jeepsuck

well not really woes yet, this has only happened once and it seemed to go away after a few minutes.

i thought i noticed my lights go dim and when i saw it happen again i took a quick look to my ammeter and watched the meter go down with the light dimming.

voltage regulator??? is this a sign?

Underpsi

You sure it wasn't just your grid heaters taking the power and then when the lights went bright again its when they cliked off for the cycle?

wannadiesel

Have a "cold snap" where the temp got below 59 degrees, did you?

jeepsuck

if you must know, it was well below 50* last night! local mountains got some snow!

i usually let the grid heater cycle before i start the engine. the dimming happened about 3 times during my first 1/8 mile of driving. then it stopped. do the grid heaters randomly cycle after the engine is running? they are what i hear click off with the "wait to start" light, correct?

wannadiesel

Yep, depending on the air temp at startup, the post-heat cycle can run as long as 5 minutes. On the 30ish degree days we get around here, mine will cycle for about 3 minutes in the afternoon when I start up after work (can't plug in).

Begle1

It's funny, because I had the same thing happen to me this morning.

Fortunately for me, I read my DTR and I was prepared.

phox_mulder

They will continue to cycle till you hit a set MPH, around 20 or so,
or everything is warmed up, whichever comes first.


phox

jeepsuck

oooooooooooooohhhhhhh! diss! okay its true. sometimes i post before i search

wannadiesel

Not on a 1st gen. Our computer is not that smart.

phox_mulder

I did not know that.
Is it only temperature controlled then?

phox

edwinsmith

For some reason, known only by the idiot who cobbled up the wiring under the hood, when my grid heater cycles on my ampmeter shows full charge! I can look at my lights however and they go dim when the grid heater is on so I know it's not a regulator problem. It's to cold to troubleshoot it however and I may not even bother since the ampmeter shows normal operation otherwise.

I think the grid heaters got wired directly to the battery which causes the gauge to go up instead of down when they kick on.

If I plug my block heater in at night then the heaters don't even come on.

Edwin

wannadiesel

Yep. Post-heat cycling is determined by the temp the IAT saw when the key was first turned "on".

Begle1

No no no, that wasn't what I intended to say...

Although now I see that it does in fact fit... I'm sorry for the faulty eloquence.

uncleroty

We all need to keep a spare voltage regulator along. Sounds like your truck's previous owner had some creative wiring practices, but voltage reglators can go in strange ways. Just ask the guy at the battery warranty counter where I live.