topdog63

So my truck has been running fine...until... the other day I went to start it and there was no power. I turned the key a few times and it fired up and no problems since til today. Its a bit colder then it has been. I fired up the truck and no problems. Went to the gas station and got gas. Went to fire the truck up and nothing. I jumped it and got it started. It ran super rough and would barely idle. It died once more on the way home and I jumped it again. Got it home and it was running really rough still. It cuts out on idle and when you increase the Rome it will run fine for a second and then it will cut out and pick up again. The longer I let it run the smoother it ran. My cables were loose so I tightened them.

I assume that without appropriate power all of the electronic systems won't run properly and that's why it ran so rough. Gonna throw a charge on the battery and see what happens. Has anyone else seen this?

topdog63

Rpms not Rome...typo on my cell.

BMcEL

First thing you need to do is check for codes.

topdog63

I am going to charge the battery and then ill run the codes tomorrow. I can't do anything right now cause the battery is completely dead.

topdog63

I figured out that I had a bad alternator. Unfortunately It wasn't as simple as replacing the alternator, partially due to my own stupidity.

So as I said in my OP after a jump start the truck would run but barely. After charging the battery, I still got nothing. I checked and found out that some of the connections were loose. I jump started the truck and same thing, whenever I took the cables off the truck died or ran rough. That is usually a clue of a bad alternator. I took the alternator and had it tested and found out it was only putting out 8 volts due to bad brushes. Rather then spend $10 and a bunch of time replacing the brushes, I got a whole new one. I hooked it up and everything seemed to work fine. I went to town and about 5 miles in, I lost all power, in the middle of an intersection. Got a police escort through the intersection and a jumpstart but it died again.

I was in the parking lot of an outo parts store that was closed (ironic right?). My son saw a guy come out of the store so we recruited him to jump start us. Not only did he give me a jump, he stayed and was helping me out, even opened the store back up so he could get his tester and sell me any parts I may have needed. I wasn't getting any power from the alternator. By this time it was raining and it quickly turned to snow. After using an array of colorful words to express my displeasure, I finally realized I was the only one to blame. I looked and found out I forgot to pluc in the wires for the voltage regulator. I cussed myself some more and tried to plug it in and it fought me every step of the way. Got it plugged in after I had about an inch of snow down my crack. Fired it up and drove away.

I drove around for a bit and went to the store. I came out and she started up just fine. About a mile down the road, I lost all power again. This time when I inspected the alternator, I found out that the plastic housing that holds the plug for the regulator had come off.....and it started snowing again....awesome! I used a little shade tree mechanic skills and got it to stay plugged in until I could get home.

Today I got a new alternator and put it in and I made sure that I had all of the connections plugged in this time. Everything works great now. The truck even runs better than it did before. I assume that because the old alternator was not putting out enough voltage I was running only on battery power and the 8 volts from the alternator causing really poor performance. Now there's a noticeable increase in power and the truck just seems to runs smoother. I also took the guy at the auto parts store a 6 pack of his favorite adult beverages to say thanks for the trouble.
BTW today when I was putting the new, new alternator in, it started snowing again.
Sorry for the long post, just wanted to share.

cman1

iTrader: (1)

another story with a GOOD ending.

"G"

Check all your grounds also. Make sure they are all good.