99 PSD.auto.truck would not start this moning. Eventually got it started after using my wifes car to jump it. It took a few tries but worked eventually.On my way to work it was doing some strange things. The airbag and fuel lights would go on and off and the fuel, temp, and oil pressure gauges shut off after a few minutes. Now the truck will not start. I tried jumping it from a coworkers truck. It just slowly cranks and then clicks.I replace the pass side battery about a month ago. I was told by the parts store guy that the other one was fine so i did not replace.Could all this be happening because of one faulty battery or is there something more sinister at work. Maybe a short or some electrical gremlins.It is set up for a plow (but not hooked up right now)I also ran it through the car wash yesterday, but it was fine last night.Any help would be appreciated. I hope i dont have to spend the weekend here.

 

More sinister.. please, please look at all of the battery connections, clean the hell out of them.

For future reference, anytime you replace one battery, it will soon be after you will need to replace the second battery as well.

Also, I anytime I have had to replace the batteries, my alternator was soon to follow. Even though it checked good just prior to replacing the batteries.

 

when I lost my alternator I had a lot of the same symptoms you are describing....stange gauge activity, wipers would come on and off etc....and it was all related to the batterys dieing/loseing charge as the alternator failed. I would diagnose your issue as a bad battery/batteries(i know one is new but you never know) or a bad battery connection. I would charge both batteries or pull them out and have them tested as a start

 

Always replace the batteries in pairs. One bad one (even 'just a little iffy') will overwork the other, and kill it.

How old is your oil? Is it regular/dino oil, or a synthetic? Synthetics will significantly help in cold weather. I KNOW (as do many others) from personal experience. Shell Rotella 5W40 fully synthetic is what I run, but Schaeffer's is also top quality.

If your oil level is low, you may not have enough to fire the injectors. Old oil gets worn out and makes starting harder as well.

 

What they said. Replace the other battery then the alt. unless you are getting a specific amount of power tot he puter, nothing will work right. There are minimums. What is the power output of your alternator?

 

Sounds like alternator to me

 

replaced the other battery and she fired right up.
I will have the alternator checked out. What is the best way to do that? Can I check myself of do i need to remove and have it tested somewhere?

Thanks for all of the quick replies. Looks like i can sleep at home tonight.

 

You can test the alternator in the truck...Glad you got her fixed up!

 

+1, and this goes for anything with multiple batts working together - boats, campers, golf carts, etc.

And if you push them to the point of "having" to replace it/them, then you're also overworking your alternator - and if THAT's pushing 8-10 years old, guess what?

 

I will ditto that one. Did it myself. Thought alternator was bad...replaced it....batteries wouldn't hold charge but kept pushing it.... Then replaced the batteries and they didn't charge after first use...replaced the alternator again and finally all ok.

 

To check the alternator in the truck with the truck running, use a volt meter, VOM, multimeter etc. set to 20V DC. Put the red probe on the large lug on the back of the alternator and the black one to the alternator case. Should get 13+ to 14.5 volts or so. It varies. You could also check the voltage at either battery using the red probe on the positive and black on the negative. If you check both places and there is some difference, that could be telling you that you have some faulty cable connections. Anything less than 13 indicates that your alternator is heading south.

Always be careful when working around a running engine. dad just had to say....

 

Well the batteries eventually died. The alternator was junk, so replaced that (never realized how easy it was on this truck). Everything seems to be peachy. Truck even seems to pull a little harder. Maybe it's psychological.Anyways, Thanks for all the helpful responses. You guys and gals are a lifesaver.Julian Sciolla

 

Glad it worked out for you!!!