Weird Electrical Issue

[9dawgs]

Ok, I had something strange happen on the way to work on Thursday.  I was cruising along, listening to my IPod plugged into my radio/cassette player and came to a 4-way stop.  When I turned on my turn signal the radio turned off and turned back on.  This happened throughout the rest of the drive every time I turn on the blinkers, either direction.  So I turned the radio off on the way home because it was bugging me.  The next day, I got in the truck to leave and it was dead.  I turned the key and nothing.  Not even a click, no lights, nothing.  It was like the battery was pulled out of it.  I went ahead and pulled the battery and put it on a trickle charge in the garage.

My question before I start tearing into it is this...is there any common point where the wires will chafe and ground out?  I know it's got to be an open wire somewhere but is there some place that's common to these trucks?  Any help would be GREATLY appreciated.

[crazzywolfie]

might want to be checking out the fusible links on the drivers side fender. after your battery is charged and you got it hooked up you should fire the truck up and see what the voltage at the battery is with the truck running.

[9dawgs]

Thanks, I'll check it out.  At least its a place to start. I'll let you know.

[SixGun]

Just thought I'd throw this out there and maybe it'll help.  My truck had a problem with the starter switch.  On occasion my radio, blinkers and some interior lights wouldn't work.  I thought it had something to do with the heater switch since it seemed to happen during that time for some reason and I would turn the key on and off till it went away.  One day my son noticed that the lighted key ring around the cylinder would cut out one time when he rode with me and it happened.  I obviously couldn't see it when I was driving.  We noticed that it had some play in the lighted ring and it would move back and forth.  When it does happen now, I just move it forward or back till it works.  No problem...

[9dawgs]

Thanks for the tip.  I figured out the battery drain issue I think.  Looks like my door light button crapped out on me.  I noticed that the dash light was on when I reinstalled my battery so I moved the switch it to the other position.  It stayed on when I shut the door, so I moved it back the other way and it still stayed on.  I just put it in the center and shut it off completely. 

On the turn signal/radio issue I still haven't figured that one. I did remove the fuse panel and noticed the turn signal and radio fuses were right next to each other.  I wiggled the wires behind the fuses but couldn't duplicate the problem.  I'm thinking it's somewhere down stream.  So I'm just going to wait and see if the battery drains again.  If it does then I know its a related problem.  Just been too dang hot and humid outside to get much done on the truck.  This summer has been very wet and very hot.

[crazzywolfie]

you should upgrade to LED lights so that you never have that issue ever again. i got led lights installed everywhere in my ramcharger. i think my sister might have accidentally left my tailgate open all night once but since i LED lights it didn't drain the battery. 

[SixGun]

Shoot if 9dawgs left his tailgate open one night, there might be a gator inside in the morning.   

[9dawgs]

Shoot if 9dawgs left his tailgate open one night, there might be a gator inside in the morning.   

Ha! You don't know how close you are to being right on this one!

Had a snake in the kitchen a couple of days ago.  I was out mowing the grass when my youngest daughter came out and let me know. That's life in the swamp...

[crazzywolfie]

lol. well i didn't mean tailgate wide open. i just mean not latched so the lights would come on.

[9dawgs]

Hey would a faulty alternator cause this issue? 

Also I'm looking on the NAPA site and they have a 78 amp and a 60 amp alternator for the same price.  I'm leaning towards the 78 amp cuz you all know more is better. My question is, would this be a problem for my truck?

[rjtx667]

they should be able to test the alternator for ya to see if its bad, as far as the larger one, just make sure the wire from the alternator to the battery is big enough to carry the load.

[crazzywolfie]

did you ever check to see if the alternator is charging the battery with a voltage meter? i would almost be wondering if the battery might be on its way out. i have heard that if you completely drain a battery it usually shortens the batteries life by half.

[9dawgs]

did you ever check to see if the alternator is charging the battery with a voltage meter? i would almost be wondering if the battery might be on its way out. i have heard that if you completely drain a battery it usually shortens the batteries life by half.

Yeah, I had the truck running and hooked up a tester to it.  It wasn't putting out hardly anything.  I will have them check it at the auto parts store though just to be sure.  Looks like the culprit though.

[crazzywolfie]

did you also test what the voltage output at the alternator was. maybe there is a bad connection between the alternator and the battery.  if possible it might be a good idea to clean up your ground connections.

[9dawgs]

did you also test what the voltage output at the alternator was. maybe there is a bad connection between the alternator and the battery.  if possible it might be a good idea to clean up your ground connections.

Hmmm, no I didn't do that.  May be something to do tomorrow. It's easy enough to remove though.  I may just take it down to put it on their tester.  Not real confident in the parts store fellas though cause sometimes I think they just want to sell you the part.