Hello Yotatech!

I have searched on this forum and on the web for possible answers and leads but can't figure this out. My truck died while I was driving it the other day and I can't get it started again. It's a 1981 Pickup SR5 4wd that is mostly stock. I did the weber 32/36 conversion, k&n filter, and Doug Thorley headers.

I'm a bit of a newbie when it comes to 4x4ing and pickup trucks in general but it finally rained in southern calIfornia and I got excited. I took my truck to where I could find some mud and gave it a test run. I hit a few puddles here and there and one of them was a little deep but nothing I was concerned about; I didn't flood the cab or get water in my carburetor. The truck did stall out for a second at one point and then kept running fine (maybe a little, little on the rough side) the rest of the night. I got sick and came out to start it the next day and there was no power, just a tick. I think I left the lights on but not too sure; I was a valet for 10 years...I probably turned them off. My neighbor jumped me and off I went to the dr. The sensor and battery light were on foabout30 seconds and then clicked off. I stalled or it stalled at a light but started right back up and the battery light cleared again. It started fine after the dr. and then didn't want to crank after the grocery store. I tried again 3 minutes later and it fired up. The sensor light came on one more time with the battery light but shut off again and didn't come back on.


A week and a half later after I got better I went out for a cruise this weekend. After a couple of hours and a few stops here and there I pulled over to look at a view and left it running. When I got back in 2 minutes later it sounded like my blinkers were flashing but I didn't have them on nor would they cancel out. Then my fuel gauge started going to zero and so went the rest of my dash. I lost my tach, voltmeter, oil pressure gauges and all. My hazards went out and so did my lights. Then my truck started running rougher and rougher. Next I started to lose engine power and it backfired a few times. Then everything went out and I couldn't restart it. There were a few moments where it sounded like something was shorting out but there was not any odor or smoke to provide a clue where, just somewhere behind the radio and heater controls. I did use the defroster for the first time since I have owned it when I was out playing in the mud.

My first thought was, "great, my alternator just quit." I took my battery out and put it on the battery tender as soon as I got home. It charged for about 14 hours and finally gave a green light. I had it off the charger while I was at work and it read 13v when I got home today. I put it in my truck and it read at 9v on my voltmeter. That's odd. I checked my dash lights and tried cranking it anyways to no avail on either. I went ahead and checked the fuses, fusible links, and power to the starter. I also checked my ignition switch. Everything showed lower than 12v but so did the battery. At some point a few of the lights in my cluster came on (the brake light and I don't remember the other but it was kinda insignificant a not the sensor or battery lights). It still won't crank or tick. My battery is back on the charger again.

I am hesitant to think it is just the battery/alternator problem. The battery is a 1 year old optima yellow top that's always treated me well and the alternator is the same age but re manufactured. If it were a bad alternator I should still be able to start it and test for that off a charged battery.

I was pretty easy on her but did I do something stupid when I went playing in the mud and rain?
Is there anything else anyone can think of to check?

I'm trying to avoid "the man" here....

Thanks,
Nathan Price

 

When I was putting my truck back together I forgot to bolt the ground wire on my dash harness and it did some weird stuff, I think checking all the grounds is a good thing to check on old cars like this, maybe you shook something loose when playing in the mud.

 

check your fuse links , right off of the positive post of the battery ..

give them a "tug" if they break there toast


.

 

Also check your grounding wire from the battery. I actually put a new one from the engine to the battery, and a new one from the battery to the right fender well ground mount (cleaned it up before I installed it). Then check the cable that goes to the starter if that still doesn't help. These rust up and then one day..."click"

 

Your starter could be full of water causing a non-catastrophic short. try unhooking the starter and see if the battery maintains voltage when hooked up to the truck.