Bad Ground?
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 100
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From: Omaha, NE
Bad Ground?
Every night before i shut my truck off i make sure to charge up my batteries by revving it a little until the voltmeter spikes back to the O and R on NORMAL. When i get it to that point i shut the truck off and if turn the Key On Engine Off the voltmeter reads low...is this because i have a bad ground or do all these truck do this. You all were informing me that i need to clean my grounds anyway which i am going to do this week, but i've been curious if this is the reason?
Thread Starter
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Senior User
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 100
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From: Omaha, NE
I don't have power to the voltmeter with the key off, it's KOEO...And it drops dramatically..i'm running 13.1V running and 11.8V not running. I'm curious if this is because of my bad/dirty grounds.
Cargo Master
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 3,330
Likes: 13
From: Eaton, CO
When you tested it, did you test your volts at your battery terminals? Did you disconnect the two from one another to get a reading from each battery? Do your lights brighten when you hit the skinny pedal and dim when the RPMs fall back to idle? Do your RPMs drop below the set idle speed and then recover to idle? Does your battery seem to drain when your truck sits over night?
I had a slow crank before addressing my corroded terminals, clamps and damaged ground cable. I bought a battery terminal & terminal clamp shaver and scrubber for a few bucks from a parts store to get clean contact again. Clean everything up really good, coat everything liberally with dielectric grease and reinstall.
I had a slow crank before addressing my corroded terminals, clamps and damaged ground cable. I bought a battery terminal & terminal clamp shaver and scrubber for a few bucks from a parts store to get clean contact again. Clean everything up really good, coat everything liberally with dielectric grease and reinstall.
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Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
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It is possible that one of your batteries is going. Have you checked the water level in them? To check the voltage disconnect the connection between the two and check the voltage of each. They should be the same or very close. If you do have a bad one then to replace as a set is best. Good luck.
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Brett Foote
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Ya thats bad, I would check all your cables and clean your block grounding points
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,501
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From: Faibanks Ak.
Even a bad battery can show the same or very close voltage unless you load test them then the bad one will show quick. if you don't have a load tester, most parts houses will do it for you free of charge if you disconnect the cables.
The same applies to the alternator checking with a volt meter gives you an idea but only measures the volts it is putting out not the amps. It is very possible for it to be putting out 13.5 volts and only 5 amps so it would fully charge your batteries in a couple years.
The same applies to the alternator checking with a volt meter gives you an idea but only measures the volts it is putting out not the amps. It is very possible for it to be putting out 13.5 volts and only 5 amps so it would fully charge your batteries in a couple years.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 255
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Even a bad battery can show the same or very close voltage unless you load test them then the bad one will show quick. if you don't have a load tester, most parts houses will do it for you free of charge if you disconnect the cables.
The same applies to the alternator checking with a volt meter gives you an idea but only measures the volts it is putting out not the amps. It is very possible for it to be putting out 13.5 volts and only 5 amps so it would fully charge your batteries in a couple years.
The same applies to the alternator checking with a volt meter gives you an idea but only measures the volts it is putting out not the amps. It is very possible for it to be putting out 13.5 volts and only 5 amps so it would fully charge your batteries in a couple years.
Post Fiend
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 10,501
Likes: 5
From: Faibanks Ak.
I hear you but like I said they can still show close if they don't, there is one of two things going on one battery is bad or the cable between them is bad or the ground on the bad one is bad not letting the alternator fully charge it. Then again they both have to be fully charged for the load test to work.
Are you off grid, if so how do you like it.
Are you off grid, if so how do you like it.
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It's a work in progress but I really enjoy the challenge, even the chopping wood 
Not able to get to it generally anywhere from early Dec. to early May. Short growing season, lost the garden first week of Sept. last year. I pushed it last spring going in the second week of April and if I would have known you guys then I would have taken some pics pulling the old girl through three feet of snow. The winch got less of a workout than I did though lol. If you see my summertime pic that's the view looking out the front.
Not able to get to it generally anywhere from early Dec. to early May. Short growing season, lost the garden first week of Sept. last year. I pushed it last spring going in the second week of April and if I would have known you guys then I would have taken some pics pulling the old girl through three feet of snow. The winch got less of a workout than I did though lol. If you see my summertime pic that's the view looking out the front.