hi all.... just thought i would post this and see if anyone else has seen this too... we have had a bunch of snow lately, so driving down the road today in 4hi, headlights/radio on, and defroster on hi, when i pulled up to a stop light, the defroster fan started to slow down.... for maybe 5 seconds or so, then went fast again.... then tonight while i was slowing down to make a turn, i heard the defroster do the same thing again, and the dash lights all went dim.... i thought the truck had stalled, but the tach showed it was running.... so, i made the turn, turned off my foglights, and after a few seconds the lights started to get back to normal... i then turned the radio down, and heard a belt squeek..... but nothing else. i turned my edge unit to show the battery voltage, and it said 14.4 while running, but i didnt get to see it while it was acting up. i had my truck in the shop last week for a possible bad battery, but they said it was fine. if the truck sits for about 5-6 days it will be dead.... im sure its all related, but dont know what the exact cause could be.... ohh, we have been running temps from -10 to 5 F.

sorry for the long winded post, im hoping someone might have some insight.. thanks in advance !!!!

 

Alternator getting flakey maybe... possibly?

 

I have experieced the same thing while driving in snow. Especially through snow drifts. I have related the problems to the alternator building up with snow temporarily. This causes a disruption in the charging effect, resulting in the loss of power. I have never heard a belt squeak though, maybe you had enough snow to stop the alternator from spinning for a few seconds?

My fathers 05' Chevy does the exact same thing once you manage to get enough snow into the engine compartment. In fact I think all the vehicles I have ever owned have done this at one time or another. I have always chalked it up to normal operation in the snow. Just my .02..

 

i too was thinking about the alternator.... but the snow theory makes some sense... i will have to pop the hood and investigate today.... i do know that both times it has done it i was driving behind someone, and the snow was real fluffy and was getting kicked up by the cars pretty good.... ill give a look around.... thanks guys.