Started fine. Then within 10 seconds gauges on dash all went to zero. I thought at least it's running fine. About then it started hesitating when I gave it gas. So I parked it and decided to post here. Any ideas?

 

Did u lose all electrical power? radio, windows, ect. Mine did that when my alternator went bad, radio went first then gauges then truck.

 

no. just the dash.

 

Now that I'm not posting from my phone, I can give a few more details. Truck cranks right up. Radio, interior lights, dash lights, A/C, headlights, etc are working fine. However, the gauges are sitting at rock bottom, the chime sounds randomly and when I tried to drive it, the engine is running fine, but is not responsive to the gas pedal. It responds a little but then goes non responsive.

 

My first move would be to check all the fuses under the dash and under the hood. What year is your truck?

 

It's a '99. I didn't check all of them yet, but I checked the ones that were labeled to have something to do with the instrument panel. I think fuse #2 said "instrument panel" and something to do with the fuel system. It's a 5 amp. I checked it and it was fine. I even swapped a different one for it, but had no affect.

 

Thats probably for the dash lights. Its usually a 5 amp. I'm gonna go check my service manual and see what fuse runs the dash and how many amps it is. Mines a 2001 though, so it might be different.

 

Is it still a good idea to pull all of them to check?

 

Yeah, check all of them.

 

start the truck then remove the ground cable if keeps running your alt is fine if it stops running replace the alternator.

 

which battery? driver's side or passenger?

 

I dont recommend doing that. The amount of current the alternator puts out is based on the battery voltage. If you unhook them, they'll go to full power. If you wanna have it checked, pull it and take it to autozone or another parts place that tests them.

 

ahhhhhhh... ok. Hey Twags, I won't be able to check the fuses til tomorrow AM. I'll post about what I find.

 

Trakk, I have the answer to your problem. It is the three wire loom that goes into your auto shifter lever. It's a common problem with these trucks. The wires are routed in a way that allows them to get chaifed by the steering wheel. It's litterally a twenty minute fix. Pull the lower dash cover, pull the upper and lower column covers (this is the hardest part, ya gotta wiggle them alot) You'll see the wires running over the top of the column. And it should be very clear which ones are at fault. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say I'm 110% sure that is your problem. I say that because the exact same thing happened to my brother in laws truck. And he forgot to mention he had already "patched" it previously. Check it out man, and let us know.

 

Are those the wires for the OD overide? Mine has been broken for a while and the OD button dangles by the wires all the time. Maybe the wires are crossed on that end?