Electrical - Anyone make sense of this..? where you at Skylark

[Jeffgmcgrr]

I'm having a hard time understanding why my battery light is on. Furthermore there seems to be a drain on my engine when the truck is off.

While idling the system is charging at 13.7

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[deadbeat]

Remove your positive battery cable, put a light tester in between the cable end and battery with the key off. If the light comes on you have a dead short that is draining the battery. In this case, pull the fuses until the test light goes out and this should put you in the right area to investigate.

 

[Oldblue98]

I'm having a hard time understanding why my battery light is on. Furthermore there seems to be a drain on my engine when the truck is off.

While idling the system is charging at 13.7

You must be registered for see images attach

I had this same issue in my Vandura, was not a drain but was a dead short in battery. To go along with above test procedure, charge battery fully and load test battery. Or have it tested at one of the parts houses.

 

[someotherguy]

Give the harness pigtail at the alternator a little wiggle. Not the wire that runs across to the battery, but the one from the truck's harness. Do this while the engine is running. If it's got a bad connection there, you'll notice when it makes connection and kicks the alternator in, because you'll be able to actually hear the difference (as well as look inside afterwards and see the battery warning light turned off.)

The older style alternator like on your truck can develop a bad connection which will cause the alternator to not charge. Replacing that pigtail is easy and cheap..

Richard

 

[Bob L]

Give the harness pigtail at the alternator a little wiggle. Not the wire that runs across to the battery, but the one from the truck's harness. Do this while the engine is running. If it's got a bad connection there, you'll notice when it makes connection and kicks the alternator in, because you'll be able to actually hear the difference (as well as look inside afterwards and see the battery warning light turned off.)

The older style alternator like on your truck can develop a bad connection which will cause the alternator to not charge. Replacing that pigtail is easy and cheap..

Richard

This was giving me headaches till I replaced the pigtail

 

[skylark]

I'm having a hard time understanding why my battery light is on. Furthermore there seems to be a drain on my engine when the truck is off.

While idling the system is charging at 13.7

You must be registered for see images attach

Seattle!
These guys have given you some solid advice. If you have further troubles, post up again.

 

[smdk2500]

I hope the pigtail fixes your problem but i have seen alts putting out proper voltage but not the correct amperage. I don't know if our trucks are smart enough to detect this but I know the reefer units I work on daily are.

 

[Jeffgmcgrr]

I had this same issue in my Vandura, was not a drain but was a dead short in battery. To go along with above test procedure, charge battery fully and load test battery. Or have it tested at one of the parts houses.

Coincidentally... I ran my battery to the shop to have them test it and it came up.bad, luckily within 2 yr limit so was warrantied. I did happen to buy a cheap voltmeter and light circuit while I was there, I hadn't read this yet.

For now my battery light is still on after installing new battery. I'll be running your test next.

 

[Oldblue98]

Coincidentally... I ran my battery to the shop to have them test it and it came up.bad, luckily within 2 yr limit so was warrantied. I did happen to buy a cheap voltmeter and light circuit while I was there, I hadn't read this yet.

For now my battery light is still on after installing new battery. I'll be running your test next.

Check your voltage running and then check it with all accessories on such as lights a/c etc because sometimes the alternator will put out until you start loading it up with accessories and then just break even or not charge .

 

[Jeffgmcgrr]

I haven't messed with it yet but when I tested the battery before hooking it up it gave me 12.6. I started the truck and it jumped to 14.3 or 4 and then over about 5 minutes of idle that droped down to about 13.9.

After I turned the key off I tested the battery and was now at 12.9.

To be honest I really feel as if there's something in my wiring. I've had hot start issues with this truck for a long time before the transmission and all the bullshit I just fixed happened. When it's been dying on me is after an idol sitting in the parking lot, say I go to maneuver into a parking spot or put it in reverse and turn the wheel a little bit it would die. Subsequently I would need a jumpstart. This though was just over the last few days and on the old battery. I haven't tested it with a new battery however with the battery light being stuck on causes me concern.

I feel like after things warm up for a while something stops transmitting in the wires. Which is causing my battery to be low