Last nerve
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Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 30
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From: Gig Harbor
Last nerve
2000, Ford F/350, Crew Cab, 7.3l Diesel, Auto, w/ AC
On 27 March my battery light came on and the voltage meter began to peg at 18 volts while running, driving or at an idle.
On 30 March, I took the truck too Smart-Mart in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[img] /><st1:City w:st=[/img]Tacoma </st1:City> They “rebuilt” the alternator several times but could not get the battery light off or the voltage meter to go below 18 volts. ($120.00)
4 April, I bought a new (not remanufactured) Autolite alternator from Schucks with a life time warranty ($260.00) The light went off and the volt meter read normal for five days or approximately 60 miles.
9 April, the truck failed to start in the AM, making a clicking sound similar to dead batteries.
16 April, had batteries tested both, good to go!
18 April, charged batteries and truck started fine.
19 April, truck failed to start in the AM, dead batteries.
20 April, charged batteries, took truck too Dave’s Auto Repair (Gig Harbor) they stated the alternator was bad ($65.00) Took truck home, returned alternator to Schuck’s and replaced it with a new one.
</O
21 April, truck failed to start in the AM, dead batteries.
21 April, charged batteries, back too Dave’s. they again stated alternator was bad!
22 April, took alternator from Dave’s Shop and returned it. Schuck’s gave a third new alternator and tested it twice prior to me leaving the store, good to go! Dave’s put new alternator in and kept truck over night, started strong the following AM. Took truck home.
26 April, truck failed to start, dead batteries.
27 April, charged batteries, and took truck to Mallon Ford, <st1:City w:st="on">Tacoma</ST1</st1:City>
28 April, Mallon called, truck was dead when they came in at 0700 hrs. I call back at 2PM they say “ we have had two diesel tech’s on the problem from 9AM-2PM, and cannot figure out why your system will not stay charged”
Seriously? It’s a man made machine……WTF!
On 27 March my battery light came on and the voltage meter began to peg at 18 volts while running, driving or at an idle.
On 30 March, I took the truck too Smart-Mart in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com[img] /><st1:City w:st=[/img]Tacoma </st1:City> They “rebuilt” the alternator several times but could not get the battery light off or the voltage meter to go below 18 volts. ($120.00)
4 April, I bought a new (not remanufactured) Autolite alternator from Schucks with a life time warranty ($260.00) The light went off and the volt meter read normal for five days or approximately 60 miles.
9 April, the truck failed to start in the AM, making a clicking sound similar to dead batteries.
16 April, had batteries tested both, good to go!
18 April, charged batteries and truck started fine.
19 April, truck failed to start in the AM, dead batteries.
20 April, charged batteries, took truck too Dave’s Auto Repair (Gig Harbor) they stated the alternator was bad ($65.00) Took truck home, returned alternator to Schuck’s and replaced it with a new one.
</O
21 April, truck failed to start in the AM, dead batteries.
21 April, charged batteries, back too Dave’s. they again stated alternator was bad!
22 April, took alternator from Dave’s Shop and returned it. Schuck’s gave a third new alternator and tested it twice prior to me leaving the store, good to go! Dave’s put new alternator in and kept truck over night, started strong the following AM. Took truck home.
26 April, truck failed to start, dead batteries.
27 April, charged batteries, and took truck to Mallon Ford, <st1:City w:st="on">Tacoma</ST1
</st1:City>28 April, Mallon called, truck was dead when they came in at 0700 hrs. I call back at 2PM they say “ we have had two diesel tech’s on the problem from 9AM-2PM, and cannot figure out why your system will not stay charged”
Seriously? It’s a man made machine……WTF!
Of the next Riffraff East
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,679
Likes: 2
From: Concord NC
It sounds like you have a short some where. Maybe glowplug relay. Other than a short or something staying energized, bad batteries are the only other thing that come to mind. Keep in mind that our trucks require a lot more juice than most passenger cars and trucks. They have to be very strong to be ok.
Post Fiend
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,497
Likes: 7
From: Central, Al
And ZX would be dead on most likely. Check the two small wires that come out of the connector all the way to the battery junction box and also the fusible links in the big Black/Orange stripe wire going to the starter solenoid from the alt.
On the fusible links the Shrink wrap should be smooth if it is wrinkled it indicates a blown link.
On the fusible links the Shrink wrap should be smooth if it is wrinkled it indicates a blown link.
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Freshman User
Joined: Jul 2005
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From: Gig Harbor
re: Last Nerve
Ok so Mallon in Tacoma called (2.5 working days later) and said they are 90% sure it is a connector from the Alt. They said it was only delivering 3-4 as opposed to 12. That explains why the system failed to charge but.....why such a huge drain (2 fully charged batteries) in 12 hours w/ out using the truck? To that they said....a we're not sure? So 4 hrs later @ $90 an hour they will fix the connector and wait a day/night to see if this fixes the problem. on a side note whenthe hell did mechanic rates go up too $90 a friggin hour? My sister is a lawyer with 6yrs of collage and charges $75hr.....
Of the next Riffraff East
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 8,679
Likes: 2
From: Concord NC
A bad connector would account for not charging the batteries, but not for loosing your charge while not in use. Unless that connector is allowing a direct short, you still have a problem. Keep us posted.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 180
Likes: 0
From: McAllen, Texas
Originally Posted by wahusker
Ok so Mallon in Tacoma called (2.5 working days later) and said they are 90% sure it is a connector from the Alt. They said it was only delivering 3-4 as opposed to 12. That explains why the system failed to charge but.....why such a huge drain (2 fully charged batteries) in 12 hours w/ out using the truck? To that they said....a we're not sure? So 4 hrs later @ $90 an hour they will fix the connector and wait a day/night to see if this fixes the problem. on a side note whenthe hell did mechanic rates go up too $90 a friggin hour? My sister is a lawyer with 6yrs of collage and charges $75hr.....
These kinda "light service" guys should get paid like $36 max.
You´re lucky that they won't charge from the night Light Service 24 x $90...Stroking "very" South Texas
F250 -00 PSD 4x4 CC SB with Leer Camper Shell.
Something already done: A/C mod, SS HPX, Cold air intake, Superchip, Excursion sound panels, Lubro Moly injection cleaning.
Soon to be done: DP-tuner, ISSpro gauges, Cackle Cure Kit, Tank Mod, HOT shot oil treatment, Air horns? (is there a legal liability
issue, if somebody gets heart attack
)
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Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2006
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From: Millbrook Alabama
Originally Posted by wahusker
on a side note whenthe hell did mechanic rates go up too $90 a friggin hour? My sister is a lawyer with 6yrs of collage and charges $75hr.....
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Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 7,191
Likes: 4
From: Blairsville,Ga
How old are your batteries,have seen testers that don't correctly test a battery of that size
with alternator charging so much could have cooked batteries
as per hourly rate $90 aint bad where I'm at was $105 at dealer 2 yrs ago,western NC $65 3 years ago,thats the cheepest I found in years
But remember the mechanic only gets 40 to 50% of the rate and at $35 to $45 an hor it would be hard for him to survive
attorney here $250+
$65 an hour to test alternator figures to be $135+ per hr
with alternator charging so much could have cooked batteries
as per hourly rate $90 aint bad where I'm at was $105 at dealer 2 yrs ago,western NC $65 3 years ago,thats the cheepest I found in years
But remember the mechanic only gets 40 to 50% of the rate and at $35 to $45 an hor it would be hard for him to survive
attorney here $250+
$65 an hour to test alternator figures to be $135+ per hr
Last edited by rbaker6336; May 1, 2007 at 01:46 PM.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 180
Likes: 0
From: McAllen, Texas
Originally Posted by rbaker6336
How old are your batteries,have seen testers that don't correctly test a battery of that size
with alternator charging so much could have cooked batteries
as per hourly rate $90 aint bad where I'm at was $105 at dealer 2 yrs ago,western NC $65 3 years ago,thats the cheepest I found in years
But remember the mechanic only gets 40 to 50% of the rate and at $35 to $45 an hor it would be hard for him to survive
attorney here $250+
with alternator charging so much could have cooked batteries
as per hourly rate $90 aint bad where I'm at was $105 at dealer 2 yrs ago,western NC $65 3 years ago,thats the cheepest I found in years
But remember the mechanic only gets 40 to 50% of the rate and at $35 to $45 an hor it would be hard for him to survive
attorney here $250+
Stroking "very" South Texas
F250 -00 PSD 4x4 CC SB with Leer Camper Shell.
Something already done: A/C mod, SS HPX, Cold air intake, Superchip, Excursion sound panels, Lubro Moly injection cleaning.
Soon to be done: DP-tuner, ISSpro gauges, Cackle Cure Kit, Tank Mod, HOT shot oil treatment, Air horns? (is there a legal liability
issue, if somebody gets heart attack
)
Cross-Country
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 82
Likes: 1
You have two problems. Problem number 1 is your giving your money away to people that are guessing/playing with your money.
Problem 2, You have 1 good battery and 1 bad battery in your truck. The bad battery is putting a load on the alternator and sucking the life from the good battery. REPLACE BOTH batteries.
If you want to see this for yourself. Separate the batteries from each other. Test them with a volt meter. Better yet, find somebody with a battery tester that can put a load on your batteries (or $30 from Harbor Freight). You'll probably find one good battery and one bad battery. Problem is, the techs at Walmart and all the other chain places don't have enough knowledge to know to separate them, they work with gasser motors mostly that only have one battery. They just don't know any better!
Wal Mart x2 batteries $65 each = $130 install yourself so you know its done right = happy truck and no more problems.
Problem 2, You have 1 good battery and 1 bad battery in your truck. The bad battery is putting a load on the alternator and sucking the life from the good battery. REPLACE BOTH batteries.
If you want to see this for yourself. Separate the batteries from each other. Test them with a volt meter. Better yet, find somebody with a battery tester that can put a load on your batteries (or $30 from Harbor Freight). You'll probably find one good battery and one bad battery. Problem is, the techs at Walmart and all the other chain places don't have enough knowledge to know to separate them, they work with gasser motors mostly that only have one battery. They just don't know any better!
Wal Mart x2 batteries $65 each = $130 install yourself so you know its done right = happy truck and no more problems.
New User
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 19
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Interrmittent Light Knock #8 Injector?
My 1998.5 Has A Intermittent Light Knock I Think Coming From The #8 Injector (i Think) I Was Told That Need To Replace#8 . Then Someone Diffrent Advised Me That It Will Not Hurt The Engine, And To Leave It Alone. I Have 80,000 One This 7.3. The Truck Runs Great Besides The Knock. Thanks