Topic: battery or alternator problems

[junya92toy]

So I was driving to work today. The stereo would at random turn off, then turn back on. I turned the heater fan on and the truck died for a second, then came to life again. I saw the volt meter in the dash would drop every time I turned the fan on. The truck started fine in the morning, when I got home today I turned the headlights on and started it up again 5 times in a row. The lights only dimmed alittle and it start right up everytime. I put it on a trickle charger and within 30 mins it was at full charge. Also when the volt meter would drop causing the engine to die, I could hear a whine in the speakers. Like the the voltage regulator wasnt working. I drove home today, no problems. The positive end on the battery is tight and no corrosion. The negitive was tight and had just a tiny bit of corrosion. Any ideas? I have a oil leak and the alt is covered in old oil too.

[Toymin8r]

sounds like a poltergeist           

[Rocksurfer]

I had a similar problem, couldn't figure it out for the life of me. My truck would just do random things that didn't make any sense. Turns out that there was a broken piece of one of the plates in my battery floating around randomly shorting out my battery. It took Willy Mammoth a trip out from Florida to find that one.

[junya92toy [OP]]

The battery is a yellow top optima

[Rocksurfer]

Guess nothing will be floating around since you be gellin'.

[junya92toy [OP]]

I tested my cig lighter, it reads 14 volts when the truck is running and 13 when its not

[yota_krawler]

dude thats weird, Is your wiring all chopped up and spliced?

[junya92toy [OP]]

nope the wiring is all uncut and nice

[1980 swap Under Construction]

voltage regulator is going out!

[Dr.Maxwe001]

is it a internal regulator or external regulator mechanical or eletric

[gnob]

check that little power wire from the battery to the fuse box.
if the battery is holding a charge, the alternator intermittently not charging isnt going to cause the truck to die, unless its direct shorting.

[*ROKTOY*]

I would check the wiring from the alternator to the fuse block under the hood, and the wiring running from it to the interior. Sounds like an intermittent problem.

[84pickup]

my truck was just doing that too. i had just gotten a brand new alternator and a battery too. i took it to oreillys and they put a tester on it and it said the regulator (external) was bad so i got a new one and problem solved!

[junya92toy [OP]]

But it only happened when I turned on a power draw

[Snowtoy]

All a vehicle battery is designed to do is turn the engine over, all other power needs come from the alternator.  Other than something like above where the battery is shorting out and causing a large draw when it shorts, the battery shouldn't have any effect on the vehicle when running.

It sounds as if the alternator is producing just enough amps to run the engine, but not not much else else.  This could be why you read a 14 volt output when the engine is running, yet have an issue whenever you turn something on.  Either pull the alternator or take it to a shop that can actually measure the amount of amps it is producing.  If it isn't producing correctly that is your problem, if it is, then you have wiring issues somewhere else.

[junya92toy [OP]]

Actually most cars now run off the battery and the alt keeps it in full charge.  As the car is actually running. You can Unhook the alt and still drive the car.

[gnob]

do not unhook the battery on a running computer car to check the alternator.
it can cause a voltage spike that can kill the ecu.
either check voltage or amp output and service the alt off the car.

[junya92toy [OP]]

O trust me I wouldnt unhook the battery from a running car. I worked for a honda dealership for 7 years.