I'm pretty sure my battery has given up because its 5 years 3 mo. old but I would like some input.
The past 2 years the voltage needle would wiggle on occasion, seemingly random.
About 3 months ago I took the truck on a long distance road trip (350mi. one way) stayed for a day, and back with no issues.
The next morning I moved the truck a few feet, and shut down. I knew it was wrong but I did it anyway, I'm a rebel.
I tried to start it the next day, it made maybe one sluggish rev. and no start. I pulled the battery and left it on a 10A auto charger overnight and ol' Zoidberg fired right up.
I measured the voltage wile running and got 14V+ "good nuff"
I have been driving the truck several times a week, maybe 700 miles since.
The truck started a little sluggish 2 days ago and drove 15ish miles to work without incident, I figured the sluggish start could be from sitting 4 days.
After working 7hrs I had a few clicks from the starter, annoying buzzer died right after. I got a jump start and took the long way home, no issues and voltage seemed ok.
About 18hrs. later, no start, maybe one sluggish rev. I charged for 3-4hrs. at 10A, battery read 12+V, back in the truck. The fuel pump whirred excitedly, seat belt buzzer blazing, *click* no rev. I took the battery out again, let it charge overnight, double checked grounds, *whirr*one sluggish rev. *click* nope.
I'm going to get the battery tested at a local shop when I get a ride. Any tips on testing other parts first? Suggestions on battery brands?
oops, long post, trying to be thorough.
Thanks!

 

Likely a bad battery. You might read 12+v, but it has no capacity left in it. It will run a low current draw item, like the fuel pump or seat belt buzzer, but it won't have enough umph to crank the engine.

There are only a few battery manufacturers, they just put the name on it that orders them. I've never really had any bad battery no matter what name. The last Autozone battery in the '89 lasted 10 years.


BTW, my '89 used to wiggle the voltmeter on occasion. Always showed a good charge at the battery. Never did figure out why the needle did that.

 

Thanks Freightrain, my thoughts exactly.

A mystery! This truck was originally in Ohio, maybe thats why the voltmeters wiggle?

I googled around on how to test cranking amps, CCA, RA. I don't have fancy enough tools! It did read over 10A(the limit) on my cheapo multimeter.

 

Any Autozone should be able to test your battery. Try this. Put your voltmeter on it and have someone try to start truck. If voltage drops to nothing the battery is junk.

 

Test your rig for "parasitic load" or phantom draw, there are some good YT videos on this. This is hard on batteries, they don't like being drawn down and then never quite being topped back up. 5+ years is usually a pretty good indication that it's about done swapping electrons, not always.... but. Make sure charging system is working correctly and grounding is clean and tight and at all connections.

Just a few hundredths of an ohm resistance in the charging system circuit reduces alternator output by roughly thirty per cent. Not enough to notice at idle but place any load and it will choke.

 

After much delay, Zoidberg is up and hauling trash.
I got the battery tested at the local auto parts store and the result was "likely to leave you stranded" according to the employee. I should have gotten the printout for my own curiosity...
I had to wait a few days before I had time/daylight to put the new battery in. As if by Devine intervention I found a new battery hold down wedge with 2 bolts on clearance for $1.60 at a chain supermarket. The original had been broken off clean when I met Zoidberg, probably when the battery was replaced last time.
What a terrible design! The fine threads totally seized solid, possibly from corrosive fluids pooling up in the area because it's the lowest point of the tray. Not even 2 days of constant PB'laster soakings would let it go.
The truck gods really shined on me when the only tap I found cleaning out my girlfriends moms garage worked. M6x1 was the size tap and it seems secure.
I didn't get to test Tedster9s suggestions, but much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

There's still time. The idea is to test for phantom loads so the new battery isn't ruined prematurely. Common problem, a new battery will seem to solve a lot of issues... for a while.

 

I found the time to read up and test Zoidberg for parsitic loads, with 0A draw with everything off. I tested to make sure I had it hooked up right by turning my dome/cargo light on.

I decided to change out the rest of the bulbs out to LED (I was testing 1 cargo and one 3rd brake, got 2 more) so initially 2 incandescent and 1 LED drew 1.56A. After the swap the 3 LEDs(clusters of 9 diodes) drew only 0.16A and they seem pretty bright.

Thanks again Tedster, I wouldn't have thought of testing parasitic loads.

 

check alternator, check starter check wires. this is all common stuff. Corrosion in the wires will cause this all day, also clean up starter leads, ford put the starters in spots where they got wet alot, wires are probably green

 

Not a bad idea chrono16. I was looking at new cables because someone put cheap bolt-on lead ends on at some point. I wanted to get up and running but that's next on my list, any recommendations on brand?

 

Avoid the drug store generic replacements, you know the ones they hang on the wall. For just a few dollars more you can get "custom" wires any length you want, and combination of terminals and ring size made out of heavy duty 1/0 copper cable. I've dealt with these guys for example and they are quick and the quality is there.

http://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/131904127185