truck issues

I've been having to jump start my truck for the past week the battery just won't seem to put out enough amps to crank but the alternator seems to be working fine the headlights are bright dome light works, I've replaced the battery and the terminals but no change and the starter isn't but a couple years old. Any idea's cause I'm at a dead loss.


TIA,
Travis

I still think it's the alternator. Something very similiar happened to my wife's car a couple of years ago. Initially we thought it was the battery as well. You can have the alternator tested for free at most box auto parts stores.



DL

I would do a test after the truck is running, try disconnecting the Negative Cable of the Battery and see if it still runs, then run the headlights.. Your Alternator could be overcharging the battery and prematurely killing it. The Best way is to test the alternator and see what kind of voltage it is putting out. Or you could have a draw from an alarm system, stereo... What year is your truck and what make??

HTH,

When it doesn't start, do you hear the solenoid click?

Your best bet is to, as Dustin suggested, a draw test on the system.
One commonly overlooked item is battery cables( not the connection at the battery- the cable itself inside the insulation) and the common ground, if they are corroded it could be the culprit.

Jim said:

Your best bet is to, as Dustin suggested, a draw test on the system.
One commonly overlooked item is battery cables( not the connection at the battery- the cable itself inside the insulation) and the common ground, if they are corroded it could be the culprit.

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...though the jumper starts probably wouldn't be working so well if that were the case.

82R100 said:

...though the jumper starts probably wouldn't be working so well if that were the case.

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In my experience it could actually point to this, you are doubling the existing amperage when you are jumping the vehicle.

It's a '01 dodge ram 1500. And yes the solenoid clicks when I try to turn it over. thanks for the advice guys.

Dustinl said:

I still think it's the alternator. Something very similiar happened to my wife's car a couple of years ago. Initially we thought it was the battery as well. You can have the alternator tested for free at most box auto parts stores.



DL

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This is what I would have suggested, word for word. A free alternator test at any Advanced Auto, Napa, Auto Zone, or pretty much any mechanics shop will, if nothing else, rule out alternator problems for you. There is always the off chance that your new battery was just a bad one that won't hold charge. Any decent shop worth their paycheck will be able to do a load test (you can't load test a battery with a simple multimeter, there is a different device used for this that all shops should have) on the battery for you also. Both of these tests should be no cost to you, at least very little cost. I can say for sure that this is the best place to start.

If your battery and alternator both check out, it is time to start going through battery cables, as suggested earlier. I would start with the positive cable going to the starter, then the ground cable between the battery and engine block, then the positive cable going from the battery to the main fuse panel. If there is too much resistance there (caused by worn cable, one that isn't insulated enough from touching something hot, etc.) could also cause the symptoms you're looking at.

Also, is your check engine light on? You can have a mechanic pull the code for you if it is. That could point you somewhere as well.

For what its worth, I was a boat mechanic for about 3 years. I turned wrenches to put myself through college. 12V systems on boats are very similar to those in cars, and I've worked quite extensively on both. You always start with the simplest problems first (battery and alternator in this case) and work toward the more complex (usually least likely) problems from there. My brother, another B&B member, is a mechanic with more experience than me. I'll try to send him toward this thread for you.

Good luck, amigo. Electrical problems can be a nightmare. Let us know how it goes for you.

It really sounds like the alternator is the problem. Other problems could be a bad or loose ground strap, the voltage regulator, or bad wire connection at the starter.

Check the voltage regulator. We had this problem on our Elite

My first guess would be that something may be drawing on the battery (such as dash pocket light or under hood light). Does it have a voltage gauge on it? If so does it read in the middle? Those gauges can be wrong, but most of the time on an 01 it would be right. Does it only do it after it sits overnight? Will it start again after you run it for a while? I am a mechanic for a living but it's hard to diagnose over the internet. Keep us posted.I will help all I can.

I agree with most of the above, but I would first go to a Battery/Alternator shop. Better a guy who works on battery's and alternators all day than a highschool kid working at $#!tzone.

If it is the alternator they can generally swap them out in 15 min or less.

Was it the alternator?

Well I took it up to autozone for an alternator check and wal-mart for a battery check and both passed with flying colors so next week I'm putting it in the shop. I just don't have the room or the tools to do anything beyond minor repairs.

Thanks again for all the help gents.

How long does the car sit before you need to give it a jump start? At this point, it reminds me of a problem my dad had many years ago where there was a short in the electrical system that slowly drained the battery.

taprater said:

Well I took it up to autozone for an alternator check and wal-mart for a battery check and both passed with flying colors so next week I'm putting it in the shop. I just don't have the room or the tools to do anything beyond minor repairs.

Thanks again for all the help gents.

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Bummer. Sorry to hear that, man. Let us know what they find.

DunEdinRanger said:

At this point, it reminds me of a problem my dad had many years ago where there was a short in the electrical system that slowly drained the battery.

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That sounds quite likely to me.

airplanedoc said:

I agree with most of the above, but I would first go to a Battery/Alternator shop. Better a guy who works on battery's and alternators all day than a highschool kid working at $#!tzone.

If it is the alternator they can generally swap them out in 15 min or less.

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I'd rather the idiot high school kid who hooks up God knows how many batteries and alternators a day to the idiot proof machine then the battery and alternator guy who is going to look for any excuse to sell me what he specializes in.

If it cranks and turns over just fine with a jump my guess is the starter and solenoid are fine. Unless they are just on their way out and get going from the extra juice, but I would expect them to still struggle if they get it going at all.

On top of it passing my guess would also be the alternator is fine if it runs once it actually gets started.

Even if the battery and connections are fine you could still have bad cables, and with the extra juice from a jump you can get started. There could also be a bad ground or a short in the system that is draining the battery, which is going to be my guess of most likely issue. In which case, especially without the tools and space, I'd leave up to a mechanic to properly find and fix.

It sounds like some kind of electrical short.

I had a *** '78 Pontiac Sunbird. It was constantly breaking down. I went through so many parts that I lost count. (Starters, Alternators, Batteries, Fuel Pumps, Carburetor, etc). I would replace one part one week and the next week it would die on the road, or it would not start. I would turn the key and nothing would happen.

I never did figure it out.

I hope that they are able to resolve it.

Well got my truck back from the shop and as it turns out it was my starter was going out and was needed that extra "umph" from the jump to turn over.