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Electrical Short, how to find it...HELP...

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Old 07-26-2010
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Electrical Short, how to find it...HELP...

Baught this truck a little over 2 years ago, and the day i baught it, the dealership put a brand new battery in it. A month ago, i woke up for work and the battery was dead. I let it sit all day, and the next day it started up fine, ran good for 3 weeks, and the other day it was dead again. Ended up buying a new battery. Now it starts stronger then ever, but the battery light is on. I took it to autozone and had them test the battery and alternator. Both Stong, but the guy did a test where he removed the positive and touched the neg to a ground, then would touch the pos to the post and it would have a tiny spark. He said that means i have a short somewhere which is causing the battery light to come on???

thoughts???

Also about 6 months ago i did a LED gauge swap, and after that is when i noticed the light. I thought it was just cause the LEDS are so bright?

Thoughts??
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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You will have that little spark when you reconnect, you're powering up the PCM and things like the radio memory. What do you have for volts with the truck off and key off at the battery posts.
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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Originally Posted by rolsmojave3
You will have that little spark when you reconnect, you're powering up the PCM and things like the radio memory. What do you have for volts with the truck off and key off at the battery posts.
He didn't say what they were with the truck off. He just said in general had 14 volts.
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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That would be with it running.
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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Idk then. He just told me that battery n alternator r good. Hmmm
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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could it be something as simple as a LED in my gauges not plugged in all the way or something?? Because if i remember correctly, the light came on after the LED swap? im going to take it apart today and see what i come up with, otherwise i have no idea. Only other wiring ive meesed with is audio, and ive dont plenty of audio to know how to do it right..

any main things i should check? before i take it to a shop???
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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If it happened after you messed with the instrument panel, I would guess you messed up.
 
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Old 07-26-2010
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Well, i fixed it. I started to think, and a month ago when i took the truck in to get the intake manifold gaskets replaced, i told the guy i wasnet popping a CEL. He told me he did the test and it was popping a CEL, but the light was burnt out or not working. I started to think about that today so i tore apart the guages and checked all the bulbs. then i switched the theft bulb with the CEL bulb, put it all back together, and started the truck.........................NO BATTERY LIGHT ANYMORE!!!

thing is the battery i just replaced 2 days ago was only 2 years old. i wonder if it was even bad. I didnt even have them check it because when i was taking it out of the truck, i dropped it and it was leaking acid, so i just bought a new one. yet its hard to believe the battery went bad after only 2 years. O well, after installing this new battery, it starts strong and instantly!!!
 
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