Ok so I installed my power windows today and did all the wiring (thanks again Bob!) and once I got them working (had the key in the ON position), the windows went up and down maybe 2 times each and just remembered that ive drained my battery doing that kinda stuff (did it a few times while installing the explorer electric seats) so I went to start the truck, and it started to crank real slow then started clicking, so i figured i'd let it sit for a few minutes to "charge back up some". Well that did no good so i had to have somebody jump me, the eye in the battery was red too. So does this mean a weak alternator or weak battery? Usually I can have my system on for a while just cleaning my truck or something and it wont do it, just when I use window motors or seat motors (luckily i dont have the explorer seats anymore or my battery would be toast i bet ) So what do yall think? Is this normal or what? Oh and my truck has 79k miles with the original battery and alternator. Thanks

 

doesn't sound normal. I used to have my e-fan hooked up direct to a temp probe so even when I turned the engine off it still ran for 10-15 minutes. On top of that I had an underdrive crank pulley and an underdrive alt pulley so I was turning the alt really slow. It never left me where I couldn't start the truck.

If you have an voltmeter, you can do a quick test.
Check the volts with the engine off.
Start the Truck.
Check the volts at the battery while the engine is running.
If the volts are higher while the engine is running, it means your alt is charging. If it's lower when it's running, it's not charging.

That helps to rule out which- battery or alternator.

 

you can get it load tested for free at any autozone or advanced auto parts..

I have no idea if there are any in texas though

 

yeah i'll go up to autozone or o'reileys and see what the deal is, since i dont have a voltmeter.. thanks for the advice guys

 

Oh I forgot to mention, my volts gauge is always between normal and low..im gonna take a stab at this and say alternator but i guess i'll see what a charging system test finds out for sure..

 

eh, if the eye is red, ur battery is toast. try charging ur battery and see if itll even hold a charge. another test, is to start the truck and then disconnect the battery. if it dies right away. id say ur alternator. tho the dealer says all accessories, including lights flow thru the battery.

 

Well, first thing, letting it sit for a few minutes after you find it dead isn't going to magically make it recharge itself. If it cranks that slow and starts clicking, you could leave it until the cows come home and it still won't start.

Whether what you were doing should or should not have drained the battery is hard to say because I don't know what kind of load you had on it during this project. If you had the stereo on the whole time, they yes it is very possible. If all you did was run the windows up and down twice, then something is wrong. On the same token, your truck draws several hundred amps to crank the engine. It should be able to send the windows up and down several times without dying. I'd say your battery is toast for sure. The alternator may or may no be toast as well, you should get it tested.

 

Umm well believe it or not, its done this before (like i said before it did this when installing my explorer seats), it wouldnt start, i went in for about 10 minutes, came back out and it had more charge to start it up

 

This werks fer me too.. Not saying that a full-recharge of the battery is needed, but a chemical battery will regain it's charge to some degree if left alone for a short time.. especially if you've been railing on it very hard for a short period of time (like running a starter over and over).

My bike won't seem to hold a charge very well lately. I just had to bump start it for the second time today! Lemme tell you: bump starting a 1200cc motorcycle is a real pain in the ***! (Though probably not as bad as bump starting a pickup truck..)

 

No it didn't. It's more likely that something else temporary / intermitant was wrong and self-corrected 10 minutes later.

 

[RANT]Ok so you're saying that it never started? Were YOU the one that was there? I dont think so, stop being a know it all [/RANT] BACK TO TOPIC- Im gonna rule out your whole "temporary/intermittent" idea because this same thing happened when my friends alt went out. EDIT- OHH and read above, seem im not the only one.

 

FireRanger you're definately wrong on that one.

I have REPEATEDLY been able to start my truck after initially leaving it dead. My dad told me to do this. I believe he explained that the bubbles of hydrogen bubble up and there's sometimes a bit of energy enough left.

Once again, I've done this, as well as other members.

Aaron

 

W/ a chemical battery you can drain the charge from the battery.. but it will regain a small charge if left alone as the plates and acid interact further. It isn't a helluva lot, the battery will never regain a full charge, but in some cases it is enough to crank an engine.

I do this all the time w/ my bike too. Leave the key on w/ the headlight on and the engine off for too long and you won't have enough of a charge to start it. Turn the key off and let it be for 10 min and you just might..

 

No, I never said it didn't start. I said it didn't magically recharge itself in 10 minutes. Perhaps you should stop overreacting about it.

If you go from NOTHING to all of sudden having a few hundred cranking amps, it isn't anything to do with the battery 'recharging'. I realize it can build up a small amount of charge over time, all batteries do that. It is demonstrated even with a little flashlight and AA batteries. But generally, if your battery is so dead that it barely clicks, you aren't getting started without a jump. You can wait a year, it still won't work.

If it is discharged to a point only slightly below what it needs to crank, waiting might help you. But anything beyond that is a time better spent looking for a friend to jump it. That is what I'm talking about.

 

could be a paracidic drain on the battery

 

You have a volt meter? should check Voltage and Resistance on that switch all the way begining of the curcuit

 

You know what, it did it again today while i was out changin my rear U-joint, just had the radio on too..,didnt touch the power windows either, then when my autolamps kicked on, i turned the slider to "off" like a minute after, and noticed that my domelamp was dim when I opened my door, so i tried cranking it, and it coughed a little and started clicking, so i had to have a friend's SATURN to jump me!

 

not to repete or anything but eather go get it chacked or buy new batt

 

OK OK I know that I need to get it tested, i've been working a lot lately and always get off late when autozone is closed.. but maybe this will give a better clue as to what it could be..? This pic was taken after a 15 minute drive around town, and while the engine was still running

 

To Tell you the truth...mine is usually higher than that. But I dunno just live every person in the world is different trucks are too.

 

my stock guage always reads that, i put in an auto meter one and it reads 14 when driving and anywheres from 10-12 on idle ..to see if your alts toast start your truck and take the ground off the battery if the truck stalls out the alts toast..

 

..... so you regularly drain your battery to the point of needing a jump, then continue to drain it and expect it to be as resiliant as when it was new???

you get a kick to the shin.

Matt is right guys, he knows his **** don't question it just cuz you've heard different or want to beleive different.

Batteries dont have a magic recharge, period. If you have a battery that needs maintance and you let the acid get a lil low then some time letting them settle will gain you half a volt but thats about it.

you need a new battery ASAP. SLI ( starting lighting ignition) batt's are not meant to be completely drained like what you are doing. that's what deep cycle is for. If you are going to be wrenching on the truck with doors open or what not you need to A.) unhook the neg - terminal or B.) turn the truck on every so often and gas it to spool the alternator.

 

Ok Thanks for the nice response a$$hole. OH yes because i'm really draining the battery "ON PURPOSE", you need to read because I said only happens on OCCASION, like when i'm out for a couple hrs or so, and when you are actually doing stuff you tend to not think about your battery dying, for example getting a ****ing u joint in the driveshaft! Oh you need a good kick in the *** because of the way you talk to people on here. Hey dip****, im on here asking for advice, not to be lectured and talked down to because of my lesser knowledge about it.

 

on OCCASION is plenty, cut it out. Batteries weren't made to take that as proven by you for doing it more than twice. do you know what the definition of insanity is? it's recreating the same experiment multiple times and expecting different results.

...and I'm totally the ******* here! the meanest thing I said to you was " you get a kick in the shin". at what point did I start name calling or questioning your intelligence? My kick in the shin comment was meant as you need a jump start yourself. to assume any different is assanine and childish and defensive on your part.

So if you wanna start name calling because you don't recognize that you are hurting your battery and also don't recognize when a Mod is telling you facts vs what other peoples dad's told them once then so be it. I've got a whole list of " poopy heads" and "nana nana booboo's" and I'll take a 3 day ban to defend my honor!

seriously though, grow up Just because my advice was not gift wrapped for you doesn't mean I'm an a$$hole, choose your words carefully.