Electrical Gremlins!!

[MAC88]

I am going to try and find whatever is making my vlotmeter go between 12 -14v on a sporadic basis. My alt is charging at 14.1V and my battery is at 12.85v.

 

Are there any common areas that just tend to be problematic? Lights, Grounds etc etc...

 

 

Thanks

[JimG]

Shot in the dark - Are the batteries the same old side-terminal posts? If a post cracked and acid leaked down the battery cable, it could be doing really odd stuff to your electrical system (voltage spikes, high amperage draw). Like I said, this is a complete shot in the dark. Loose connections, intermittent short or heck a bad gauge could be the problem as well.

[Wingnut]

The battery cables on those things are pretty much crap. Kind of like the tailgate cables on the newer rigs....They can look fine on the outside, but they can be a rotton mess on the inside.

 

I would start there.

[citydriver]

GROUNDS At least thats what I found on my '95,I've added a couple extra ground straps from the batt to the body,body to the frame and engine to th frame..

Also the nuts that hold the bottom of my dash rail were missing(looks like they were never installed) That helped my dash get a better ground...You might also want to have the alt. checked..the diode trio/rectifier to be more specific..mine appeared to be charging fine (14v+/-) but the diodes were bad and was doing some pretty funky things to my truck..the gauge would take a dive every time something was turned on like the directionals,the tranny was making noises and not shifting right (4L60E)...just a thought

[superbee]

My starter would barely crank untill I added another ground strap from the engine to the frame.

[mxvin]

 

Agree on the diode thing...have seen it before. Also have seen what appeared to be "good" cables. But all green and cruddy under the insulating jacket. Good Luck!!