batteries done?

[sidwaz]

I have been having intermittent start issues in the past few months. Had batteries tested and they tested good. Replaced the starter and it turns over a little bit quicker now. Intermittently when the glow plugs are heating up I watch the battery gauge rapidly drop from 3/4 on the guage down below the red, sometimes I will not wait and start it before the batteries go dead. This only happens sometimes, once it starts the gauge stays at the bottom for a few minutes then rises up to the normal position 3/4. Tried to start this morning and drained the batteries. Let it sit for a few hours then tested the batteries with a multimeter. They read 12.3V so I tried cycled the key on and immediately the battery gauge dropped below red. They now read 10.3V. Batteries are only 3 years old.

 

[SevenThree]

I had a similar issue recently, had the bats tested 3 times always good. Alt read bad once, replaced it and then 8 hours later, power dropped again. It would fluctuate between normal and just about dead but never drain completely. I changed everything, cables, alt(3 times), pigtail on the backside of the alt.. Nothing worked. Well, one day as I was replacing the positive cable I had the passenger side battery(which was the one that would fluctuate between 95% to 50%) hooked to a charger with a digital read out. It charged the battery from 50% to 95 in like 3 mins, I got suspicious. A friend had just suggested, not kidding you, 5 mins before that I had bad cells that would sometimes work and sometimes drain. Replaced them and no issues after that. Moral of the story, don't rule out bats just because they test out.


Sent from my mind using ESP.

 

[JLDickmon]

replace the batteries (as a pair)



sent from my desktop using a keyboard and a mouse.

 

[YTeel]

One more for changing the batteries. The best I've ever gotten out of batteries is about 3 years before they need to be changed.

 

[sidwaz]

Changed both batteries yesterday, 35 1/2 months into the 36mo replacement warranty. Everything is perfect now. Battery gauge doesn't even fluctuate when the glow plugs heat on start up now. Starter cranks way faster now too. I think those battery load testers are designed after the battery has sat for a period of time. Both times I took my truck in to test them was after running for a hour or so and they just popped the cables off and load tested them in the truck.