Help Now! Im stuck.....Please help

[twenty2]

To make a long story short, yesterday when I was putting up Christmas lights up for 5 1/2 hours, I was listening to the truck radio with my key in the ON position. When I was done, I started up my truck and it was dead. I jumped the rig, and it started.

Problem now is when I drive the truck down the road, my truck dies! RPM's drop to zero causing the truck to shut off.

The truck starts right up, but I notice that my battery voltage seems just below 14 fluctuating.

When im at idol and i put on heater ON, my truck dies. You can notice the idol goto ZERO as soon as the heater kicks in.

Is it my battery or my alternator??? Please help..

[s_c5519]

I had a smililar situation and it ended up being a dead cell in the battery or something... You can narrow yours down to the battery too since the last thing you did was listen to the stereo for that long...

I was just installing a USA Spec Ipod adapter in my Escalade the other day and it killed the battery in about 15 minutes! I had the radio on at the time (on position) and the truck is brand new with 200 miles on it. I jumped it and it has been fine since, but I don't think yours is a comin back...

[twenty2]

Originally Posted by s_c5519

I had a smililar situation and it ended up being a dead cell in the battery or something... You can narrow yours down to the battery too since the last thing you did was listen to the stereo for that long...

I was just installing a USA Spec Ipod adapter in my Escalade the other day and it killed the battery in about 15 minutes! I had the radio on at the time (on position) and the truck is brand new with 200 miles on it. I jumped it and it has been fine since, but I don't think yours is a comin back...

Ill try the battery first. I think this battery I have now was at least 4 1/2yrs old already

[timgco]

gotta be the battery

[twenty2]

Originally Posted by timgco

gotta be the battery

what kind of battery are you guys running? I dont want to get a yellow top

[Marauder]

It cant be the battery alone.

The battery is used to start the vehicle. Yours starts fine obviously. Once the truck is running it will/can run off the voltage supplied by the alternator.

You need to buy a decent battery charger and charge it then see how it acts. It is NOT good for the alternator to try and charge a dead battery.

New battery wouldn't be a bad idea. Once a traditional battery (lead acid, not gel cell) is drawn down to almost nothing, it very rarely will charge back to full capacity.

(on a side note, it wouldnt be a bad idea to clean the battery terminals and reconnect to ensure good connection.)

[twenty2]

Originally Posted by Marauder

It cant be the battery alone.

The battery is used to start the vehicle. Yours starts fine obviously. Once the truck is running it will/can run off the voltage supplied by the alternator.

You need to buy a decent battery charger and charge it then see how it acts. It is NOT good for the alternator to try and charge a dead battery.

New battery wouldn't be a bad idea. Once a traditional battery (lead acid, not gel cell) is drawn down to almost nothing, it very rarely will charge back to full capacity.

(on a side note, it wouldnt be a bad idea to clean the battery terminals and reconnect to ensure good connection.)

I had my battery checked, and it was good.. So, I took off my alternator and had that checked... and that turned out good..... I put everything back and when I went to drive it, it was fine.. But, at idol... it dies....

[timgco]

Originally Posted by twenty2

what kind of battery are you guys running? I dont want to get a yellow top

Last truck had a yellow top. It was good for the 12 months I had it.

If you have a programmer, see if you can pop any codes. 4 years out of a battery is pretty good btw.

[twenty2]

Originally Posted by timgco

Last truck had a yellow top. It was good for the 12 months I had it.

If you have a programmer, see if you can pop any codes. 4 years out of a battery is pretty good btw.

no codes come up.... some people control m have said it may be a bad idle air motor since it wont idle right as soon as its in drive..

[edbrick]

Its the battery. The same thing happened to my 71 vette. Took it to the shop and they said the battery and alt were fine. It kept stranding me so I replaced the battery and never had a problem again.

[s_c5519]

I was gonna say the same thing, have someone else recheck the battery, the first place probably didn't do a thorough test. I had to go to a couple different places when taht happened to me, one place said it was fine and the GM dealer found the bad cell and replaced the battery under warranty... Once you have to jump a battery more than a few times, it is never the same...

I think you are looking to deep... It is just too much of a coincidence it happened while the car was in on for hours...

[porschett]

If your battery is 4.5 years old, it's either shot or on it's way. Why not just replace it now? You can do it now or next month, but at 4.5 years, it's only a matter of time!

[MVR 155]

Originally Posted by porschett

If your battery is 4.5 years old, it's either shot or on it's way. Why not just replace it now? You can do it now or next month, but at 4.5 years, it's only a matter of time!

I agree..... in the Chicagoland area with the crazy temperature fluctuation and cold winter starts I would say you have done quite well getting a battery to last over 4 years.