Truck Update

"BJohnson11" (brettjohnson01) 09/19/2013 at 16:23 • Filed to: Truck Project

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So a couple days ago I decided I should take the truck for a little drive. It was still having battery draining issues, but I had the battery checked and it tested good. So I fired it up, took it for a drive to the machine shop, filled its tires with air, and drove home. Then, about an hour later, I was gonna go pick the lady friend up from work with it. I went out, started it, and started to drive. It died just around the block. When I went to start it again, it had absolutely no cranking power. Bad alternator. So after towing it back home with a buddies truck, I pulled the alternator, took it in to O'Rielly, and it tested bad. A new alternator was $50, so I bought it, wired it up, and now the truck is charging up to 14.5 volts while running. There's still a little battery drain, so I'll probably wire in a battery disconnect switch later on, but later today I'm thinking I'll drive it to the tire shop and get my new rims mounted!

Meatcoma > BJohnson11 09/19/2013 at 16:25

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Easy way to check that. Charge the battery up, start the car, disconnect the positive battery cable - if it dies it's the alternator, if it stays running then something is draining the battery after it's shutoff or the battery is not holding a charge.

pdthedeuce > BJohnson11 09/19/2013 at 16:29

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look how wide those valve covers are ... sexy ...

95HondaV6 > BJohnson11 09/19/2013 at 16:36

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Is your lady friend still stranded at work?

Mattbob > BJohnson11 09/19/2013 at 16:44

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A way (perhaps time consuming but straightforward) to diagnose a battery drain would be to:

1)disconnect battery leads and isolate battery leads.

2)Go into fuse box and pull all fuses.

3) use a multimeter to test for continuity from either side of any of the fuses to common/ground.

if you find something with continuity to ground when your car and everything is in the off position, you have probably found your drain.

Disclaimer: if your car has its switching before the fuses this may not work.

BJohnson11 > pdthedeuce 09/19/2013 at 17:12

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Yup, good ole 454.

bhardoin > BJohnson11 09/19/2013 at 21:50

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You're better than me. My regulator went bust a while ago, and ever since I've just been carrying a wrench around to disconnect my battery whenever I park it for a while.