New member with a few questions

[Nick from Nebraska]

Hello everyone this is my first real post so I'll introduce myself and then get into the question. If you're less than happy to read about someone you're probably never going to meet feel free to skip to the next paragraph. Jumping into the introduction I'm a 17 year old kid who lives right in the middle of nowhere -also known as Nebraska- I work part time as a blacksmith and welder so I have enough disposable cash to buy parts and diesel which I've been doing a lot of lately. last year I got my License and wanted to stop borrowing my dad's truck so I started searching Craigslist, at this point I had no idea what a CUCV was but I saw what I thought was a good looking truck for $2200 my dad and I went out and looked it over it was about what you'd expect for that price but over all drove well and was solid. Bought it and drove to work for about 6 months during this time I found out about the military connection and then proceeded to learn as much as I could about it, mostly because I love military history. Safe to say I've fallen in love with the stupid thing.


Now on to the problems about a month ago my starter died so I got it replaced with a 6.5 one I was tempted to do it myself but wanted someone to blame if it died : ) So we towed it to a local mechanic with cucv experience Now this may or may not have anything to do with my more recent issues but I wanted to mention it.
On to the recent issues, yesterday I decided to try and catch some fall bass so I loaded up the gear and jumped in. Normal wait light time and I turned the key, rapid loud clicking " ah crap" I know that sound that's a starter with low battery power "alright I must have left the lights on or something" I think while getting the power pack I hook it up to the front battery and it starts right up.
Ok back on track, I pull out onto the highway and hit the gas 15 minutes later I'm coming up on the turn to the lake so I hit the left turn single and get nothing at all. It's happened before so no big deal I'll figure it out. Park, shut down the engine and get out. An hour or two later with exactly zero fish I pack up and get ready to drive. it's bit dark so I turn on the headlights and while they do turn on it's the most dim I've ever seen them. Almost nothing. Try the ignition and its the same as before rapid loud clicking alright glad I brought the power pack hook It up and it started just fine again, the only issue is it's dusk and I have horror movie flashlight level headlights. So I call my dad he drives down and I tailgate him home not a huge deal but not pleasant. while driving my headlights dim to nothing and I still don't have turn signals or flashers.
Once home I pack turn the engine off and then quickly try to start it again, if you guessed more loud clicking you where right! Not enough of a mystery yet? With the engine off parked in the driveway my headlights and turn signals came back strong. No idea. So that brings us to today signals still work but loud clicking when I try to start, hook up the power pack and it started right up idle for half an hour turn off try to start and again clicking. At this point I'm guessing its my driver side alternator. Drivers side because my test light doesn't show power off the positive cable on it. So now I'm fairly stumped.

A few notes I'm not a complete idiot but I'm no mechanical genius and I'm using mostly my grandpa's old tools. Also I'm beginning to think I need a multimeter not just an old test light so that may be in my future if you guys think I need one. I'll take it to the mechanic if I need to but I would very much like to do what needs done myself as part of why I bought an old truck was to learn. I'm adding a few images of my alternators and a mystery wire that may or may not be related. Also I've read just about every training manual I've found and don't remember anything about these problems being connected.

P.S.

Thanks for any replies and thanks for having me here
Nick

 

[WWRD99]

This is great to hear!! I have a 17 year old son and has 2 1009s. Don't run to the mechanic yet!! Yes get a multimeter. Doesn't have to do much else but volts. Doesn't have to be crazy expensive. If Amazon is easier than a parts store do that. So as far as power goes it looks like your running the 24 volt system since I can see your glow plug resistor is hooked up. First thing with anything charging is do both gen lights turn on with the key in the run position...like when you're waiting for the glow plug light to go out before you start it both gen lights should be lit. If not that's where you start...have to figure out why they don't. If they do light up and go out while running I'd go after your battery terminals...if they aren't solid you'll have problems like you're describing...no battery wires jammed in those battery repair ends...those are really bad for long term. It sounds like you could have a ground issue as well...you should have a ground wire going to the cab from the passenger side rear intake bolt...it's probably gone if it was stock braided steel. What you described sounds like you have that ground missing and bad battery ends. You may have a bad battery as well. I'd put the batteries on a low charge over night or longer if you can. Top then off all the way.
Keep posting and add more pics...I can't yell what the wire that's hanging out by the glow plug relay is.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

This is great to hear!! I have a 17 year old son and has 2 1009s. Don't run to the mechanic yet!! Yes get a multimeter. Doesn't have to do much else but volts. Doesn't have to be crazy expensive. If Amazon is easier than a parts store do that. So as far as power goes it looks like your running the 24 volt system since I can see your glow plug resistor is hooked up. First thing with anything charging is do both gen lights turn on with the key in the run position...like when you're waiting for the glow plug light to go out before you start it both gen lights should be lit. If not that's where you start...have to figure out why they don't. If they do light up and go out while running I'd go after your battery terminals...if they aren't solid you'll have problems like you're describing...no battery wires jammed in those battery repair ends...those are really bad for long term. It sounds like you could have a ground issue as well...you should have a ground wire going to the cab from the passenger side rear intake bolt...it's probably gone if it was stock braided steel. What you described sounds like you have that ground missing and bad battery ends. You may have a bad battery as well. I'd put the batteries on a low charge over night or longer if you can. Top then off all the way.
Keep posting and add more pics...I can't yell what the wire that's hanging out by the glow plug relay is.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Alright just confirmed only the gen 2 light comes on, I'll see about the multimeter asap and I checked battery terminals, they're totally solid.

Other than that I forgot to mention that this is a m1008 I doubt that changes much but I thought I should mention it and both batteries are a little less than a month old.

Thanks for the reply that was way faster than I was expecting.

Nick.

 

[ODAddict]

Welcome to the hobby. It's a lot of fun, spare parts availability is generally good, and there's a lot of help out there. If there is a local club, I suggest checking that out. Most of the guys are more than happy to help.

As to your issue, the post by WWRD99 above is on point.

I've always found it best to start simple. In your case, I'd check the batteries first. A low charge can cause all kinds of weird issues. Many auto parts stores will check batteries for free with a load tester--if 24 volts (batteries cabled in series), make sure you disconnect and isolate the batteries before testing.

If batteries check good, then continue your troubleshooting. If one battery is bad, replace them both because a new battery will be dragged down by the older, weaker one (even if it tests good), and shorten its life.

Also, the military manuals are available on this site as well as in hard copy from Portrayal Press. The manuals are invaluable for troubleshooting, repair, and generally getting to know your truck.

Hope that helps.

 

[WWRD99]

Alright just confirmed only the gen 2 light comes on, I'll see about the multimeter asap and I checked battery terminals, they're totally solid.

Other than that I forgot to mention that this is a m1008 I doubt that changes much but I thought I should mention it and both batteries are a little less than a month old.

Thanks for the reply that was way faster than I was expecting.

Nick.

Ok so that is the drivers side alternator that's not working. If you go to the cucv section of this site there's a sticky post about testing the alternator on the truck. You will need a voltmeter to do those tests. One thing you can try though is check or change the bulb in the gen one socket. There's 2 ways to do that...pull out the cluster or get under the dash and get to it that way. The bulb sockets are a tiny twist and pop out...look on youtube there's a video on how they come out if you haven't done it yet. Pop a new 194 in it...pull the contacts of the socket up some and light sand them. If you pull the cluster you can check to see if the bulb is good with a voltage drop on the connection but need voltmeter for that. Don't unplug the cluster from the harness unless the world is on fire. The tape wiring takes some practice to get plugged back in. Oh and define solid on battery terminals...are they the stock style? Either way pop the charger on them...low amp like 10 max...slow charge is the best charge.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

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Ok so that is the drivers side alternator that's not working. If you go to the cucv section of this site there's a sticky post about testing the alternator on the truck. You will need a voltmeter to do those tests. One thing you can try though is check or change the bulb in the gen one socket. There's 2 ways to do that...pull out the cluster or get under the dash and get to it that way. The bulb sockets are a tiny twist and pop out...look on youtube there's a video on how they come out if you haven't done it yet. Pop a new 194 in it...pull the contacts of the socket up some and light sand them. If you pull the cluster you can check to see if the bulb is good with a voltage drop on the connection but need voltmeter for that. Don't unplug the cluster from the harness unless the world is on fire. The tape wiring takes some practice to get plugged back in. Oh and define solid on battery terminals...are they the stock style? Either way pop the charger on them...low amp like 10 max...slow charge is the best charge.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Alright I'll probably get the batteries charging tonight and I'll upload a picture of the terminals either tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for the tip on the sticky post I'll get to reading that after I finish up some homework.

Thanks again

Nick

 

[Barrman]

It is nice you are trying to figure this out yourself. If you have to pay someone to maintain a 40 year old vehicle it will break you and not be what you want anyway.

Make the -20 Technical Manual your friend. It has over 100 pages of trouble shooting and in the appendix the wiring diagrams.

 

[Guyfang]

If you have trouble "reading" the TM's, say something. Some people find the TM's hard to understand. They are not, but that's besides the point. If you need help, the only stupid question, is the question not asked.

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

It is nice you are trying to figure this out yourself. If you have to pay someone to maintain a 40 year old vehicle it will break you and not be what you want anyway.

Make the -20 Technical Manual your friend. It has over 100 pages of trouble shooting and in the appendix the wiring diagrams.

It is nice you are trying to figure this out yourself. If you have to pay someone to maintain a 40 year old vehicle it will break you and not be what you want anyway.

Make the -20 Technical Manual your friend. It has over 100 pages of trouble shooting and in the appendix the wiring diagrams.

if you mean
“ARMY TM 9-2320-289-20” provided by Jatonka
Then I’ve read it but thank you for the suggestion because that thing is packed with useful information.

Nick

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

If you have trouble "reading" the TM's, say something. Some people find the TM's hard to understand. They are not, but that's besides the point. If you need help, the only stupid question, is the question not asked.

There is certainly a bit of a learning curve but so far so good.
Thanks for the reply though, you rarely come across a forum this active and friendly.

Nick

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

Update.

I have the multimeter in hand, both batteries charged thoroughly and I don't have school today.
I'm going to start with the aforementioned sticky post and go from there.
Thanks for all the help so far.

Nick

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

Some more pictures and a couple of possibly stupid questions. Question one, the Regulator plug comes up a lot, what is it?
Two. On the alternator test sticky I see talk of the b+ b- wires I understand the positive and negative but what does the B mean?

as to explanation for the pictures
one is the back of the drivers side alternator then one each of the batteries to make sure there is nothing glaringly wrong that I’m missing in my ignorance

 

[WWRD99]

Awesome...battery looks great...looks like the stock cables still. Big batteries too.
So the voltage regulator is the 2 wire plug on top of the alternator. I should have already said to get a test plug that you can use that makes testing that easier. On my side of the country at advance auto its called a alternator pig tail or alternator connector...that part number is PTA1031. It is made to replace the end of the harness if it's damaged but makes testing very easy plus it's only 4$. The b+ and b- is just battery positive and battery negative.
If you look at the back of your alternator you see a large ground wire going to the intake bolt. Just FYI if you get another alternator for the drivers side it is an isolated ground...meaning the case is not the ground for it that wire is to the intake.

If you end up needing a new alternator keep this one to either rebuild yourself or have as spare...you can't get good internal hard parts all made over seas now. There a very good rebuild kits out there if you'd want to give it a try to do yourself as well. Oh the plug release for the regulator is kinda tough to see plus with the mount bracket that goes right over top of it. I use a long 90 degree pick to get in there to release it...highly recommend to either unhook the batteries when you try to get it out or the least put electrical tape on the metal part of the tool since the nut on the power output is not covered.
If you short out anything getting that plug out you'll fry either the regulator or a fusible link which will add more work. The release is on the inside so it's tough to clip it right. Tried to take a side pic of it to show where it is. The sticky has pictures of how to hook it up if I remember right too which helps. Still gotta get that gen 1 light to work too!

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

Awesome...battery looks great...looks like the stock cables still. Big batteries too.
So the voltage regulator is the 2 wire plug on top of the alternator. I should have already said to get a test plug that you can use that makes testing that easier. On my side of the country at advance auto its called a alternator pig tail or alternator connector...that part number is PTA1031. It is made to replace the end of the harness if it's damaged but makes testing very easy plus it's only 4$. The b+ and b- is just battery positive and battery negative. If you look at the back of your alternator you see a large ground wire going to the intake bolt. Just FYI if you get another alternator for the drivers side it is an isolated ground...meaning the case is not the ground for it that wire is to the intake. If you end up needing a new alternator keep this one to either rebuild yourself or have as spare...you can't get good internal hard parts all made over seas now. There a very good rebuild kits out there if you'd want to give it a try to do yourself as well. Oh the plug release for the regulator is kinda tough to see plus with the mount bracket that goes right over top of it. I use a long 90 degree pick to get in there to release it...highly recommend to either unhook the batteries when you try to get it out or the least put electrical tape on the metal part of the tool since the nut on the power output is not covered. If you short out anything getting that plug out you'll fry either the regulator or a fusible link which will add more work. The release is on the inside so it's tough to clip it right. Tried to take a side pic of it to show where it is. The sticky has pictures of how to hook it up if I remember right too which helps. Still gotta get that gen 1 light to work too!

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Thanks for another useful reply I’ll look at the test plug soon and if I need a new alternator I’ll definitely keep the old one. Just for more info I was playing around with the multimeter and found 14.67 volts on the rear battery and 12.25 on the front both with the engine running. Wild guess but I’m betting those should both be 14 something : )

Not to mention this little gem betting that should be quite a bit higher

Edit because I didn’t make it clear that the image is directly off the alternator with the engine running

edit again because I read the multimeter wrong. I can’t imagine it’s making 30 volts, right? I must have it set wrong

edit one last time my mom made some certainly healthy incredibly unappealing fish for lunch so I’m going to research the multimeter settings while I eat. Sorry If I don’t reply to anyone for a bit

 

[WWRD99]

Ok so you've found that the drivers side alternator charges the front battery and the passenger charges the rear battery. Makes sense now that the drivers alternator isn't working. If you add both battery numbers that's your total number. The system is made to output 24 volts but charge on 12 x2. I'm not sure how you're getting 30 volts yet since both don't equal that now. Possibly the meter needs set at a different point when doing both? Tough to see the meter front clearly. So technically the system charges at 14.7 volts on each alternator giving you an average base charge rate of 29.4. This varies as when you first start the engine it can be a touch higher...you may hear a slight high pitch whine when the glow plugs do the after glow once started. Enjoy the fish.


Edit I just zoomed in on your screen and it shows millivolts...so not 35.1 volts but millivolts.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

Ok so you've found that the drivers side alternator charges the front battery and the passenger charges the rear battery. Makes sense now that the drivers alternator isn't working. If you add both battery numbers that's your total number. The system is made to output 24 volts but charge on 12 x2. I'm not sure how you're getting 30 volts yet since both don't equal that now. Possibly the meter needs set at a different point when doing both? Tough to see the meter front clearly. So technically the system charges at 14.7 volts on each alternator giving you an average base charge rate of 29.4. This varies as when you first start the engine it can be a touch higher...you may hear a slight high pitch whine when the glow plugs do the after glow once started. Enjoy the fish.


Edit I just zoomed in on your screen and it shows millivolts...so not 35.1 volts but millivolts.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Thank you I rather recently realized my mistake -facepalm- thanks again

Nick

 

[Guyfang]

Nick,

if you mean
“ARMY TM 9-2320-289-20” provided by Jatonka
Then I’ve read it but thank you for the suggestion because that thing is packed with useful information.

Sooner or later, you are going to need most if not all the TM's. They are to be found in the TM forum. Just click on the link.
CUCV TMs

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

Nick,

if you mean
“ARMY TM 9-2320-289-20” provided by Jatonka
Then I’ve read it but thank you for the suggestion because that thing is packed with useful information.

Sooner or later, you are going to need most if not all the TM's. They are to be found in the TM forum. Just click on the link.
CUCV TMs

Will do thank you

 

[Nick from Nebraska]

Update

Not sure if I should make a new post or revive this one but I thought I’d try this one.

I spent two days digging through the dash and found that my “gen 1” light and socket where MIA replaced them with my seatbelt indicator bulb and spent a day pulling my hair out trying to get everything back together

That brings us to today both gen lights work but I’m only getting 7.something volts of my drivers side alternator and both generator light stay on even after hitting the gas gen one stays bright while gen two just glows.

alright that’s the update for this morning I’m sure I’ll be back today: )

Thanks everyone

Nick

 

[msgjd]

Thanks for any replies and thanks for having me here

1: Welcome aboard, and well-written I must add ... I was a farmboy (dairy) in the Army at 17, age is just an attitude..
2: As you have seen, you will find a lot of help on here , but sorry I cannot help you with chevy stuff ..
3: Personally never cared for the chevies, they had issues when they first arrived on duty and I avoided them after..
4: Shame on me for not giving the CUCV's (and hummers) a chance, but it's also the matter of what I know versus what I
wish to learn.. 1970's mopars, M880s, jeeps, pre-automatic 5-tons are what I know better than the back of my hand..
5: Everything has its quirks, regardless of make/model, so please don't be discouraged .. You will find/learn the solutions ..
6: Am very glad you seem to be on your way to liking and getting to know your truck .. The fact you made it here says it all !