Need help ASAP: Charging problems!

[badmuthatrucka]

Okay, I just got done with my HG replacement about a month ago. Two and one-half weeks after the job was done, my battery died, leaving me stranded. Got a jump, was able to drive home, and took out the alternator. Had it tested, it checks out. Had the battery tested, brand new Optima red-top, it checks out. I read part of this thread http://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-te...0-150-amp.html
to find out if what I thought was the fusible link was, indeed, the fusible link. It is. Is this the only fusible link? Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I should start looking at/fiddling with things? It has been suggested to take apart the fusible link, clean it, and put new dielectric grease on it and seal it back up.

Please help me!

[Romer]

Have you used an ohm meter to verify your ground? Cleaned posts?

[badmuthatrucka]

Everything seems to check out with the Ohmmeter and my posts are clean already. That's why I'm confused, everything that should be wrong, or causing this problem, seems to be right.

Maybe I'll have to name my 80 Molly, because it's an anomaly.

[Romer]

put the meter between the positive terminal and positive cable to see if something is drawing power when the truck is off

Could it be a bad battery?

[e9999]

don't know much about alternator checks, but is it obvious that these checks test under full load? IOW, could it be that your alt does provide some power but not enough to fully charge things up?

[TrickyT]

I have read several Mud posts or had stories related to me over the past few months about alternator problems after head gasket replacement. Usually these problems have been related to overheating of the output post on the alternator which then causes copper wires to oxidize or wire insulation to melt, eventually leading to high resistance connections and other problems (e.g. engine won't start). I suspect many/all of these problems are due to improper torquing of the nut on the alternator output post and/or not tightening down the bolts on the alternator mounting bracket and thus causing a poor ground connection to the alternator. You should carefully check the wiring at the back of you alternator. In particular, there's a large white wire that runs from the fusible links to a O-ring lug that attaches to the output post on the alternator, and a second white wire running from this same O-ring to the fuse block in the passenger compartment. These wires carry a lot of current and so if there's any resistance in the connections there's a correspondingly large voltage drop and heating at the point of resistance. Look to see if there's any sign of the wires overheating where they attach to the alternator. Here's an extreme example of what I'm talking about: IH8MUD.com Forum - View Single Post - Real time help

I'm only guessing that this may be your problem, but I now know of at least four instances of similar problems occurring after replacing the head gasket and so this is beginning to look like a pattern to me.

[BrotherRob]

Have you checked the battery to see if it is dead vs. some other problem? A weak connection to the starter or bad contacts can look like a bad battery. I would start there, a charged battery work lead you to starter problems, a dead one indicates charging issue.
The alternater is delivering some power or you wouldn't go far after a jump. Its possible the its not working at its optimum due to some of the issues that Tricky T mentioned.

[badmuthatrucka]

Okay, I am going to say that I have no idea what I am talking about, because that isn't too far from the truth. So I will give a detailed lilst of everything I can think of as being out of the ordinary.

- After finishing HG rebuild, when turning off truck I would hear a beeping, like an alarm system. I do not have a fob with alarm buttons, or fob at all. I had never heard this beeping before.

- For the first two weeks after HG, volt meter would read right above the middle line (can anyone tell me what voltage that is supposed to be?). Following this time period, the meter would read there at first, then shoot up to the 18v mark, and turn on the warning light. This would happen for about 2-3 mins, then go back to normal.

- In the few days before the first time the cruiser died, the voltage would drop a little whenever I used the power windows or door locks, and then return to normal.

- Since I've started having this problem, RPMs make no difference to the voltage being displayed on the volt meter.

- Tested the battery after the rig died, it was at about 3 volts.

- Charged the battery overnight, took it in. Everything checked out fine. Good battery.

- Took out the alternator immediately when I got the rig home after the first stall. Had it tested within 30 mins of shut-down. Alternator was fine.

I am going to check that wiring harness on the back of the alternator tonight, and see what I can find. Maybe I don't understand exactly where I am supposed to place my probe leads to test the fusible links, or the battery, or the alternator, or even to test if I'm experiencing an ID-10T error. Any questions, suggestions, help, or even heckling would be great right now.

[BrotherRob]

The beeping sound makes me wonder if you have an alarm system that reset itself when the power was disconnected. You might search factory alarms and see if you can find a control box. An alarm shouldn't put much stress on the electrical system but likely has an ignition kill.

The meter on the dash is a voltage meter. It will display the battery voltage before starting. It should increase notably after starting and then settle to a level slightly above the starting voltage while the engine is running. Its not a precise tool but it can give a ballpark idea of what's happening.

I would continue checking the battery especially in the evening and after sitting overnight. See if its holding or loosing power. That will narrow down the possibilities. If you've not done so, make sure all the connections are clean and tight.

Was your HG done in a shop? If so talk to them about the symptoms. Find out what connections were disconnected, altered or possibly damaged.