any ideas for electrical problem?

I got it started!:biggrin2:I took the battery to Checkers and they said it was just fine and they charged it a little and checked it again and it was still fine. The partial charge gave it enough juice to start my truck with a jump from my mom`s truck and I went for a nice long drive to give it a chance to fully charge. I think once I go back to driving it everyday along with disconnecting the battery it should be okay but I`m still going to try and find the cause of it.
I wanted to clarify that the problem with it cutting out WHILE I was driving when I turned on anything that used electricity was due to the Batttery Brain thing freaking out because it was detecting that there was not enough power left in the battery. Without the Battery Brain it just doesn`t start without a jump unless it`s been driven for more than short trips to give the alternator time to charge it to the point that when I leave it parked it isn`t drained to the point of not starting by the time I come back.
I found a multimeter in their garage so I`m going to be able to see what circuit is draining but my mom said that that`s what the mechanic did and when he tried to go through the wiring in that circuit he found that it had been rewired to the point that the factory service manual didn`t apply at all. If I removed the fuse to the circuit that is draining before I get out of my truck would that eliminate the drain or would it start to cause problems with pulling the fuse in and out all the time? I`m also going to do my own test of wether that battery is holding charge or not with the multimeter. My alternator is charging the battery at the correct rate as verified by a machine but I`ll check that with the multi too.
Thanks so much for all your help guys. The mechanic won`t EXPLAIN anything and treats me like I`m an idiot. Maybe being 16 and a female has something to do with it but you guys have been great. :bigok:
 
It's really cool that you're so willing to repair this problem yourself. Many guys, older guys, would have given up a long time ago.

Although your wiring has been altered to the point that even the service manuals have become redundant, you should still be able to fix that problem. Your question about pulling the fuse to the problem circuit: pulling the fuse to stop the drain will work, and it shouldn't really cause problems. However, it's only a band-aid solution. Once you've found the problem circuit, it should be pretty easy to actually fix the short. Say it turns out to be the circuit that controls the cig. lighter and the power windows, check the obvious spots first, like the connections at the back of the lighter socket, and at the switches. I'd also be checking areas around the firewall for chaffed wires. Look for things like burnt out relays or poor connections in the fuse panels too.

Keep us updated!
 
If you have a 96 month, take it back and tell them that something is draining the battery and let them fix it. You should be able to get back the cost of the battery also. Every time the battery is drained to 60/70% it is getting damaged and cutting life out of the battery. Without fixing the problem you will need a new battery shortly. The first thing that is needed is to check the battery with a load test then have the charging system checked. If both are OK you will need to find the drain. To find the problem a amp probe that measures milli-amps needs to be attached to the main positive + lead off the battery. With the vehicle off, key out of ignition, doors closed you should get a 26 mA reading, as duzuck (thanks duzuck, good to know) stated. If the reading is higher you need to systematically disconnect/pull fuses in the fuse box until the reading drops to approx 26 mA. Also if there are any added circuits attached to the battery (Which I would check first) should be disconnected. You should be able to find a common problem. If you do not find it this way, you will need to take it to an expert. It could get very difficult to find this problem sometimes.

Koz
 
Alright so I got a multimeter because the probes on the one my friends had were broken. When I put the red probe to my disconnected red battery wire with the black probe touching my positive(red) post with the negative battery cable still hooked up I got a reading of .020-.026 mA. I think I had it right but if anybody can spot something I did wrong speak up. So is my drain just being it`s intermittent self or is it definitely my alternator? I had it on the 400mADC setting. I went ahead and checked it with each fuse pulled and it was kind of erratic with one of the fuses(not lower though) but otherwise didn`t change at all. When I have the red probe in the V/weird arch symbol/mA socket the meter didn`t detect any drain at all. Once I moved it to the 10A socket it detected the small draw. Charging system has been checked twice and both times they said it was fine but I`m problaly going to get it checked at another shop before I give up.
I`ve got the readout from their machine. It says that when my battery is charged 100% it has a charge of 12.79V. The load test says that the load off is 13.16V and the load on is 13.20V. What`s up with that! It also says for the starter test Cranking Voltage Normal:11.14V. It also has Diodes Ripple Normal and at the bottom System Normal. So maybe it`s too much of a load for my battery? I only glanced at it before but now I`m thinking that`s kind of strange for my load to be higher than my battery charge at 100%. Maybe I should take it to another shop and ask them to take a quick look at the readout.
 
Here`s a photo of part of the readout. It was too faded to get a clear photo of so I went over it with a Sharpie.

DSC00420.jpg~original
 
CathyG said:
Alright so I got a multimeter because the probes on the one my friends had were broken. When I put the red probe to my disconnected red battery wire with the black probe touching my positive(red) post with the negative battery cable still hooked up I got a reading of .020-.026 mA. I think I had it right but if anybody can spot something I did wrong speak up. So is my drain just being it`s intermittent self or is it definitely my alternator? I had it on the 400mADC setting. I went ahead and checked it with each fuse pulled and it was kind of erratic with one of the fuses(not lower though) but otherwise didn`t change at all. When I have the red probe in the V/weird arch symbol/mA socket the meter didn`t detect any drain at all. Once I moved it to the 10A socket it detected the small draw. Charging system has been checked twice and both times they said it was fine but I`m problaly going to get it checked at another shop before I give up.
I`ve got the readout from their machine. It says that when my battery is charged 100% it has a charge of 12.79V. The load test says that the load off is 13.16V and the load on is 13.20V. What`s up with that! It also says for the starter test Cranking Voltage Normal:11.14V. It also has Diodes Ripple Normal and at the bottom System Normal. So maybe it`s too much of a load for my battery? I only glanced at it before but now I`m thinking that`s kind of strange for my load to be higher than my battery charge at 100%. Maybe I should take it to another shop and ask them to take a quick look at the readout.
Click to expand...

Good work. Doesn't look like you have a drain now but like you said it might be intermittent (now the bad news, that is the worst kind to find.) Which circuit gave the erratic reading?
Put that aside for now and assume no drain. You can partially recheck the other work for free by plugging the red probe into the V/Omega socket (the "weird arch symbol" is the Greek symbol Omega; the V/Omega is the plug for attaching the red probe to check Voltages or Resistances.) Check the voltage state of your battery under various conditions with the meter set to 20 or more on the [edit] VDC (V/hatched line) dial/setting. The readings you want to take are (1) vehicle off and not run in the previous 1/2 hour, (2) vehicle running with as many things turned off as possible (no load state), (3) vehicle running with everthing on (load state), (4) turn off all the loads and let it idle for a few minutes, then the voltage as soon as possible after turning off the vehicle (this is the battery residual surface charge and you should see it steadily drop.)
Hope I didn't confuse you. Get back to us with the numbers.
 
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after being off for more than 30 minutes: 11.85V I couldn`t get the rest because the truck wouldn`t start. I`ll get a jump and drive around for awhile before I get the others.
With that voltage shouldn`t my truck start?
I unscrewed most of the panels I could reach and looked for uninsulated wires. I found a five foot antenna on my dash (compacted of course). :confused: It had rolled to the front where you can`t see anything. I also found two spare keys to my truck, some keychains, assorted screws, and a few clippy looking things.:D I unscrewed the door that has the window that that guy rewired and found that the door light had the wire in the back unattached. I put it back but my truck wasn`t starting before when I knew the light was working so I know that isn`t it.Might have made it worse though. I found a bunch of uninsulated wires and I`ll put some electrical tape around them soon as I can get some. I also checked the fuses under the hood and none of them made the draw drop.
 
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CathyG said:
after being off for more than 30 minutes: 11.85V I couldn`t get the rest because the truck wouldn`t start. I`ll get a jump and drive around for awhile before I get the others.
With that voltage shouldn`t my truck start?
Click to expand...

This is the same battery that they tested as good at 12.79 V? How big is this battery (cranking Amps or Cold Cranking Amps rating?) Now would be a good time to repeat the drain test from the + post to the + wire.
My gut still thinks it is your alternator/charging system.
 
Also...
You should be able to crank over with anything above 11V which leads me to another suspect. The battery + is directly connected to the starter solenoid. There is no fuse involved and if the solenoid sticks (you guessed it, intermittently) it might cause a drain. Plus the solenoid may not activate to crank. Which leads me to one of my earlier questions: is it cranking, even slowly, or just clicking or nothing (dead, no sound) when you try to start it? If there is no sound then it is a dead spot in your starter/solenoid.
Since you can't start it I assume you can do the following test on a cold engine. Trace the large red wire from the battery to the starter. Is it (the wire) warm along the length or at the starter end or is the starter solenoid warmer than the rest of the engine?
If it isn't your starter then you can take the next step to test your alternator (after checking voltages from the earlier post.) Get the vehicle started. With it idling and no major loads on you should disconnect the negative (-) battery cable. The vehicle should continue to run. If it doesn't then you aren't generating enough power (you need an alternator) or you have a loose connection somewhere else. If it stays running, check the voltage from the - cable to the + battery post.
Good luck. Let us know.
 
CA @ 32 degrees: 710
CCA @ 0 degrees: 570
Drain test is still fine. I`m getting it jumped and taking it to get the alternator checked again. This time I`m going to a different shop. No drain at all doesn`t make any sense. I`ll keep checking it though. 12.79 is supposed to be it`s max charge. I forgot to add before but I had my battery cables off most of that time. And when I had them on it wasn`t detecting a drain. It almost has to be my charging system. I`m still going to be looking through my wiring but I think you`re right about it being the alternator or something in the charging system. I`ll replace the battery cables too.
 
That battery is plenty big enough.
Is the starter engaging or not even trying?
You can do your own down and dirty alternator test as outlined previously to see if it is even worth taking for a 3rd opinion.
 
Something is clicking but that`s it. If it starts to kind of chug I can get it started but it`s not doing that. Battery has 11.80V and still has a drain of .022 mA. Guess I can add starter and starter solenoid to my list of things to get checked. Starter and cables were both cold.
 
CathyG said:
Something is clicking but that`s it. If it starts to kind of chug I can get it started but it`s not doing that. Battery has 11.80V and still has a drain of .022 mA. Guess I can add starter and starter solenoid to my list of things to get checked. Starter and cables were both cold.
Click to expand...

The 11.85 to 11.80 voltage drop was over what time frame? This voltage seems low but OK to me because you were also trying to crank it over which would account for some of the drop. The battery should be able to crank the starter but instead the clicking sound is more than likely the starter solenoid. It isn't getting enough power to engage. It may be a simple fix of the red + battery cable to the starter is corroded or the starter end of the cable or connection is damaged. Take a look at that cable (if you really want to get brave to test this use a jumper cable from the + battery post to the + starter post (if it is accessible) then try to start the engine.)
Another long shot to complete that circuit is the - battery ground cable. What kind of shape is it in? The starter is grounded to the engine by it's mounting but is there a ground wire from the engine to the frame/chassis and what condition is it in?
 
I found the cause of the problem, finally! The starter solinoid and alternator are BOTH in need of replacement. The people I was dog sitting for came home and jumped my truck. My friends dad tapped my starter solenoid and the car started right up. When he removed the negative wire it went dead again. I`m going to see what is involved in installing those two parts and may look into doing it myself with him helping me. I`m also seeing if I can take an auto class at another high school since mine doesn`t have ANY vocational courses. I want to be able to work on my truck and do my own maintenance and small repairs. Again thanks for all your help guys. I would have just gone on the mechanics word that I had an electrical drain and given up on the truck if I didn`t have you guys telling me how to double check their work. New starter solinoid and alternator are goin in soon as possible. :bigok:
 
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CathyG said:
I found the problem, finally! The starter solinoid and alternator are BOTH in need of replacement. The people I was dog sitting for came home and jumped... My friends dad tapped my starter solenoid and the car started right up. When he removed the negative wire it went dead again. I`m going to see what is involved in installing those two parts and may look into doing it myself with him helping me. I`m also seeing if I can take an auto class at another high school since mine doesn`t have ANY vocational courses. I want to be able to work on my truck and do my own maintenance and small repairs. Again thanks for all your help guys. I would have just gone on the mechanics word that I had an electrical drain and given up on the truck if I didn`t have you guys telling me how to double check their work. New starter solinoid and alternator are goin in soon as possible. :bigok:
Click to expand...

You might want to rephrase that first part...
Glad to see you're getting into the mechanical/electrical yourself. There are rebuilt starters and alternators at any good auto electric supply. Ask around. The alternator is easier to change than the starter (crawling underneath.) Check the 4 voltages (as earlier in this thread) after all the work is done. This will give you a baseline to go from for future reference. Your battery should get up to or more than 12.5V and stay there overnight.
Good work!
 
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Great work Cathy. Sorry I couldn't help during the weekend, I usually don't visit the site on the weekends.

When you got the 20/26 mA reading, that indicated there was no drain (or maybe intermitting). The load test showed the battery to be OK. After the battery checked out OK all the connections and starter/solenoid needed to be eliminated. That leaves the charging system. If the alternator was bad you should have been able to see that right away with a voltage test (should see somewhere near 14.5 volts) while the engine was running or the engine dying when the alternator was disconnected. These are the most common places for problems and need to be eliminated as the problem before going any further. That would have saved you allot grief right from the get go. From your previous posts I was under the assumption the battery and charging systems checked out OK. I also didn't know that you were willing to dig right in there. I
 
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CathyG,
How did you make out? Did you find rebuilt parts or go new? Did you get your hands dirty yet?
 
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