I am having some alternator/battery issues, a couple of times the truck almost didn't start, almost ended up stranded in the fishing wilderness. Showing low voltage for batteries and alternator on a load test. Wondered if leaving an Ipod plugged into a car stereo could be a parasitic drain?

I have done a fair amount of search work on this issue, I am just not savvy enough or mechanically inclined enough to fix this, going to my shadetree guy on Monday. According to the shop I bought my Optimas from, they can be difficult batteries to both charge and test. He states they need to be taken out of the truck, charged for 8-10 hours, allowed to cool, and then can be accurately assessed for charge. He states part of the problem is that they develop significant resistance if left undercharged and this can lead to a false diagnosis of the battery being bad, or something like that. He says he warned me NOT to put these in just short of 3 years ago, but I don't remember that part. Kind of regret that decision but it is a little early in the game for that now. Could just be the alternator is kaput at 102k miles...?

The only other thoughts I have are: 1. the drive belt was recently changed, and 2. it does sit some, but no more than a day or two at a time. If all of this seems like I am missing some facts, or a little clueless, take it easy on me, this is a tough area for me. I am a good maintenance guy, use my resources as needed to keep her going strong (including this great place), but don't have much of a mechanical background.

Thanks for any help, or an answer to the parasitic drain idea.

 

One thing I can tell you is yes an IPOD is a parasitic drain but, it would take a month+ to affect the battery capacity on a super duty if the batteries are healthy. i am not a fan of the optimas for diesels so I will stop here. My truck has sat for 2 weeks and not had a power problem.

 

I went through two sets of Motorcraft batteries in my truck due to some bad driving habits and the truck sitting for months to years at a time while I'm in training or deployed. (family was supposed to start and run it but didn't).
I got some Ultima red tops and put them in about a 1.5 years ago and haven't had a problem since. I left my truck sitting for over a month this past winter while I was in Utah and when I got back it fired up as strong as ever. They were kinda pricey but I'd spend it again.

 

thanks for serving soldier.

 

Yes, thanks for your service hubler, and thanks for the replies. The Ipod is not connected and I have one battery charging on a trickle charger now.

 

my alternator went bad at 103k, then took the ficm with it.so be careful with low voltages. i would take the alt off and have it tested separately since u are already taking the batteries out. its easy to come off, 3-13mm bolts and unhook wiring harness and its off.
my truck commonly sits a few days up to a week and no problems, and i have red tops also. but i did find that my positive battery cable was almost rubbed all the way through, and at the passenger battery clamp( the one with 2 wires feeding into it),the part of the clamp that connects the driver side cable to the passenger side was about to break off. so two problems fixed with one part.

 

the optima being hard to test is news to me

but I bet they are shot

pull em out and take them in to autozone for a load test if they pass put them back in and take the whole truck down they can test the alt in the truck with their new diagnostic device

I only had good luck with optima's in my boat for deep cycle they haven't served me well in my trucks and the warranty wasn't that good either

ps do you belong to AZPSG ??

 

Agree on the warranty issue, especially in the case one is bad...even if the 3 year full replacement period gives you a free one, you would have to buy another one for replacement for a matched pair. Live and learn, I wanted to try Optimas in the truck, always have been good to me on boats.

Don't belong to AZPSG, will look into it.

Going to friend's shop tomorrow to have the alternator tested. Thanks for the help.

 

Did the autozone thing, found a little extra time after church...alternator and both batteries test fine. So now I am really wondering what the heck is going on. Any other ideas or thoughts? I am reluctant to head back up for the fall fishing, what with the almost no start the other day up there.

 

did they give you a voltage reading. mine tested good but where low. is the battery light on the dash coming on?

 

I have had them test an alternator good and it was bad. I knew it was not charging in the truck, had them check it for gp and they said it was good. bought one anyway and the problem was solved.

 

Well, new problem, I took both batteries out for the testing and quick charge now I am getting a "miss" if you will while accelerating, kind of like "chuff, chuff, chuff", seems to be coming from driver's side front. I had a similar problem about 20k miles ago, but it was cured by replacing the CHRA. Maybe just a coincidence, or is this fallout from disconnecting both batteries and not doing something right after reinstalling them?

 

Voltage readings were 12.49 and 12.45.

 

Those voltages are on the low side for a battery that has sat overnight. When mine read that low they were on their way out.

 

With key on, waiting for glow plug light to go out, I do have a battery light, but I have always assumed that is just a startup default along with antilocks, etc. No battery light on after started and running. I thought the values were low but the battery tester guy said both batteries load tested good.