virginiaram

I came out of work today and the truck wouldnt turn over. I got a jumpstart and was on my way but nothing electrical worked so I figured it was the alternator. I put a new one on and jump started the truck and let it run for 35minutes. I turned it off and tried starting it back up but it acts like it doesnt have enough juice in the battery. Windows, dome light, everything seems to work fine though. Battery reads 11.7volts and was made in july of 2010. Whats wrong? Is the battery not taking the charge from the alternator or is something else wrong?

Buddy Stewert

Charge the battery for a half hour and see if it starts.
Do you have the 1200cca battery in the truck.

virginiaram

it says CCA@0 degrees =850.

I dont know what that really means, but I've never had this happen in the 6months ive owned the truck, even through the winter

virginiaram

it started once i charged the battery for 30 mins as suggested. im assuming i have the wrong battery now so im going to run up to the parts store and get the correct one. hopefully this solves my issue once and for all

gyman98

A battery fully charge should be around 13.3 volts. You could load test your battery once it's fully charged to see of that's the problem or once the truck is running see if you have apx 14.4 volts.

NJTman

so another battery (connected by jumping ) starts your vehicle ?





Bad cell in the battery or the connection between the cable ends and the terminals on the battery isn't clean / solid.

If you battery is > 3 or 4 years old, replace it. Not worth the trouble of dealing with an old battery in our vehicles. Make sure the battery terminals are clean inside the clamps where the meet the posts, and the posts have been brushed as well. Without a solid connection, the power won't conduct from the battery to the cables.

anytime I've come across this problem it was 95% of the time the connection was corroded @ the cable ends. All the other times, the battery had a bad cell.


Good advice above with reference to checking the battery. There are a few threads here discussing the correct battery for our trucks, as the lower CCA batteries don't last.


BTW,

Your alternator isn't designed to completely recharge a battery .....it's designed to keep it charged, and recharge partially discharged batteries. A completely dead battery requires a wall plugged battery charger with enough amps to replenish the voltage to the battery, as the alternator can be overtaxed by trying to recoup the dead battery value.

j_martin

Your battery is way small for the application. Likely it's damaged and needs to be replaced, but I don't think that's the base problem with the no start in nice weather.

When you clean the connections and install the new battery, do some other troubleshooting at the same time.

Are there any other symptoms of misbehavior, like won't shift into overdrive, tachometer doesn't work, etc.? The alternator is regulated by the computer. Anything that tells the computer that the engine isn't running will shut down the alternator.

Check the battery voltage when not running and again when running. It should be 12.4V or more with the engine off, and the voltage should go up when the engine is running. How high it goes depends on a lot of things, but if it goes up, it's probably OK.

BTW, the alternator in your truck, though principally designed to keep a battery topped off, is strong enough to charge a dead one as fast as the battery will take a charge. Deep cycling is hard on a battery not designed for it, but it won't hurt the alternator.

Trebor

You big battery guys are going to love or hate my comment. I bought my truck back in 2004 and it came with a cheap Wallymart battery rated at 650 CCA. My thoughts were on replacing it with a bigger one not long after I bought the truck. Well it's still in there and and my truck started just fine this morning. I will say I am somewhat surprised it lasted this long!

j_martin

Two comments.
1. If you were to put the proper battery in, you would be amazed at the increased cranking speed.
2. That slow cranking says expensive parts are wearing faster than they should, (Starter motor, solenoid) and the odds of a good start under adverse conditions (leave the headlights on for 2 hours) are real bad.

It's yer truck, do as you wish.

Rampage1967

I highly suggest a conversion to dual batteries . .the group 65 batteries they use in a 2006 diesel fit nice & are 950 amps each . .group 24 & 27 can also be used, but the 65 fit nicely.

rollin_coal89

More than likely its ur voltage regulator buddy. My truck had the same problem... charge ur battery up then wenever u get to where ur goin just unhook ur battery. Solved my problem. Hope u get everything worked out brother

wannadiesel

I'm on my phone and can't see signatures, what year truck?

Sent from my Paranoid Android HD2 using Tapatalk 2.

TM25

I know this thread is kinda old but where do you guys find the big batteries for our trucks? (1200cca) i recently bought a new one for my truck and I couldnt find anything over 800 cca.

j_martin

Farm store, Oreilly, Napa, in that order.

You're looking for a group 31 battery (group designates case dimensions) which can come in anything from about 900 to 1250 CCA.

Batteries lose a lot of their goody in the cold. A good battery is the difference between being able to cycle the grid heaters several times and start the engine below 0° when you forgot to plug it in, and staying home.

deanhinsley1963

Napa lists a 1125 ca @ O deg. thats as big as they go. Thats what youll need for the CTD. I just ordered one for myself. Been running two smaller batteries but think I will go back to one large one.