This is my very first post here. I am just going to jump in with both front feet. Hi everyone.

I have a 2002 F-250 4x4 7.3 extended cab truck. It has 140,000 miles on it. Here is the part that I feel guilty about... Last year, I ended up buying a minivan because we go to dog shows all the time. I didnt really want my truck to become a dog show vehicle because of the cost of diesel fuel and the wear and tear on my truck that I cannot afford to replace and I need it when I need to pull the horse trailer and do farm work.

So to make a long story short, the truck was parked and I drove the van to and from work. And I knew that the truck would need batteries, so soon enough the batteries went dead. So my truck sat till we could get batteries..it set for several months. So I got batteries and I drove it a couple times a week because I realized my self respect was in it. But after my husband put the batteries in it, the battery light would come on and off about every few minutes, but the truck drove fine. So a few months after that, the tag expired and I had some emergency vet bills and I didnt get the tag for a few months. But we cranked the truck at home a few times and it was fine.

So I went and got the tag about a month ago and I was all excited to drive my truck again. Put the tag on and it cranked right up and I pulled it around to the carport to let it run and to clean it out since it was stuffy. After about 10 minutes, the digital odometer went out... the truck kept running. I didnt go down the road, but I drove it around the yard, and back and forth. Then the interior light was getting dimmer and dimmer as it sat idling with the door open while I was cleaning. Then I shut it off to immediately recrank it to see if the odometer would come back on. Then it went nuts. The gauges would go back and forth and the other dash lights would flicker, they would be at full power and then dim. Back and forth. I couldnt put the window up either. I got the jump box and it gave me enough juice to put the window back up, but it wouldnt crank.

I checked all the wires I could find to see if a mouse or something had gotten into it. They seemed fine. I know it needs an oil change and probably fresh fuel. But does that sound like batteries again or alternator? It cranked up fine and pretty fast the first time before the odometer light went out.

Thanks to all who read this, I do not want to leave something out. But my truck is dead in the water sitting in the turn around at my house.

 

Welcome! No need to apologize, there are only a few of us rich enough to use our trucks as daily drivers... most of us have some kind of economical alternative when we don't need the truck.

Your description is pointing at alternator as most likely culprit. Your symptoms are classic low voltage.
In general, the battery is there only to spin the starter. Once truck is running, all electrical power should be coming from alternator.
My last bit of advice is to not bother with a "rebuilt" alternator from a chain parts store. Most of these have been outsourced to dirt floor sweatshops using untrained labor an the the quality shows it. If you have a local electrical shop, have them rebuild it. Or go with a company that has a history of doing quality rebuilds in their own shops. With new parts and trained labor.

 

The history (140K miles and sitting a lot) makes me think the likely root cause is worn and corroded brushes. At 140K, the brushes are pretty darned worn down, so the spring is near fully extended and may not apply enough pressure to scrape corrosion off surfaces.

If you (or someone you know) is familiar with working on alternators, it may be as simple as disassembling, scrubbing the commutator with scotch brite and installing new brushes. $10 and a couple hours.

 

Thank you! That is what I thought as soon as the odometer went out. I didnt know not to get one from a chain type store though. I do not know of any electrical shop. I will have to think on that. Should I get one from Ford if I cannot find an electrical shop? I know we can put it in ourselves. My husband wants to learn how to work on vehicles more himself. Thank you again. I have lots of questions about my husbands diesel truck too but I need details on his.

Did I post this in the wrong forum? There is another diesel one that I got a bit snowblind reading all the forums and missed it when I posted in here.

 

I'd be getting an alternator. Sitting for so long has probably done it in. You will want to try to recharge those batteries beforehand if possible.

If you can get fairly decent charge on them you maybe able to save the batteries.

 

I am not familiar with working on alternators...but I am familiar with making things work... and figuring things out. I do alot of electrical figuring with my line of work. I wonder if I had some pictures and figure out where I get new brushes from, if I could get it done.

 

I was worried that the alternator could have sucked the new batteries down. I hope not, maybe I should go ahead and yank them out now. It does seem strong for the first second of trying to crank it then dims down.

 

Trickle charge them.

for the alternator I would not rebuild. But I would check the rating on the alternator. You want one with as many amps as the orginal. For this I would check out www.partsguyed.com and have one sent out.

 

Hmmm... I will see if Hubby has a trickle charger at work, or see if we have one at home. We did have a small one for the 4 wheelers. Not sure if that will work for the truck.

So I will have to ship the alternator back for the core charge at that online place? If I am understanding that correctly. I will have to wait till payday to order something.

Thanks again everyone for the help.

 

A brand new Motorcraft from Parts Guy Ed is the highest probability of a good one.

The last time I had to buy an alternator on a budget (I now get them rebuilt at a local shop) I went with a "brand new" one from these guys:
2002 ford f series pickups 7.3l 8 cyl diesel alternator Prices - 2002 ford f series pickups 7.3l 8 cyl diesel alternators for Sale - Buy 2002 ford f series pickups 7.3l 8 cyl diesel alternators
It has been working well for 2 years now. If they're still being made the same way, it would be a very good probability of being a good one...

And if you need higher than stock output or extra durability for heavy loads, these are very nice:
6G Series Heavy Duty Bridge Rectifier High Output Alternator
I put a 160 amp with a doubled up HD rectifier/regulator in my SD because I have a winch, compressors, extra lights, a big stereo, and my travel trailer. Extremely satisfied.

Both of these were outright purchases, no core charge.

 

The small charger for the quads may be perfect to trickle the batteries. You're looking for something in the 2 to 5 amp size. It will take several days to charge them.

 

That first link had them cheaper than I can get them at Auto Zone. So it is safe to order them online?

Everything on it is stock. I do have a Superchip in the truck though. Should I get the bigger one then? I very rarely pull the horse trailer anymore. I never pull the flatbed.

 

Oh, I think the small charger may have a different connector. I will have to dig it out of the wellhouse and take a look at it. Do I take the batteries out of the truck? Or just disconnect them?

Sorry for being a pest. I have not had to actually work on a vehicle since my 92 F-250 and I never had to do much to that, it just got too slow to crank in the winter even after I changed the glow plugs and the relay. I sold it and got the 2002 in 2006.

 

I'd take the batteries out. Put them on a piece of wood or cardboard. then charge them.

Do not cheap out and go a low amp replacement alternator. It will never be up to the task and will be overworked and then burn out

 

A stock amperage should be fine for you.

I wish I could say yes, they are safe, but it was at least a couple years ago when I bought from them. At the time, they were bucking the "cheapest is best" trend and were one of the very few still using trained labor in the US.

Give them a call and ask where the alternators are made or rebuilt. And which components are replaced with brand new components on rebuilds, and who the manufacturer of the components are.
If they are still top shelf, they will know this stuff. And be proud of it.

I saw an alternator "remanufacturing" operation in Juarez several years ago. It was shocking.... child labor and NO new parts. Just disassemble, acid etch the casing to make it pretty, and stuff random old components in it (including brushes and bearings) until it bench tested OK. But they were cheap!