I've got my '04 PSD 350 with a single Alt system, I thought the battery's were toast as it kept dieing even plugged in (and its been super cold) so I bought two new ones and installed them. Took a short trip yesterday of about 50 miles coming back it was night and had no troubles, then today I went out and it started up right off... Drove to the dump and back (5 miles max) and turned it off, decided to let run and keep warm as we were leaving again, so I tried to start it and it was dead and wouldn't start, the dash lights when you first turn the key on wouldnt even stay lit. I pulled out my little battery tester and put them on the bats and both showed fine, full power.

I waited about 10 min and it started drove to the end of the street to turn it around and just as I pulled up in front of the house all the guages and radio went dead, the over head light would not come on either. But it had not died yet so I put the batt tester on them again (while it was still running) and both showed in the 60-70% need to charge range. There was clearly a pull on them. Turned it off waited a few min and put the tester back on and once again they read that they are good!!!

Before I replaced the battery's the wife was driving it and it did the same thing only it died on here a couple blocks from home. It seems that there is not enough charge coming out of the alt to A-keep the batt charged and B-to run the system. Any input or ideas, does my alt needing replaced theory hold water?

 

You would be better off to get a volt meter to check the battery voltage with engine off and running. It should be 12-12.5 fully charged batteries. Over 13 volts with the engine running. The stock alternator is Not large enough for the glow plugs/electrical requirements of your truck.

 

Also running with low voltage no mater what the cause will get you a new FICM
and later some injectors to go with it.
Low Voltage very bad JUJU.
A vole meter is a good idea or you could get a SGII . That is a better idea
because it does more than voltage.
ScanGaugeII : Linear Logic - Home of the ScanGauge

Sean

 

Sounds to me like you either have a loose connection at one (or both) of the batteries, or a bad ground somewhere... You may also have a significant short, but that seldom corrects itself...

If it started fine, and 5 min lator had NOTHING, that shouldn't be batteries or alternator... Especially since it then restarted 10 min lator, without any charging occuring. The time the lights went out and your battery tester showed a low charge, did you actually test on the battery terminals? Or were you touching the cable ends? Or the battery and the frame?
A little more information, and maybe we can narrow the problem down...
Andrew B.

 

Sure... Yes I was touching the terminals on the battery's dead center. The lights and gauges both failed at the same time, that was today and I tested right after. But it did not die like it did a week ago. I figured the Battery's must have had just enough to at least keep it running.

I was kind of thinking the same thing being that the stock Alt is 110. But it would seem that its been running it since 2004, of course I have no idea if it has ever been changed.

Yeah I was thinking some kind of gauge is for sure a need at this point.

Thank you!

BTW Fixit - The only thing that stays on is the ABS light, everything else is dead.

 

Sounds like you need to start looking for bad connections and grounds. That's trouble shooting from here with the limited info you've given. A specific gravity test of the batterys would also shed some light.

 

Clean all four battery terminals with a wire brush, then rinse with baking soda and water, the polish again, reconnect and tighten. Then attempt to check the ground cables at frame, this is a problem spot too. Make sure your batteries have water to the right level. Then charge over night. Now test SG and voltages of both batteries seperate. Now try starting. Check voltage at alt post on startup. It should eventually hit 14.4 to 14.6 after startup and glow plugs go off. One bad cell in batteries and the alt can get a full charge and next start it will fail. One bad battery post with corrosion will also reduce volts and cause starting issues.

 

Very doubtful if he's running the stock alt. Hi 13's at max.

 

Batterys are new and test out fine, terminals and are tight and clean (except for a small amount of terminal grease).

If it ever warms up enough to be outside for a while I'll check all the other conections. Still have no clue what an "excite plug/harness" is.

 

Check your ficm. I bet your voltage on it is out of spec.

 

That is the connector to the alternator

Josh

 

Which one, top or side. I assume top but don't know for sure.

 

There is only one connector. The large cable is the charge cable to the battery.

Josh

 

Well there is one connector and one cable coming off and going to the battery, then back off the battery and into the box on top of the valve cover...

None-the-less I checked all wires and they look and seem to be good. Went and bought a new multi-meter and tested the alternator at idle, its only putting out 5.90 volts, so I'm thinking its alternator time.

 

5.9 Volts = Dead
Sean