Battery gauge randomly dropping.
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Battery gauge randomly dropping.
OK so I live in Columbia SC and for any of you who saw the Game***** vs UNC game on ESPN tonight you know there was a weather delay around 9 PM. Just about that time I had to leave my house to go to work and it is POURING rain. Like monsoon season, ankle-deep puddles everwhere kinda stuff with crazy lightning. Anyways, during my drive the battery gauge on the dashboard randomly would dip down to about 1/4 of the range. Happened maybe 4 times on my 10 minute drive and would always correct itself after about 30 seconds. Dash and headlights would dim. Truck has never done that before and did not do it on the drive back home after the weather cleared. Why would this happen? My first thoughts were battery, alternator, or wiring harness. Is all that stuff really that sensitive to water? How can I prevent this from happening again?
Postmaster
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,533
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From: SW Florida
Nah it sounds like your belt was just getting wet and slipping. My belt (6 rib serpentine) hardly makes any noise at all when it gets soaked, even though it's actually slipping so much that I'll lose all hydraulic pressure in the steering and the voltmeter will take a dive. Just did this a couple days ago, we had the same weather here as you did... monsoon rain and flooded roads. Went right thru some flooded areas on my road and got the belt wet, truck did the same thing as yours.
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Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2013
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Nah it sounds like your belt was just getting wet and slipping. My belt (6 rib serpentine) hardly makes any noise at all when it gets soaked, even though it's actually slipping so much that I'll lose all hydraulic pressure in the steering and the voltmeter will take a dive. Just did this a couple days ago, we had the same weather here as you did... monsoon rain and flooded roads. Went right thru some flooded areas on my road and got the belt wet, truck did the same thing as yours.
button! 
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Joined: Sep 2012
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Voltage Regulator
If the belt doesn't fix it I bet it would be your voltage regulator. The same thing happened to me on my '93. It's a little box on the back of your alternator that the wiring loom attaches to. When priced it was more than a new alternator. Please not that if you buy a new/reman'd alternator it comes with a new voltage regulator. Cheaper fix, replace the alternator. Fix this issue sooner rather than later as the battery will die (kill the cells) if it keeps cycling from a load to a charge. Hope this helps.
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