Well, I went out to start the truck today and the Optima Yellow top had just enough to get it started. Really struggled but it worked. I left it running while I washed it real good from this weekend mudding event and then drove it around for a few minutes to see if it would charge back up.
I get back to my house and turn it off. Go to turn it on and it struggles but then nothing. It won't turn over.
Now a few days ago I noticed a squeeking sound occassionally when I started it or was driving it. I figured it was a loose belt and I'd get it taken care of. Of course, I am a procrastinator so it didn't get done. I am not sure if that had anything to do with it or not.
I am running a winch on Warn disconnects that I didn't disconnect from this weekend. I am running 6 additional lights though none of those were on and I never had this problem with them on my old battery. I have a small system consisting of aftermarket 6x8 speakers and one 10" sub with amp which shuts off with truck.
Does anyone know how I can tell if it is my battery or my alternator that is bad? I figure I will need to upgrade my alternator soon anyways. Was hoping to hold off on that though until I got my AC fixed, my locker in the front and bigger tires. Oh well.
Thanks for any help guys.

 

i'm gonna watch this thread, i've been having trouble like this, but i don't have near the equipment on mine then you do, and i am running a red top

 

Take the battery in and have it tested. If it's not low on juice then it's prob the alt. like you said...

 

yeah you can have have the batt. and the alt. tested at auto zone or advanced auto parts.

 

my battery is new, i have had it swapped out 4 times in 2 years, so i hope its just not bad battery, can they test the alt while its still in the truck?

 

They take it off the truck.

 

I tested them while both still installed.

 

test the alternator-
just put a voltmeter on the battery - at idle the alt. should put out around 13.8 volts..

 

If the alternator is charging, it will put out between 13-14.5V. You have 95A 3G apparently. The problem with yours is most likely that the brushes wore through the copper on the rotor. Its common, I think the copper on replacement rotors is harder than the O.E. copper. I rebuilt two of them for my Bronco, and that was the problem with them. A 130A like the one on my 06 is a direct bolt in. I'd recommend going with that route if I were you. I noticed a big difference going from a Autozone 70A 2G to a 100A 3G, along with 2/0 welding cable from the alt to a circuit breaker to the battery, and from the battery to the starter solenoid and then to the starter. Any questions?

 

How old is the battery?

 

Battery is a month old. I need to get a tune up anyways so I'll get it started and have them throw in a 130amp in there. Do I need to upgrade the wiring for a 130a?

 

I would, especially since you have so many accessories.

 

I'd at least upgrade the charge wiring to 4G audio wire, and add a circuit breaker. I can get pics of my setup if you want.

 

just pull the ground cable off of your battery when your truck is running and if it dies, you need a new alternator.

 

That could do more bad then good.

 

If you could get pics of that, that'd be great. Thanks.

 

Will do, the truck its on is an 86 Bronco, but it has the 3G swap done to it. Its the same basic setup though.

 

alternator or starter, i had some crazy issues starting and it was the starter, i thought the battery was junk or even the alternator, but it was the starter.

 

Truck the mod was done to:

Battery Terminals:

Solenoid:

Breaker:

Alt:

 

This could be caused by all those assesories or it could be something else- i had a similar problem with my old s-10. I had a new die hard battery and after awhile the battery started to die for no apparent reason. I got another from Sears with the same results. One night i notice a thin sliver of light peeking out from the glove box. You could only see this from outside the truck on the passenger side. Turns out the problem was the litle light button inside the glove compartment door had worn to the point of not extending fully so the switch didnt shut the light off when the door was closed. I put a small screw into the button to help extend it and the problem was solved! Before that I was chasing wires looking for a short! its all good.

 

Well, I just heard from my mechanic. It was the starter. The battery is strong and the alternator is the 130amp and is drawing strong. The squeeling noise was my idler pulley which is bad and my belt needs replaced. So about $450-$500 to fix everything and get it back to running the way it should be.

 

Final tally for today's doctor visit. $650 (tax, etc included)

Starter - $350
Idle pulley - $75
Fan clutch (That was the squeeling noise) - $180

Ouch. I guess I am going to have to wait a couple months to get my bigger tires, locker and snorkel.

 

You could have replaced that starter yourself and saved $200. Hope the repair went well.

 

How so? The starter was almost $300.

 

You got took. Fan clutches don't squeal.They quit.The are a fluid coupling,heat sensitive.They either work or they don't.Any squealing they might do lasts for about 1 minuite just before the fan flies off the engine.