Batteries and performance
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 17,791
Likes: 99
From: Ashland City, TN
not necessarily.
Bad cables can effect some things, like a bad ground.
But once the truck is started, the alternator runs everything.
So you should have your alternator tested if your seeing issues.
A diesel, however, doesnt' really need much electricty to run. Specially ours with a mechanical fuel pump and HEUI injectors.
electricity runs the solinoids and the pcm, tahts pretty much it.
Bad cables can effect some things, like a bad ground.
But once the truck is started, the alternator runs everything.
So you should have your alternator tested if your seeing issues.
A diesel, however, doesnt' really need much electricty to run. Specially ours with a mechanical fuel pump and HEUI injectors.
electricity runs the solinoids and the pcm, tahts pretty much it.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,808
Likes: 0
From: Meigs County Ohio
Well to William the HEUI uses electricity to fire so, yeah kind of need it lol. But diesel (Like my Belarus 250AS) you can turn off all the main power and it still runs. But there shouldn't be no difference, and you will lose performance in the aspect of lights and such. Plus if the battery is old or the original one it should be changed. I would also have your alternator checked.
More Turbo
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 664
Likes: 129
From: Columbia, MD
Batteries & performance
At least in these trucks, really low batteries won't affect performance. My alternator progressively died on a road trip, and the truck kept running nicely even as the battery ran down to dim headlights and not enough juice to start. So evidently it doesn't take much juice to keep them running.
I ended up replacing my alternator in a parts store lot as they closed, in the dark under a street light, and needing a jump to start. But the truck was running fine up to that point.
I ended up replacing my alternator in a parts store lot as they closed, in the dark under a street light, and needing a jump to start. But the truck was running fine up to that point.
