keep getting stuck at cruisn OC

[DustyFJ]

im riding around in OC for cruisn weekend and it’s POURING. Standing water on the road, some deep puddles. Water splashing over the hood etc. we stopped for lunch now the truck is totally dead. Like the battery is completely discharged. I jumped it with the jump pack, first go I got nothing. Maybe bad connection? I gave the connections to the starter a giggle then tried the jump pack again and the truck started.
We drove around a few minutes and went to get some gas and it was dead again. Hit it with the jump pack and off we went.

Maybe water on the starter or ignition coil is discharging the battery??? What do you guys think?

 

[OTRAMM]

What's the ammeter say while the engine is running? Sounds like the battery is shot. If it stays running after jumping the alternator is likely working. I can't imagine residual water carrying enough current to drain a battery.

 

[DustyFJ]

The amp meter stays kinda normal in the center between -30 and +30

Yeah just drove for 15 min and stopped and it’s toast again. Super weird that the battery never even got weak or anything...?

Just drove 3 1/2 hours to the beach maybe something happened to it on the ride? Overcharging or something? I’d have seen that on the amp meter though?

 

[emorth]

Find a Walmart and buy a cheap volt meter. Measure the voltage on the battery posts, not the clamps. With engine running you should see about 14 volts. If so, batty is shot. If not, measure voltage at the output of the alternator with engine running. If not 14 volts, alternator or regulator is bad. If 14 volts at alternator the ammeter may be bad. Also check voltage between battery clamps and posts (should be close to 0 volts) to make sure clamps aren’t oxidized, especially with all this humidity.

Since engine is running, the ignition has to be getting power for somewhere - battery or alternator. With an ammeter on the dash board the ignition should be getting power from the alternator side of the ammeter. If the ammeter is bad, the emergency fix is to run a wire from the alternator output to the battery + post.

Hope this helps.

 

[DustyFJ]

I had 17v which sounds good to me. I pulled the clamps and scrapped up the corrosion on the posts with my plyers and retightened the clamps and it’s right as rain. Thanks guys!

Anyone else at cruisn’??

 

[Stumpalama]

17 is too high, is it not? What is your battery reading?

 

[emorth]

17 is high. Could have cooked the battery over time. Should be 14.2ish, ideally.

 

[fjdemon]

Bad battery? I had one a while back that when I hit high rpms the lights would get brighter and a dash light would come on for a split second. I thought it was the alternator so I replaced it with no improvement. It turned out it was the battery. Not sure if it was two issues (alternator and battery) or if was just a bad cell. I've had a few batteries go bad; seems they are made cheaper than they used to be made.

 

[Stumpalama]

check the regulator... is yours internal or external?

 

[1MOA]

Go to the clam get drunk and fix it tomorrow.