Truck died

[67Fleet]

Well, I took my truck to the local cruise-in tonight and everything was fine. It got there fine, it started up fine for the cruise fine, then after the cruise I parked it, then when I went to leave the battery chugged once then died. Luckily the guy parked next to me had a booster and we got it going right away. Drove home with no issues. Lights were bright as normal. Pulled it in the garage and put a voltmeter to it with the engine off. 13.4 volts. Tried starting and it barely cranked over. Put the voltmeter to the battery while it was running and it was just over 10 volts. The battery is 4 months old. I don't know how old the alt is but it looks fairly new. What could be the issue?

[71chevylongbed]

how about your starter. that is the exact same thing that happened when my starter went out

[ozzyracing]

I would have your battery checked if it is not your starter. I worked for a major battery company before and on a rare occasion, a bad battery would come back a lot sooner than expected. From my experience, your battery should show the same reading as your alternator when the vehicle is running.

[krue]

You can have your battery and alternator tested at any parts store for nothing, it's easier than pulling the starter to begin with.

[truckdude239]

Originally Posted by 67Fleet

Put the voltmeter to the battery while it was running and it was just over 10 volts.

if this was when the truck was running that means its time for an alterantor if you got an extral voltage reg i'd recomd switching to an int. reg here the link i got mine off an 83 chevy k-10 4x4 350 http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=119379 sorry forgot the link lol

[VetteVet]

This sounds like a bad ground or battery connection to me. Have you checked the starter post. I would clean and tighten all the positive and ground connections on the battery and frame and the positive connections on the battery and starter. Did you measure the voltage readings across the battery terminals both times, or between the battery positive and the engine block or frame?

[MDC]

The first thing(and easiest) would be check your ground.

[MDC]

Do I sound like a parrot. VetteVet beat me to it.

Originally Posted by VetteVet

This sounds like a bad ground or battery connection to me. Have you checked the starter post. I would clean and tighten all the positive and ground connections on the battery and frame and the positive connections on the battery and starter. Did you measure the voltage readings across the battery terminals both times, or between the battery positive and the engine block or frame?

[crazyred]

I agree …. sounds like Corroded Battery Terminals to me or maybe there just too loose ….. that’s happened to me before

[67Fleet]

Originally Posted by VetteVet

This sounds like a bad ground or battery connection to me. Have you checked the starter post. I would clean and tighten all the positive and ground connections on the battery and frame and the positive connections on the battery and starter. Did you measure the voltage readings across the battery terminals both times, or between the battery positive and the engine block or frame?

There is nothing corroded. I measured voltage at the battery terminals themselves. Measured again just now. I'm getting 11 volts at the terminals. Checked all the connections and all are solid. Had my wife hit the ignition so I could check what was going on under the hood. The starter is popping, going click click click click really fast, but it doesn't turn over. Maybe the starter is bad?

[VetteVet]

Ok if you measured the voltage at the battery terminals then it's the battery low which is confirmed by the boost you did got the truck going. I don't mean any offense but have you taken the Battery terminals off and cleaned them?
I ask because I have seen bad connections on battery terminals with no corrosion present and when cleaned and tightened the problem was solved. If you have not already done so, take the terminals off and clean them and also the cables. With the cable ends off and the battery terminals cleaned then check the voltage. If you get low voltage still, then I would try charging the battery or taking it to a shop and having it tested,could be a dead cell. Please don't be offended if you have already done these things but you did not give me many details on your attempts to fix your problems.

MDC if you check the post time above your user name you will see our posts are only a few minutes apart so you are still good and not a parrot.LOL

[67Fleet]

Originally Posted by VetteVet

Ok if you measured the voltage at the battery terminals then it's the battery low which is confirmed by the boost you did got the truck going. I don't mean any offense but have you taken the Battery terminals off and cleaned them?
I ask because I have seen bad connections on battery terminals with no corrosion present and when cleaned and tightened the problem was solved. If you have not already done so, take the terminals off and clean them and also the cables. With the cable ends off and the battery terminals cleaned then check the voltage. If you get low voltage still, then I would try charging the battery or taking it to a shop and having it tested,could be a dead cell. Please don't be offended if you have already done these things but you did not give me many details on your attempts to fix your problems.

MDC if you check the post time above your user name you will see our posts are only a few minutes apart so you are still good and not a parrot.LOL

hehe, no offense taken. I appreciate you trying to help me! I did clean the terminals, and the batt. wires are also brand new. I replaced the 6ga wires with 4ga wires about a month ago. I've had a charger on it for about 2 hours. Just cranked it right up. I again checked the voltage at the battery and it was 11.64 volts. I'm going to pull the batt and take it down to the local parts store and have them put a load on it to chk the cell. Will report back shortly. Good thing this isn't my DD!! I took a good look at the starter as well and it too looks quite new. Please let me know if there's any additional info you need to help me diagnose. Thanks again!

[67Fleet]

OK, battery tested out good, just needs a recharge. Guy at parts store said to check the positive terminal with a test light and see if something's draining it, so I'm off to do that.

[truckdude239]

i still think its your alterantor take it off and go have it tested

[67Fleet]

Well, I isolated the problem. Pulled off the negative cable to battery & hooked up my test light lead to the (-) terminal. Put the test probe through a hole in the frame and it lit right up like a christmas tree. OK, so I've got a draw somewhere. First thing I checked luckily was the culprit. I remembered a few weeks ago that when I was working on my steering column that when I put the wheel back on the horn was blowing. I disconnected it at the horn cuz I wanted to get the truck on the road. Well, that was a big mistake. I have a Grant GT wheel and when I disassembled it I must have lost the o-ring that keeps the little spring from grounding out. Now I'm going to have to jury rig something to get that to work again. At least the problem is diagnosed, now I just have to fix it!! (see I bet you guys would have never guessed this one!!)