so yea as you can tell from the title, all the dashboard meters go all the way to the right when i turn on the engine(well not everytime maybe half the time). last time this happened, it was because i needed a new battery.

so i take my truck to autozone and the guy comes out with a battery meter and it reads bad battery. so i buy a new one and when i turn on the truck the meters go all the way to the right. which i expected since i just put in a new battery. however it keeps doing it so now im confused. again it doesnt do it every time i turn on the engine but probably half the time.

the battery terminal connectors have been corroding away over time. i do a decent job of checking them every so often an cleaning them but they probably need to be replaced. i have some spare ones(never been used) and was thinking of doing that tomorrow. would that be the cause of the meters going all the way to the right when i turn on the engine or could it be something else?

thanks!

 

Not sure about the gauges but they have cloth washers that are treated with chemicals that go on the terminals to prevent corrosion. I've been using them for 5 years and have never had to clean the terminals.

 

Time for a new battery (trust me on this).

 

well i just got a new battery. and its still doing it.

 

Boy that was fast.

If it's not the battery itself, then the only thing I can say is that the voltage is going so low during cranking that your PCM is resetting (which causes the guage sweep you are seeing).

 

hrm ok thanks.

what do you think would cause that?

 

I'm waiting for other to chime in, if you look about you will find this problem discussed over and over and in every case I recall reading, the battery was the culprit.

 

I have got to agree with FTE Herman on this one . I have seen this many times. It is a low voltage issue. If not the battery it could be dirty or corroded battery cable ends or inside the cables them self. Or even a bad or loose connection at the starter or solenoid
It could even be a bad starter drawing to much current.