Dead Battery

[hondarider188]

ok how would i go about taking the alternator apart?

[CoggedBelt75]

I would hold off on doing that until you have it tested first. Only reason to go in is if the diode trio tests bad.

[hondarider188]

Ok thanks for the help. Its been pretty busy so i'll let you know once i get it done.

[hondarider188]

alright i finally got my alternator tested. And to my suprise it came back just fine. I still suspect the alternator for a few reasons. first it did come from a junk yard so odds are it doesnt work as being from a old truck already. Second the test i did for a draw showed it as the alternator. And third one I took the alternator off i noticed as i picked it up and carried it around the something was kind of bouncing or knocking inside. And even the guy at checker( where i had the alternator tested) said something about it and said even though the machine says it checks out it probably is still the alternator. So i think a may be buying a new alternator anyway.

[bake74]

     Let us know if you replace the alternator and it fixes the problem.  I agree, even though the machine says it is ok ( it is only checking for a certain range of operation ), I would put on a new alternator and recheck the problem.

[gildardo01]

if you ever want to test an alternator without taking it out of the truck... fire up the engine, then take off the positive terminal cable from the battery, if the engine continues to run then the alternator is fine.. if it shuts down, then there is a problem with the alternator... easy as that...

[hondarider188]

Alright i will let you guys know when i get a new alternator, but it might be a little while i don't really have the extra money for one at the moment. And i did test the alternator by disconnecting the battery while the truck was running and it did stay running, but shouldn't that only test to see if the alternator is charging the battery while i have a draw coming off of the battery.

[bake74]

Alright i will let you guys know when i get a new alternator, but it might be a little while i don't really have the extra money for one at the moment. And i did test the alternator by disconnecting the battery while the truck was running and it did stay running, but shouldn't that only test to see if the alternator is charging the battery while i have a draw coming off of the battery.

     That checks to see if the alternator is putting out enough juice to keep the truck running.  To check to see if the Alternator is charging the battery, You need a DC voltmeter. 
     Check your volts before you start your truck you should have around 12 V, Leave your positive and negative battery terminals Hooked up, And start your truck and check the positive and negative battery terminals on your battery  it should go up to somewhere between 13 & 14 Volts.

[hondarider188]

I am getting a new alternator I might try and do it today, but can i have an alternator that is still charging the battery but it is pulling a draw on the battery once it is shut off?

[hondarider188]

ok i tested the battey on the DC scale and it read about 55 on the meter i was using when truck was started it read about 75 so the alternator does work in terms of charging the battery.

[hondarider188]

i finally bought a new alternator and i got the 78 amp so i will have plenty their.  But i really messed myself up when i took out the old one. When i was taking out the old alternator i was in a rush to get it out before it got dark and so i forgot all about to disconnect the battery, so when i was taking the positive cable hookup off of the alternator i accidentaly grounded it. Then i heard a pop and some smoke come up from the right( when facing the grill) side of the firewall. From their i realized i didnt unhook the battery and quickly did so and finished taking the old out and put the new in. So now I dont have any ignition power when i try to start the truck, what i mean by that is when i turn the key on nothing happens no lights clicks or anything. My hope is that i just blew the fuse sending power the ignition or somewhere at least. Anything that doesnt have to have the key on for power seems to be working alright. I also traced the wiring to the wire i grounded and heres where it came to. So is this a fuse or not and if so what size and where do i get a new one. thanks. well never mind on the picture its to large sorry it looks like a junction box maybe.

[hondarider188]

So I got the alternator and replaced the fusible link and now its all working good and charging the battery. I still need to get a new battery though anyway, because with this very cold weather of -15*F at night ant a high of 3-4*F during day the battery in it doesnt hold up to well. Its also about 2 sizes to small anyway then with this cold weather its pretty bad in the mornings to get it to start when the batter can barely crank it over. but there was and still is one more issue to my battery going dead and thats the radio. I never would have thought that the radio could pull so much power, but its been running my battery all the way dead over night. So for now im just pulling the fuse when i park the truck and putting it back in once its running. So does anyone know why the radio would do that and could i just replace it with a better one and be fine. And how many cold cranking amps am i looking at needing for a new battery.