ToyMachine88

Ive been trying to figure out my powersurge problem on and off since ive owned my truck. Just recently i had an issue where my battery power was dropping lower and lower until eventually dieing, with a brand new battery-starter cable-terminals-and according to Advanced Auto my alternator was working fine along with my new battery. So i thought it was my starter because i was having issues with it clicking a few times before it finally cranked over. I was told that the starter can have a parasitic draw on your battery so i changed my starter and housing with one i had laying around that worked good. I then drove around for a few days (short trips couple miles to work and back) and it did seem ok. Though just yesterday i was driving along and i noticed my power dropped down a nice chunk and my fuel gauge was rising higher and higher along with an erratic idle that may not be related(think the AAV is dirty or blocked somewhere). I pulled over and let the truck sit for about 30 mins and started up and the fuel gauge lowered to almost normal. I made it home fine on the power i had and thought i just shorted the gauge wires since it was snowing and the roads were all wet. Today the fuel gauge is working fine again but the power drained lower and lower until it wouldnt run anymore. My question is would a bad fuel pump relay cause powersurging when Rpms are up and would it also drain your battery slowly. The under the hood relays and fuses are one of the few things left on my vehicle that i havent changed and the powersurge has been a problem since ive owned the truck even after changing engine, fuel tank and pump, igniter and coil and many many other things. Sorry so long winded but i wanted to thoroughly explain what was happening.

sam333

Do you have a multimeter?
There have been alot of threads on bad wiring/ connections( heavy wiring, grounds and power off the battery ) do a search and you will find them.

Is your alternator light on? Do you know that your alternator is really charging? If it is, then you can check for current drains by removing your battery ground or positive and putting an ampmeter in series( or use a clamp style) and checking for a current drain with the key off. Then with the key on( engine off). Shoudnt see more than 50 milliamps with the key off. If you find one, then you can isolate it by disconecting systems and or pulling fuses one at a time.

You can find areas of high resistance(open /shorted wiring/ bad connectors by using an multimeter set to ohms.

You can also run the truck ( 2000rpm) and turn loads on ( lights , fan, accs.) and check for voltage drops at various points in the wiring( positive and grounds) you should not have much more than a .2 volt drop anywhere.

A multimeter with an ampclamp will make finding the problem much easier( just clamp it on the wire of a suspected current draw and it will tell if its pulling current and how much).

ToyMachine88

well i did have buddy at advanced auto check my charging system 3 times in the past, and one of those was after it died on me from this issue and i recharged my battery and had him hook up the tester. My battery came back as good and my alternator was putting out the proper voltage. Thats why i changed the starter and thought i fixed the issue. I dont have a voltmeter but i would like to get one so i can check it. I was more curious as to if these series of issues could be my fuel pump relay, especially since the relays and other things attached to the underhood area are the ones that came on my truck and some of the few things i havent replaced. And this issue with the powersurge has been happening since ive had my truck which i wrote above sorry dont want to explain it all again

sam333

Have you tested the alternator in the truck? Voltmeter on the battery terminals with the engine running? Shorts and bad wiring are so common it could be anywhere, I wouldnt suspect any area off hand without testing first.

ToyMachine88

yeah they hook up the tester to your battery while truck is off then starting then running then running under load all came back good proper volts and all

ToyMachine88

on battery and alternator

sam333

You are just going to have to buy a multimeter and start testing.

ToyMachine88

i do already know that - but the reason for this post was to see if anyone had any input on whether or not my issues could be connected as a bad fuel pump relay. or what could possibly be left on my truck that would cause this powersurge after changing so many parts. It seemed to me that the fuel gauge was giving me problems when the battery started draining again -after i let the truck sit and the fuel gauge started going down the battery gauge looked like it rose to its normal position for a while-- UGH im just gonna probably delete this thread i know i can use a multimeter to test things - i dont have one - i intend on getting one - i do have a parts truck with the relay box still under the hood along with alot of other parts still on it though and tomorrow ill just change the whole thing if i have to

sam333

I told you what to look/search for here( not that I am right), but your symptoms sound like alot of other electrical promblems listed in other threads( bad wiring / grounds) common on these trucks. I dont know if it is your fuel pump relay and I didnt answer that directly ,because I have no way of knowing if it is or not and you dont either until you start testing. Is there some reason you think that is the problem? You never answerd my question about your charging light, but you do have a ampmeter( what is your meter doing)?

Its way slower, way harder and way more frustrating to just guess and replace parts.

ToyMachine88

i was thinking the fuel pump relay because the relays and wiring are the only things i havent replaced on my truck over the last year. All of the sensors have been changed when i changed the engine and exhaust system. Ive changed the distributor,ignitor and coil,wires and plugs, fuel tank and pump along with main feed line and filter and line from filter to fuel rail. i changed the computer as well.......after all of this i still have a powersurge issue. at least half of the time and it seems like more than that even anymore my truck runs really sluggish until i get my rpms up to around 3000-3500 and then it opens up and runs like its supposed to. I know it seems like this would be a throttle body issue or a sensor issue but like i said it does the EXACT same thing it did when i first got the truck and didnt do any work to it yet. Now i have this battery draining issue and the reason i connected the two is because i was thinking that if the relay is messed up it may be turning the fuel pump on and off sporadically even when im not driving it and making a parasitic draw on my battery. the battery light doesnt come on until the truck is ready to stall completely--the battery gauge inside the truck is lower than normal and drops lower and lower as i drive along and dips alot lower when i use anything like blinkers or lights

vital22re

iTrader: (2)

upgrade your grounds. batter to motor, battery to body, back of heads to firewall. Just because you don't see corrosion doesn't mean its not there. Might as well upgrade your power wire from the alternator as well. Look up big 3 mod.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

If your truck runs it is doubtful the fuel pump relay is at fault.

If it makes you feel better change it any how.

Just what happens when you see a power surge??

It is possible that when testing at Advanced Auto it just doesn`t show the fault Because it is just one of those things that comes and goes.

I would say look real close at your ground cables. Also the wire that comes off the B terminal of the alternator they just go bad from being so old.

Your not that far away if you are really stuck and can`t figure this out . I can take a ride some weekend to help you out

You don`t need a expensive Multimeter a cheap one though not as accurate will tell you enough to trouble shoot this problem

ToyMachine88

Thanks wyoming if for some reason i cant get it going within a week i might just take you up on that offer, tho i hope i can get it resolved this weekend. I just went up to AA and got a multimeter. It wasnt the cheapest one nor the best one but not too bad on price. So now i have to get my truck over to my pops garage because we got a snowstorm last night and its cold and nasty out--which im sure u know wyoming--and i dont want to do this kind of work outside if i can help it. At the moment im just gonna try to fix the charging issue and after i resolve that ill worry about the powersurge. Thanks again

ToyMachine88

well ive been thinking back to when this problem first started and it seems to me that it started happening after i did my frame repair work. Also it started happening when driving on snowy slushy roads during a snowstorm the first time, and then when it happened yesterday i was also driving on slushy roads. I think wetness is getting up on either my alternator wiring or some other wiring and shorting it out because when it happened this time i noticed the battery gauge in the truck jumped back up to its normal position for a second at one point.-----but the powersurge issue is a whole other beast... seems to have completely went away for short periods...once after changing my engine--truck ran like a champ for weeks with no problem, and ran good for about 2 or 3 days after changing my fuel pump the one time. other than that its been sporatic-- runs great for an hour-then sluggish with powersurge for the rest of the day and vice versa

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Do you mean an electrical power surge?

Or is it in the engine Power ?/

Both could be related .

Seems we have the debate about welding without disconnecting the negative cable all this time.

I think this is all most likely the same problem.

Just be careful if the Battery gets to low the fuel pump and computer will shut off

swampfox

deleted

ToyMachine88

the powersurge is in the engine or air/fuel system or spark system i dont know tho new fuel pump-distributor/coil/ignitor/wires/plugs-engine and all attached components-exhaust/o2sensor....i disconnected the battery before the frame project.