Im posting this about a friends truck. Its a 1995 2wd Sport, 2.3 5 speed. Lately she has been complaining that it was stalling a lot and today it shut right down on her. When the truck is running, the battery light is on and the gauge reading low, almost all the way to the bottom. Today it quit on her, but after sitting (KO) for 5-10 minutes, the battery gauge came up again and it fired and drove for another 5 minutes before the gauge dropped and the truck shut off. I let it sit again (KO), to have the same results. I pulled the battery and alternator and had them both tested (no fun at -25). the battery passed after a charge but the alternator failed. Two hours later, back up and running, all the gauges and lights looking good. Tonight, after idling for 20 minutes, the previous symptoms came back. Whats really thowing me is how it will fire back up after sitting, almost as though it is being charged while the key is off. Im taking off for the weekend but if someone wants to chime in and give me some pointers, I would appreciate it! Merry Christmas!

 

So

New battery and new alternator?

What do you mean it starts up After sitting ?

And charging while off?

Could the stalling also be from another issue?

 

She may have more than one problem, so Murphys Law may be messing with you!!!! lol

I hope you had the new alternator tested before leaving the store with it!!!! Just because its new/reman/rebuilt, doesn't automatically make em good, I've seen plenty of bad new parts right out of the box. So if the volt meter is still reading low, put the alternator back on your suspect list. If the volt meter says the new alternator is putting out, ok with a load, like the lights on, look elsewhere.

A cranking battery isn't designed to be run down to a low state of charge, then be quickly re-charged, as a high current/quick recharge rate, can over heat the cells, cause them to warp & short out, or short out by shedding plate material. So a little under hood heat & or vibration could cause intermittent electrical battery problems. So since the battery wasn't replaced, it still belongs on your susprct list.

Also add the battery cables & their connections. B- cable connections to the engine & body, B+ connections to the alternator & under hood power distribution box, as well as the power distribution box alternator field fuse, or its plug in connections, look for a loose fit, or corrosion on them. All electrical connections need to be clean, bright & tight.

If nothing obvious is visable, do a wiggle/thump test on the battery cables & their connection points to the alternator, engine & body, to see if you can induce the problem, or cause it to clear up when its acting out.

Generally a high resistance connection thats carrying heavy a load will be warm/hot to the touch, so your sense of feel on suspect battery cable or alternator connection spots when its acting out, may prove useful.

It sounds like a high resistance electrical connection problem that gets warm, moves & acts out, then cools, moves again & makes contact & it could be in any of the above items.
If no joy with the wiggle, thump, or feel tests, break out your multimeter & begin voltage drop tests on the battery cables, alternator & power distribution box & across the battery posts & their cable connection points at the posts, when its acting out.

A bunch of thoughts for consideration, would be interesting to know what you find.