Odd electrical issue

Titanpat57

Titanpat57

Senior Member
I'm having a strange electrical experience with my truck. I go to turn it on, the truck goes completely dead...no warning lights, exterior or interior lights...nothing.

I take out my booster battery charger...it sits on there for 3 to 5 minutes, and boom, starts right up. It started about 2 weeks ago, it went a few days before it did it again, and now it seems to be increasing. This morning when it did the charge thing...the head unit went crazy trying to reset, reset, reset.

A little background. I have a group 31 Northstar, 4 years old, but just had it tested at the dealer a few weeks ago and they say it's fine. I do run a 100w panel on the roof, and a small fridge inside....it's been shut off for a few days now. I have a bunch of things wired into the truck...but everything goes to a separate fused panel, and nothing appears to be blown. The only thing cut into the original wiring harness is the remote start that was installed by the dealer.

Thoughts?

Thanks in advance
 
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Hi, I would double check all of your wires going to your Northstar. Look for a loose connection. Maybe making contact most of time and then not. You charging it and hooking up the cables may be just enough for contact to be made again. If you dont find anything just for confirmation. I would have someone else check your battery. I think loose wire or battery post connector.

You could also put in the run position next time it does it and go under the hood and see if you can move the wires around and see if you can get vehicle to energize that way without the charger first.
 
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Appears to me to be a battery that will not hold a charge very long. I would disconnect all your extras on the added fuse panel to see if it still happens.

Another item would be to disconnect the + lead from the battery and insert an ammeter to see if there is very much current being drawn when all is off. Close the drivers door to make the overhead lights turn off too. Mine runs 125 ma with everything off after s short time.

Check the battery voltage when its running to see if it's charging the battery enough. 13.6 or higher should show, then drop to 12 when turned off.

Then I would get a new battery if all looks OK.

Mine did not give me any warning, one slow crank and start, then it died.
 
I would take it and have the battery, charging and electrical system tested. A good tester will check the battery status, battery under load, alternator output and charging system. You could have a bad diode in the alternator and not charging the battery properly.

Checking all connections (as mentioned) is a good idea too. Battery terminals and cable ends for tightness and corrosion. Also ground connection to frame and alternator connections for same.
 
Pat,
You took it to a Dealer?
Your better than that. ask Antman, LOL
all kidding aside it Sounds like a battery went south.
 
Ok folks...nice sunny day here in NY...amp meter at the rear says 14.2.where the solar panel comes in ...take a reading at the battery, it says 14.2.

Go to start the truck"click" everything is dead...almost like its grounding out or something. I guess tomorrow I'll disconnect all the ancillary accessories wired in, and start from ground zero. If I still have a good reading at the battery, all accessories are disconnected, and she still wont start, I guess I'm headed back to dealer on Monday.

I started it with the jump pack today...I'm lost.
 
You can try this to get a better idea of your batteries condition. Completely disconnect the battery, use some 12v accessory to knock the surface charge off it and let the battery sit for a day then take reading at the posts.
 
You are working too much, and do not go to a dealer, even if you like them. Go buy a new battery, Optima, AGM or whatever you like. You may have lots of time with the restrictions, but do something more fun.

This was not fun either -- I just finished an oil change and had more trouble than usual with the skid plate. The front tabs are now gone.
 
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honda250xtitan said:
x2 battery
Click to expand...
nice
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Titanpat57 said:
Ok folks...nice sunny day here in NY...amp meter at the rear says 14.2.where the solar panel comes in ...take a reading at the battery, it says 14.2.

Go to start the truck"click" everything is dead...almost like its grounding out or something. I guess tomorrow I'll disconnect all the ancillary accessories wired in, and start from ground zero. If I still have a good reading at the battery, all accessories are disconnected, and she still wont start, I guess I'm headed back to dealer on Monday.

I started it with the jump pack today...I'm lost.
Click to expand...


Sounds like a dead battery to me. How are you measuring battery condition? You cannot use a volt meter... must use a battery tester that loads the battery.

Cause of low battery could be a short somewhere... or slow draw on battery. But first step is check battery condition properly. Good luck
 
Titanpat57 said:
I'm having a strange electrical experience with my truck. I go to turn it on, the truck goes completely dead...no warning lights, exterior or interior lights...nothing.
Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I am having the same issue.....when it sits idle for more than a couple days, it won't start....think its a battery problem.....going to take it Advance Auto Parts for a test
 
I had battery run down a while ago. I had a telematics device plugged into the OBDC port. Found it due to the current draw test, then removed it.
 
My issues were low current draw and sitting parked in garage too long. Battery tested fine. Put a charger on it and it’s fine. Bought a small trickle charger for COVID inactivity!
 
Ok...well it's been strange at best.

After 2 visits they dealership with all their top level qualified mechanics were able to determine is was some lose grounds on the truck...nothing I wired in.

The battery is also still good, and they replaced the alternator, all work was covered under the Platinum warranty.

Thanks for the responses.
 
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