

Your alternator needs a rebuild. It is putting out zero volts. What you read was the battery voltage.

One item I would suggest buying is a battery load tester. A cheap one from Harbor Freight will work fine. They usually have them on sale for ~$20.

If you want to rebuild the alternator yourself, you can get a kit from a couple of members here. ASPWholesale.com or Tow4 has some kits listed in the classifieds.

 

[WatchDawg]

So this will still cause a slow drain on the battery then? I was just going to pick up a new alt, since it's drivers side and dosn't need an iso ground, replace the old one, and rebuild, and have a spare. going to parts store anyway after work

 

[WatchDawg]

Also I may ahve been a bit unclear as far as my test results


prior to batt change-no load, running idle
Rear batt voltage - bouncing between 8 and 13ish volts
front battery voltage - 4-8 volts

alt 1 - approx 8 or 9 volts
alt 2 - 14-20 volts

after font batt change-no load
batt 1 - bouncing voltage between 12.42 and 13v
batt 2 - 12.40 volts
alt 1 - 20-24 volt
alt 2 - 11.45-12.35 volt

 

[Rustyshackelford]

If your gen lights don't turn on when starting your truck then your alternators won't work, they require the light bulb to get excited. Fix the light bulbs and clean their connections first.

 

[WatchDawg]

Gen 2 comes on during pre-ignition, goes off during ignition,
Gen 1 stopped comming on, during pre-ignition. I will verify fuses as well this afternoon.

Today -
putting ammo can in place and start to wire switch's to that to have control again from cab.
picking up alt,
do load test on batt I removed yesterday,
getting a new DMM.
Replace headlights (only have high-beams since I bought it)

Thurs.
dash getting taken apart and contacts cleaned 168's getting replaced with red led's,
Replacing heater core with a nice non-aluminum one I got.
replace the cabling to the battery terminals, and get some greese on there, and shore them up a lot more,
P.O. had some crazy wiring that's ugly with the winch that's on there. I also notice the P.O. put in a small, what looks like a screwdriver bit in pos terminal due to size difference. So will fix that.