Ok,
I have a 2005 F350.
It seems to be not charging that great. The job im at right now is only 5 mins from my house. At least once a week i have to put the charger on it.
I put new batteries in about 1 year ago, i just put a new alt in thinking that that was the problem.
The truck sat for 3 days and not enough juice to start today...so back on the charger.
I was thinking the starter might be the next area to look at...
Anybody have some ideas?

 

You need a voltmeter to test system when its charging and test when it won't start, if it starts fine after charging batteries, its not very likely the starter is causing you grief.
Five minutes is not a lot of run time for batteries to recharge and it takes a good bit of juice just to cycle the glow plugs, electric fuel pump, etc. before you even crank the engine.
Don't rule out loose or dirty wiring connections, a light bulb being left on somewhere or the possibilty that one of your batteries could be defective even though they are only a year old.

 

Ever thought of the alternator?? Mine went out the other week without notice..

 

5 minutes per run will deplete your battery over a few weeks!! You gotta take the long way home, man!! Sit back and enjoy your truck!

 

Thats hogwash.. My job is only 5 minutes away from work and I don't have this issue..

There are electrical issues going on with his truck...

 

Recommend some basic troubleshooting to see if there is a problem and (with luck) find it right away.

Hook up a voltmeter across a battery and take a reading with the ignition off. You should see about 12.2 to 12.5 volts. Lower voltage would mean the batteries are not fully charged.

Start the truck and read the voltmeter again. If the charging system is working OK you should see 13.5 to 14.5 volts. Lower voltage probably means that the batteries are low on charge or the glow plugs are still on. But the charging system is working.

If everything checks out OK, next look for parasitic loads when the ignition is off. Connect an ammeter in series with one battery, then disconnect the second battery. Read the amperage. This reading is what the truck's electrical loads are with everything off. You will probably have to disconnect the underhood light to get a true reading.

If there is a significant current draw, it is time to start pulling fuses to find what circuit is at fault. Disconnect the alternator during this check to make sure that it is not drawing current when it is off. Once the problem circuit is found, look at each load on that circuit until the criminal is found.

Lou Braun

 

Ok, seems to be getting worse. Have to charge alot.
There is a new alt on it. And the charging system is reading 13.5 when running.Starts fine when i charge it up.

I pulled all the fuses that are for the power steps and amp.

I was gonna get the batteries load tested for starters.
I guess start pulling fuses next....
anybody?

 

Sounds like a power drain in the system when the key is off. Either something is not shutting off like it is supposed to or more than likely you have a bad ground some where that is bleeding power off. You will need a non-powered test light to determine what circuit is draining power with the key off.

 

hey should i be grounding my test light to the battery or the chassis?

 

Electrically, both are (or should be) the same. Ground from the battery attaches to chassis and engine ground.

 

How about sending me all the good parts you replace while hacking your way to the problem? Oh, yeah, and don't forget the starter. I'll bet that starter is sneaking around at 2AM and draining your batteries. Bad starter! Send it to me along with both sets of batteries and I'll reform them.

Seriously? It sounds like you have connected a number of audio accessories. Disconnect those first. If problem persists, take it to someone qualified. If you are wondering about grounding a test light, you are not qualified to be mucking about with the electrical system on this truck.

Look at it this way. It will be cheaper to pay a professional to fix the problem than it will be for you to keep changing parts in the hope you stumble upon the cause of the problem.

Your truck will thank you.


-Mike

 

Don't know how electrical savy you are but get a digital or analog (meter with a needle that moves) volt/OHM/current meter that can read about 10 amps of current. I have an old analog Simpson 260 that I use. Disconnect the positive terminals of both batteries. Be sure you have selected the AMP function on the meter. Place one lead on the battery positive terminal and the other lead on the wire removed from the battery post. Do this with only 1 battery connected. The meter should read a positive current drain. If negative, reverse the leads. There should be a small current drain (around 50 to 100 milliamps) indicated. If more, then you have found your current drain problem. Start pulling fuses one at a time until the meter goes almost to 0. A lot of times when people install after market electronics, they connect them directly to the battery vice going through the ignition switch. That will definitely run the battery down.

DSMMH

 

ok, finally had enough time off work to do some testing.
All my aftermarket stuff has had the fuses pulled for a week now.
The only thing that i found was a 2 amp draw with both batteries off.
Looks we pulled all the fuses one by one and there was no change.
Im thinking that i have one bad battery. Today they will get load tested.
Is a 2 amp draw normal?

 

no not at all that is what is causing the battery to be drawn since you have found half your problem. try disconnection the alt then see it it goes away.Then if not hook it back up and try the starter.

 

hey i just did a load test, the one battery (less than a year old) was toast!