Battery/charging Question

[jdewolfe]

Hi Everyone- Just bought the truck close to a month ago and absolutely loving it! I do have one question though. Since I have bought it, I noticed that most of the time the battery gauge reads above 14. Seems after longer drives that it will come down under 14. I have never noticed this to happen on my dad's truck. The gauge cluster has already been replaced since I had some burnt out bulbs in the original so I'm sure it is not the stepper motors.Is it possible that I have a bad battery or alternator? Or does it really flucuate that much?

 

Thanks!

Jeff

[r1byker]

That sounds about what my Suburban and truck do. No problems starting, right?

[pm26]

You better like that truck, as it is the same year as mine!

 

These trucks have an alternator cut out system which will cause the voltmeter gauge reading fluctuations. For example, after you let the truck sit for a while,the gauge will indicate 14.5 or so Volts, which means that the alternator is charging. When the battery is fully charged, the alternator is switched off and the indicated voltage drops back to static battery voltage (about 12.5 Volts). This is normal and nothing to worry about.

[jblakeney]

Depending on the load pull at the time and RPM and battery condition. You can see anywhere from 12 volts to 14.9 Volts with the engine running.... Note that the gauge in the dash is NOT ALWAYS accurate. But if your worried..... Most NAPA stores have an advanced alternator/starter/battery tester that they can walkout and test the alternator on the car/truck.... I am not at work right now or I would tell you want brand the tester is and the model (I think it is a midtronics but I am not sure on the model, I do remember it was about 1500 bucks thou).

 

That tester gets down right picky about information and battery temp (I commonly joke it even wanted to know what color the car was)...... I was quite ill with the new tester for a couple months because it asked so MANY FREAKING questions I would not use it... But I have grown to like the new tester..... It is way more accurate than the old one!!

 

If you around Laurel, MS swing in I will test it for ya..

 

Jbo

[jdewolfe]

The truck seems to start just fine. Glad to hear that about the charging. I do notice though that the lights dim a lot when rolling windows up. I also notice the gauge moves down quite a bit when the headlights come on automatically. I may throw a load tester on the batter too just to see if the battery is ok. It looks like it is the original yet.