Dead Battery (3x in 2mths) - 30A BAT Fuse has 500mA draw - what next?

[slingblade]

just my opinion, i changed the alternator out on my 99 lc today. i too had a battery go bad, then replaced it, and a few weeks later, it was too weak to start the vehicle. boost the vehicle off. use your voltmeter on the battery turn on everything in the car, heated seats defrosters and everything
rev engine to 1700-2000 rpm and tell me what the voltage is.

my voltage was 11.5 vdc, and my alternator was the culprit.

 

[agaisin]

just my opinion, i changed the alternator out on my 99 lc today. i too had a battery go bad, then replaced it, and a few weeks later, it was too weak to start the vehicle. boost the vehicle off. use your voltmeter on the battery turn on everything in the car, heated seats defrosters and everything
rev engine to 1700-2000 rpm and tell me what the voltage is.

my voltage was 11.5 vdc, and my alternator was the culprit.

13.3v at 2k rpm, but only ~12.5-12.8v when idling at ~700rpm.
that's with front defroster, both heat seaters at high, rear ac, rear defroster, side mirror defrosters on. i shutoff some of those like defrosters and heat seats and then V goes back up to 13.3.
actually it looks like when idling, just the rear defroster + both heat seaters + headlamps + foights takes the voltage down to 12.9v.

should i interpret that low voltage with a lot of accesories while idling as a sign that my alternator is on the fritz?

if so perhaps that explains my intermittent issues - i.e. ifi the weekend driving i do over a few consecutive weekend is more idling and low rpms (city driving) and lots of accessories perhaps my battery wasn't charging enough and might have run down?...

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[agaisin]

my voltage was 11.5 vdc, and my alternator was the culprit.

slingblade - after warmup, what's your voltage at idle and at 2k with a new/rebuilt alternator?

also - what did you replace w - rebuilt denso or something else?

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[agaisin]

Still monitoring, not sure what to conclude:
- Don't think I have a parasitic drain unless it's intermittent or only certain conditions
- don't think it's the battery (been through a few)
- don't think it's starter related
- perhaps a weak alternator?
- could there be a link to the intermittent double fast blinking and the battery drain? I don't think so, just throwin it out there.

Well, unfortunately, another dead battery this morning. I head towards the car to unlock it and instead of unlocking it just starts a wierd clicking noise which sounded like it was coming from the horn. I wanted to determine what it was so I started pulling fuses. I pulled the horn fuse and the clicking went fainter and changed pace. Continued pulling fuses and found that after pulling the FR-IG the clicking completely stopped.

WTF!!!!!

So now I'm wondering if I have an intermittent draw - perhaps a sticking relay? Anyone? I'm grasping at straws.

If I understand the wiring diagram at all, there shouldn't be power to the FR-IG fuse unless the IG1 No.1 Relay is on - but it shouldn't be when the car is off, right? Also, this FR-IG is connected to the Alternator IG terminal.

So is it possible that when I shut off my car last time the IG1 No.1 Relay stayed stuck open and drained my battery?

Or alternatively, is it possible that the Alternator is draining my battery and that's why FR-IG had power to it? Although wouldn't this type of drain be permanent rather than intermittent? In other words if a bad diode on the alternator was draining the battery wouldn't it always do that rather than once every month or two?

Also - can I even remove the IG1 No.1 Relay to replace it? I don't understand how to get to it. The description in the FSM is strange - it's a "built in relay" and it's supposedly in the engine room junction box but I don't see it. Do I need to remove the top of the junction box to access relays underneath?

Anyone with more understanding and knowledge on this?

Obviously very frustrating to say the least... Amazing thing is that in the past 9 months and 5+ times that I've had a damned dead battery, it's always been while we were home - annoying. I can't trust this vehicle until the problem is identified and resolved and I'm getting close to considering a drastic move :-(

 

[e9999]

everytime at home, eh...?
mmm... did your SO hint in the past that she would prefer to have an 80 instead...?

 

[agaisin]

everytime at home, eh...?
mmm... did your SO hint in the past that she would prefer to have an 80 instead...?

Ha! SO just wants a reliable safe suv for family trips. I do have a neighbor with an 80 series - maybe he's f'n with me?

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[Sandroad]

My ’04 LC has the same basic symptoms, except so far the battery has not died completely for a no-start. After 5 days of sitting in the driveway, my fully charged Diehard Platinum group 31 (installed compliments of parts from Shaggy101) is down to 11.63 volts. This has been a problem for a while. At one point I charged up the battery, disconnected it, and had only a 0.02 volt decrease after a week. So something about the LC is discharging the battery. The alternator puts out 14.2 volts and when I get done using the LC, the battery normally reads over 12.7 volts. When I do the meter in-line test for resting amperage draw, I have the short, higher, draw, and then a very small draw long-term. So small that the big deep-cycle group 31 battery should last for months. So far, the LC has always started, but when the battery voltage is that low, the engine cranks slowly. As soon as the weather turns cold, it will have trouble. Other than battery and alternator voltage checking, the only trouble-shooting I’ve done is remove all fuses related to the towing lights/converter. The stock converter is still in the vehicle and I suspected a defective converter as a draw. But no change in symptoms and towing fuses are all still out. I would not have noticed any of this if I drove the LC everyday. But I use it only a couple times a month and it’s definitely different than this time last year, so something has changed. Since the only thing I’ve done in that time is install the big battery, I’m going to investigate that more fully with load tests out of the vehicle.

 

[agaisin]

Update - I think I've had another 2 dead batteries since the last post in November. I was looking into BatteryBrain and PriorityStart as a temporary (relatively cheap) fix so I don't have to worry about getting stranded due to dead battery. I ended up ordering the PriorityStart - but it hasn't come yet and I don't want to worry about this during the holidays when we have trips planned. So I got a manual disconnect (http://www.wirthco.com/post-batteries-vertical-operation-p-475-l-en.html). Was afraid that hood clearance would be an issue, but in fully closed or fully opened position it fits fine - a little awkward due to juxtaposition with Junction Box but fits fine and fully functional.

So - that brings me to the real reason for the update. Up until now I've been testing draw by disconnecting the negative cable and then connecting my ammeter in series. That means I'm always disconnecting the battery in order to test for draw - essentially 'resetting' ecus etc. That's fine for parasitic drains that are constant - like a short circuit - despite disconnecting the battery, once the battery is connected again you'll see the drain. However - in my case, it seems like I've got an intermittent issue - either intermittent drain or intermittent short that I don't think I've ever caught in action and I don't know the 'trigger' condition - for example, if jostling around sometimes causes the issue, or if I've got a bad/flaky ecu/computer it only triggers the condition under special circumstances maybe a few hours after shuttof, or after ignition starts a couple of times etc. Well - at least in the case of an ecm issue or unique trigger conditions, every time I disconnect the battery and reconnect, I wipe the slate clean and lose my ability to reproduce it. I had read about this type of situation but thought it would require special expensive tools or skills (like data logging multimeter or one of the $70 parasitic draw switches from OTC). However, now that I got the manuall switch, I decided to put it to the test and voila - looks like after driving around and then testing without disconnecting the battery I am getting a constant draw of ~580mA. Still have more testing to do (and not enough time) to verify and hopefully isolate the circuit (initial test indicates it's the RADIO 10A fuse which traces to Auto Antenna Control Relay, Rear Seat Audio Controller, Radio & Player, and DVD Automatic Changer). However I'm excited b/c for the first time since I started troubleshooting (back in February) I think I have something to go on, I shouldn't have to worry as much about getting stranded now b/c I can disconnect it, and if I want to allow the battery to drain again I can use the disconnect to see what the actual drain condition is (and hopefully identify the circuit involved (difficult though b/c if the car is closed I would have to open the door to remove the kick box fuses unless I can identify the patter/trigger and reproduce the issue on demand).

The point here is that instead of disconnecting the negative cable in order to then connect my multimeter in series, I can now leave the knife blad in the closed position, I connect my multimeter (current continues to flow through the knife blade), then I lift the knife blade and current now flows through my multimeter but the battery is never disconnected and I can essentially peek at the current without disturbing the state of the electronics etc...
See this excellent/informative article by Dave Hobbs - a cut above most of the parasitic draw articles I found: http://www.diagnosticnews.com/featured/parasitic-battery-drains/

While I'm on the topic, for others that are plagued by dead batteries (or the fear of being stranded by one), you may want to look into either a manual disconnect, a batterybrain or a prioritystart, or a trickle charger.

Personally a trickle charger isn't an option due to where I park my truck. The manual disconnect would render it a vehicle my wife/kids/friends/relative will not be use without me - but perfect for me temporarily.

The manual disconnect will be the most reliable - you're not depending another electronic device to determine when to cuttoff or not. But if you don't want to have to open the hood every time you use the car (wife/kids/friends), then it's not a great option. I guess a wired disconnect switch in the cabin could work for those that are so inclined.

I like the idea of the batterybrain b/c you can use a remote fob to disconnect the battery. That means my wife doesn't need to open the hood if it disconnected itself. However, I had seen a lot of reports of issues with the batterybrain - failures where it stops working, or where it cuts off power while driving, so I decided against it.

I then found the PriorityStart - what scares me is it claims to be so smart (patented algorithms) that it can distinguish b/w bad drains (in combination with ~11.9 it will disconnect) and 'normal' drains. In other words it supposedly 'knows' when the engine's running and won't cut off. Also, it shouldn't require opening the hood to reconnect b/c it's so smart that if it disconnected from the battery but you want to reconnect, you can just press on the brakes and it picks up normal activity and reconnects. It gets good reviews from what I've seen, and figured I'd give it a shot. A con is that for me is that even if the device works perfectly I can basically assume the battery is always going to be drained down to ~11.9 so that's bad for the alternator/battery. At least with the battery brain (if you get a model with a fob) you can disconnect it with the remote fob for the week so it shouldn't drain down to the threshold (~11.9 or whatever).

My real hope is that I can pin down the drain and resolve the issue so that this type of device is not needed.

Hope this helps some of the other folks that have similar issues...

 

[AimCOtaco]

Man that is a subtle difference in the test method but obviously valid, not sure I ever would have thought of that. Way to think outside the forum...

So now we know that whatever the evil doer is it is controlled by the computers or relay circuits. That should eliminate scuffed wires rubbing on bulkheads and the like.

What if you added little clips or wire stumps to your multi-meter and tried to next isolate the fuse that is doing this. Obviously it will be tricky as you now know you can't power down the circuit to install the tester or the evil goes into hiding.

Glad you're making progress in any case.

Maybe for the wife you could just use the manual disconnect but leave it on a throw a jump start battery pack in the back just in case. Then actually open the manual switch when you know it will sit awhile and you will be the next driver. Sort of a compromise but cheap and without any additional synthetic brains getting involved.

As long as you're at it, now might also be a good opportunity to do a dual-battery set up where you manually engage the second battery to jump start via a dash switch. It's not an upgrade its a fix!

 

[spressomon]

Similar issue: https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/672276-parasitic-draw-new-tundra-alternator.html

Given where you're at with the issue I'd think about swapping in a new alternator. I hate to suggest throwing parts at the problem but maybe just maybe you've got a faulty rectifier/diode as is suggested in the above thread link.

 

[agaisin]

A little over 2 years ago, I had an issue with my MFD (https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/404462-dreaded-mfd-issues-reputable-shop-diagnose.html) where I had symptoms similar to failed Nav and/or failed MFD but turned out to be caused by bad wiring behind my MFD - somone along the way botched a job and spliced wires (one of the POs had an aftermarket satellite radio and I had dealership remove that and install ipod and satellite).

During the troubleshooting period the mechanic helping me had identified two problems - one issue caused by no power getting to nav unit due to bad wiring, and later an issue due to short b/w wires due to bad wiring. He said the short was due to wires not soldered together and he just did a temporary fix and told me to come back another time for a better (soldered) connection (I would have been more than happy to pay for the proper fix).

Now a couple years later with my current issues... I didn't think it was related b/c the mfd/nav/radio/ipod/bt all work - the satellite cuts in and out but dealership told me it was bad signal (I call bs but still thought it could be an issue with the antennae) and the symptoms I had last time were severe where MFD and/or NAV weren't working. Anyhow - in the back of my mind, I figured I ought to go back in myself and see if there's anything obvious that could be causing issues - possibly related to this or to the satellite cutting in and out (didn't used to do that).

So on Friday I pulled the MFD and immediately spotted two wires with crimp on connects and decided to clean it up and solder the connections. One had a wire to add length (i.e. two crimp ons), and with the other one when I pulled apart it seemed like there was a partially severed wire in the crimp connection. I didn't do any testing on the resistance b/f and after, but what I can say is that since that fix on Friday, my alternator's voltage has been significantly higher at idle. Instead of 13.3 after warmup, I'm now at 13.8-13.9 after warmup.

After looking back at the photos and FSM documentation, it appears to me it was the M5 connector (for MFD) wires 25 (speed sensor) and 16 (parking break) that I soldered back up. I believe if this was related, it must have been a high resistance issue (poor connection or frayed wires). I don't understand well enough if this could be related at all? If it was high resistance, how would that translate into the symptoms I saw? Could it be equivalent to a bad ground? I don't believe this would/could cause a draw the way a short would when the car is off. If this is related directly (as I believe it was) I would guess that:
1) if it somehow led to less voltage in the system, then the battery wasn't getting fully charged even though the alternator was doing the best it could. I don't know how either of those two wires would have cause less voltage in the system - would bad ground do that? Would either of these wires having high resistance be equivalent to bad ground?
2) perhaps it was causing some other quirks or malfunctions that either led to an ecu component not shutting off or waking up when it should/shouldn't...

All I can say is after fixing these two wires I observed significant increase in alternator output (system voltage) while driving and idling. Only time will tell - 3 months months from now if I haven't had a dead battery I'll be more optimistic

Btw, I did install the PriorityStart (and kept the manual blade disconnect). Figured it can't hurt.

One other thing - in my lan monitor diagnostic screen (service check mode), I did have a ton of DTCs (DC, DD, DA, D9, DE) before the fix. After the fixed wires, I don't get any lan monitor codes unless I try to use the satellite radio in which case I now only get DD on phys address 110 every time I try and use the satellite. So I need to go back in there to see if there's something up with satellite (or the unit that spews the code) but I believe something is 'better' b/c I no longer get the other DTC codes in the lan monitor.

I know some might think I'm nuts now, but I did also feel the suspension improve - I still have ahc but have thought there was something wrong with the system for the longest time b/c it never felt like it was working - the handling didn't feel right almost like the valving wasn't in sync or coordinated. Now it feel significantly improved - like the system is more 'active' than it was. I wonder if I did have an electrical issue that was preventing full voltage from reaching all ecus, and perhaps that impaired the suspension system from working properly.

I definitely am more optimistic now than I was before. I do have a replacement starter and alternator on hand and plan on replacing them, but at this point I want to first see if I got rid of the root cause or my issues b/f I replace anything else.

 

[squeezer]

My 06 is doing the same thing...

Interesting stuff here.

So mu 06 with a 6 month old Die Hard Platinum (Odyssey) is doing pretty much the same thing.

If the truck sits for more than week or two its a slow crank and sometimes a no start...

Backing up a bit.

Put the Odyssey in 6 months ago.
1 month goes by no issues
Left on business for 4 weeks... Slow crank upon return, didn't think much of it.
Another two months of uses then a 6 week period of no use.
Lights/locks work... No start. Do a quick boost and drive a few hours to charge up the bat.
Next morning starts OK then wont crank at lunch... Boost and go...

(OK I am pretty annoyed at this point but no time to trouble shoot)

Last week after sitting for two weeks I need a jump again. Wife points out that belts are making all kinds of noise.. I am think the alternator might be going. Put the meter on it and its charging near 14V.

Go get an oil change... the full service guys do a load test on the battery. Checks out fine on the meter but a very slow crank after the test... HHHmmmmmm????

Take the truck home and put a trickle charger on it for 24 hours. Starts up just fine with silent belts!!!??? take it to my mechanic to change the belt and check the alternator. Everything seems OK in that department.

What I am thinking is the Odyssey does not like the charge profile of our alternators...??? I do not have a specific charger for this type of battery and am wondering if this type of usage is harming them. I doubt the stock LC alternator holds the recommended voltage profile.

As a solution I have used Balmar external regulators in the past (programmable for battery type) I am assuming our regulators are internal to the alternator but NOT controlled by the ECM? Can anybody confirm this???

 

[Sandroad]

As I previously posted, I'm having the same problem with my '04..... occasional dead Diehard Platinum PM-1. The charging profile for Odyssey AGM batteries is here:

http://www.odysseybattery.com/chargers.html

I have the luxury of multiple PM-1 batteries available for testing the L.C., since I use them in a solar power battery bank in my garage. The battery that kept seemingly randomly discharging (to less than 11.5 volts) has in fact gone bad (won't hold a charge more than a few days even out of the vehicle) after just 6 months of service and I do wonder if the charging system in the L.C. is not nice to these batteries. I've purchased a total of 13 of the Platinums and the only one I've had a problem with (in a span of 5 years) is the one I installed in the L.C. My alternator is fine with good voltage at all RPM, but the charging profile may not be acceptable? This bears further research/experiences.

With agaisin's situation, it looks like it was complicated by bad wiring in the very circuit (radio) that was causing a parasitic drain? Keep in mind that a good battery can handle a 1/2 amp discharge for a long time (days). 580 mA is really not much, though seemingly more than it should be.

One more weirdness in my case. During testing, I discovered that the dead battery syndrome seemed to occur only with the hood closed. Hood open = no dead battery. I noticed that the positive terminal on the PM-1 hits the hood insulation with the hood closed because it's higher than the stock battery. Could damp weather (damp insulation) cause a frequent, high discharge that eventually killed the battery? It's probably just coincidence and speculation, but it was odd and I've further insulated the + terminal.

In the meantime, the alternate PM-1 I put in the L.C. is working fine for the last month.

 

[GaFJC]

As I previously posted, I'm having the same problem with my '04..... occasional dead Diehard Platinum PM-1. The charging profile for Odyssey AGM batteries is here:

http://www.odysseybattery.com/chargers.html

I have the luxury of multiple PM-1 batteries available for testing the L.C., since I use them in a solar power battery bank in my garage. The battery that kept seemingly randomly discharging (to less than 11.5 volts) has in fact gone bad (won't hold a charge more than a few days even out of the vehicle) after just 6 months of service and I do wonder if the charging system in the L.C. is not nice to these batteries. I've purchased a total of 13 of the Platinums and the only one I've had a problem with (in a span of 5 years) is the one I installed in the L.C. My alternator is fine with good voltage at all RPM, but the charging profile may not be acceptable? This bears further research/experiences.

With agaisin's situation, it looks like it was complicated by bad wiring in the very circuit (radio) that was causing a parasitic drain? Keep in mind that a good battery can handle a 1/2 amp discharge for a long time (days). 580 mA is really not much, though seemingly more than it should be.

One more weirdness in my case. During testing, I discovered that the dead battery syndrome seemed to occur only with the hood closed. Hood open = no dead battery. I noticed that the positive terminal on the PM-1 hits the hood insulation with the hood closed because it's higher than the stock battery. Could damp weather (damp insulation) cause a frequent, high discharge that eventually killed the battery? It's probably just coincidence and speculation, but it was odd and I've further insulated the + terminal.

In the meantime, the alternate PM-1 I put in the L.C. is working fine for the last month.

Had to replace the Diehard Platinum in my FJ thee months ago, it was only seven months old. Beginning to think I won't be putting one in my 100 series when the time comes.

 

[agaisin]

First off, to be clear, I don't think I can blame anything in my situation on the battery. If anything, I'm amazed at how many times I've completely discharged my batteries (an advanced auto lead acid and a diehard platinum) and they both keep coming back to life (using a proper charger to fully charge them). I'm pretty sure I've fully discharged (<8 Volts) both at least 4 times. Well, actually last time i tried to recharge my diehard it said it was 'bad' but I tried again later and it did charge it. If/when I figure out what's going on I'll get a new battery 'cause I know I'm pushing it with these two.

Early on I thought it was my battery and had concerns that AGM needed higher charging voltage than what our alternators/regulators provide. I don't think I ever got a definitive answer on that. i also can't find anything in the fsm that explains the workings of the voltage regulator. perhaps someone else looking at the ewd for charging system could determine whether ecm is tied into the alternator at all...

I did however find this TSB SS006-07 about AGM batteries:
(Toyota) http://www.toyotapart.com/ABSORBED_GLASS_MAT_AGM_BATTERY_INFORMATION_TS-SS006-07.pdf
(Lexus) http://www.lambros.net/LexusTechInfo/2007LS/L-SS006-07.pdf

It's technically in the context of a special service tool (GR8 Battery Diagnostic Station), isn't vehicle specific, and doesn't say whether AGM and Lead Acid are interchangeable across all vehicles. I could see the TSB being interpreted both ways - either that any 01-08 can handle AGM equally well, or if read literally it only applies to vehicles that came equipped with AGM.

The TSB is interesting though. Two sections in particular about similarities and about charging systems:
1) "Similarities between AGM and flooded lead acid batteries:
Both share the exact same lead acid chemistry.
Both share the same charge and discharge principles.
Both are safely charged by vehicle charging systems.
When discharged, both can be recharged at high current levels.
"
2) "
Damage to AGM batteries becomes an issue when the charge rate is NOT monitored
and controlled by the charger (i.e., quick chargers). The performance of an AGM battery
can be irreversibly reduced if the charge rate remains too high, allowing the battery to
overheat and vent. Once an AGM battery loses water (venting), the glass mats will
become dry, causing the battery to lose conductance, power, and performance.
In most vehicle charging systems, the alternator limits the charging rate by limiting the
output voltage (about 14.4V). For example, an AGM battery may be observed charging at
60A and 13.5V. As the battery recharges, the charging voltage will increase from
13.5V to approximately 14.4V (voltage will vary based on temperature, control
sophistication, etc.), and the current will decrease from 60A to about 0A. The charging
system voltage regulators prevent both AGM and flooded lead acid batteries from being
overcharged and venting. By controlling the voltage, the charging rate (current) can
be controlled.
"

 

[agaisin]

Also regarding the charge profile of our alternators - I am out of my league here, but looked more carefully at the wiring diagrams and terminals of our alternator. I'm pretty certain it's as simple as this:
we have 4 terminals - L, S, IG, B.
L is for the warning lamp on the dash
S senses battery voltage
IG ignition switch signal turns on the regulator
B alternator output terminal

On the wiring diagram, the connection to L does lead from combination meter to engine control module to L but I believe it's just for the warning lamp not related to anything engine control module specific.

I can't find any specifications on denso's site or anywhere else (they match a 210-0540 as the correct model for my 05 lx470).

From what I can tell we have an internal regulator and the only sensing that the alternator does is the voltage from the battery. Nothing fancy - I don't think our alternator knows the difference b/w an AGM and a Lead Acid battery - it just knows the battery's voltage based on what I can tell.

I do see there's the concept of a set point for the alternator - the system voltage that the alternator is supposed to maintain and I believe this is preset in the (internal) regulator from the factory. I had seen somewhere that the 210-0540 had a set point of 14.5 (or maybe it was 14.4). I know in other fields people mod their alternators to bypass the internal regulator and use an external regulator for more control (more for the fear of bad regulator leading to overcharging in aircraft and no way to shut off the internal regulator in flight). So someone who was knowledgeable/industrious/motivated could go that route for AGM battery if it was important enough to them. There are also aftermarket alternators. Also, I think you can get external regulators that are more sophisticated and perhaps can get different set points as well.

Not sure if any of this is necessary or worth it, though. I'm pretty sure a lot of folks here have had good experiences with AGM batteries so it's also possible that in cases where AGM battery 'goes bad' it is due to other issues in the system.

That's the fun of troubleshooting - is it the battery, the alternator, some other electrical gremlin like bad connections, bad ground, short circuit, high resistance, stuck relay...

Oh - my rig also has an aftermarket switch where the nightview (or blank for my vehicle) normally is. It looked to me like nothing was connected to the back of the switch (maybe removed before selling), but very curious what it was for. Seeing that my parking brake and speed sensor wires were snipped another theory is that one of my previous owners had the switch there for the nav override?... Oh the questions I'd ask my prevoius owners

 

[slimbuddha]

Interesting stuff here.

Lights/locks work... No start. Do a quick boost and drive a few hours to charge up the bat.
Next morning starts OK then wont crank at lunch... Boost and go...

(OK I am pretty annoyed at this point but no time to trouble shoot)

Last week after sitting for two weeks I need a jump again. Wife points out that belts are making all kinds of noise.. I am think the alternator might be going. Put the meter on it and its charging near 14V.

Just a thought, this might be the starter going out. Especially if all other electrical components seem fine, and testing the battery seems to point out fine. Both times my starter went out, it would work one moment, then later in the same day just not start. At first its just occasional, but increases until the point it will no longer start.

 

[agaisin]

Just a thought, this might be the starter going out. Especially if all other electrical components seem fine, and testing the battery seems to point out fine. Both times my starter went out, it would work one moment, then later in the same day just not start. At first its just occasional, but increases until the point it will no longer start.

2 additional thoughts:
1) if there's sufficient voltage (say > 12.0 volts) and it won't start that would point to starter. But if the voltage is low might not be starter.
2) in a similar vein - if it's the starter, jumping shouldn't make a difference right? It's not about voltage it's about the starter. I guess it could have been coincidence?

 

[squeezer]

@#$%^&*(!!!!

OK now I am cranky...


Pulled up the diagnostic screen on my MFD and drove 2 solid hours on Wed afternoon. Voltage was 13.9-14.2 driving the entire time.

Just went out to start the truck... No crank, put the meter on the battery voltage read 10.8.

Pretty sure this is a bad battery...

Comments ?

CB

 

[gesteer]

Agaisin,


I've had similar (identical) issues to you for the last two years. I've been away for 12 months (vehicle garaged, batts disconnected), but am now back in the land of the living, so now have the time to want to track down the culprit(s) once and for all.

Can you give us an update as to where you are at? Is your problem solved, and if so, how did you solve it?

Cheers

Graeme