Alternator/dead battery issues

[Incognito]

Battery died a few days ago and I replaced the battery and the alternator. Ran the truck for 2 days and the battery died again.

Any ideas????

 

[bronco60-niner]

have you tested to make sure no accessories are drawing power when its off?

 

[Kaw-Liga]

You can test to see if there is a leak/draw in the system. Take off the negative wire from the battery and clip the gator clip of a test light to the negative lead then touch the test light to the negative battey post. If the light comes on then there is a draw. After that you have to find where the draw is(switch that was left on, alternator not hooked up correctly(happened to me), etc)

Rob

 

[Incognito]

Alt issue

It is going dead while the truck is running.

The alt was replaced correctly and the gauge showed it was charging the battery yesterday. While at the shop it was left running and charged battery up and ran great for 2 days. ALT Gauge showed 13 volts and alligator clipped tester showed 13.8 volts during recharge at shop.

Then all of a sudden ALT gauge showed 0 and it stopped charging.

Optima yellow top I bought 2 days ago. Only radio, lights and gauges are running as that is all that is in the truck right now.

 

[ransil]

It is going dead while the truck is running.

The alt was replaced correctly and the gauge showed it was charging the battery yesterday. While at the shop it was left running and charged battery up and ran great for 2 days. ALT Gauge showed 13 volts and alligator clipped tester showed 13.8 volts during recharge at shop.

Then all of a sudden ALT gauge showed 0 and it stopped charging.

Optima yellow top I bought 2 days ago. Only radio, lights and gauges are running as that is all that is in the truck right now.

Alt gauges do no measure volts.
"O" amps is OK as long as the battery is charged and you do not have all accessories on.

Amp gauge does not tell you much, stick a voltmeter on the battery and check it.

 

[70_Steve]

Did anyone check/replace the voltage regulator?

 

[Incognito]

Dead batt

I replaced the voltage regulator yesterday.

I disconnected the alternator completely and disconnected the negative battery cable. If I put the voltage meter between the negative battery cable and the negative battery terminal it reads 11.4 volts. Something is drawing somewhere.

I pulled the fuses 1 by 1 and nothing changed.

I do not have any accessories. Just a centech harness and a stereo and a tachometer. Everything else is stock right now.

Any ideas prior to me disconnecting everything one by one.

 

[PaulS]

as long as the voltage is less than battery volts the leakage is to small to wory about. The diodes in your alternator could show a voltage lower than battery volts. With the car running check the volts from one end of a battery cable to the other end. Check the voltage from the battery post to the wire while it is connected to the battery. Any reading of 0.5 Vdc or more means the part or connection is bad. Those are called "Voltage Drop" tests and that is the way to trouble shoot the electrical system. If you find a voltage drop of "battery volts" then you have a broken wire or open circuit unless you are checking across a component - then it is either working or open circuited.
On to your problem. If the lights and radio work but the engine won't start or run then you have a problem in the starter or ignition circuit.
Battery volts should be 12.6 to 13.4 when it is at rest. (nothing on full charge)
when the engine is running the battery volts should be 13.2 to 14.5 volts.
If the battery volts are right then your problem is not in the charging system.

 

[Incognito]

Voltage Regulator part #

I installed the new voltage regulator and it is charging but it is drawing 1.5 volts from the battery when ignition is off.

Old regulator was not charging.

The old part# is Transpo f540HXD 12v 0377-It has a round plastic cylinder attached to a plastic plate on the back side


new part # is 4184A05 - no round plastic piece on back

radio was drawing the 11.5 volts when everything shut off. I am rewiring it.

What is the correct part # for a voltage requlator for 67 with 289.

Thanks

 

[RRRAAAYYY2]

Ok, if you have a modern stereo in your truck, you will always have a small draw in your system.

The system draws amps, not volts, so the 1.5 volts doesnt make sense.

Here is a link on how to do a voltage drop test: http://www.svapowerproducts.com/html/voltage_drop.html

If your battery is reading 11.4 volts it is way under charged, and needs to be put on a charger. A fully charged vehicle with no accessories on should only draw about 8 to 10 amps. 2-4amps for the battery and 3-5amps for coil. So amn amp meter should always show some outrput when the vehicle is running. If it shows more than 15amps with everything off, you have a bad battery. (cracked plate, warped plated, or interplate connector trouble, will test fine with every other test though)

As for the regulators, Transpo makes a electronic regular unit, HD unit, and XHD unit. The XHD unit you had is very expensive, like $30 I think, too bad it failed. Are you plugging the regulators in before mounting them? If so you are blowing them up by doing it that way, they need to be bolted down before being plugged in.


Get your battery recharged. Start the truck and take a voltage reading at the back of the alternator. Then phone me with it 519-732-8480 (I am out of the shop for another few weeks, that is my cell number)