Ok so I'm stuck, truck has no power to batteries now whatsoever. A few weeks ago my voltage gauge started reading way high, but truck still started fine. Then it was beginning to crank harder like the batteries were dying and one battery started leaking - so I replaced both batteries last weekend. Went for a 2 hour ride and back and truck was running and starting fine. Went to start it this week and nothing, the new batteries are dead! So today I replaced the starter solenoid relay just because it's cheap and I thought it might fix it. Nope. I have double checked all battery connections.
My only ideas now are the voltage regulator or alternator??
I just can't keep replacing parts and I don't really know how to troubleshoot these electrical problems.
Any ideas and help is greatly appreciated!
Thanks guys
Electrical troubleshooting is tough over the internet, but here's some quick basics. There's lot's of books on automotive electrical, and info on the internet. (Edit:
here's something on the subject)
Over voltage ruins batteries, so the new batteries may have suffered the same fate as the old ones. Check the electrolyte level and add
distilled water as required. They probably say maintenance free and need no water, but just pry the caps off anyway. They will come off just like the old fashioned ones, just made to look like they don't. Over-charging (high voltage) will cause loss of water, heating, etc. Now try charging them with a charger.
You'll need a voltmeter to do any troubleshooting. The batteries should be ~13 volts off the charger, see if they crank the engine. If they do, measure the voltage at the battery terminals with the engine running. It should be about 14.4 volts. If it's over ~14.8 typically the regulator is bad. If it's under ~14.0, either the regulator, the alternator, or both could be bad, as well as blown fusible links, etc.
Another type of regulator failure allows current to the alternator field even when the engine is off, draining the battery. An ammeter can be used to detect this, clamp-on's are quite handy.
You may want to get someone knowledgeable to help you (mentioned earlier), or see a mechanic. It's easy to burn stuff up, or get hurt, when you are not familiar with electrical systems.
