I need help with some intermittent charging

[Gary Lewis]

This charging crap is killing me.

I checked for voltage drop Tuesday morning when I got off work but the alternator wasn't failing at that time. I still ran the test came out with .02 from alternator case to negative batt post. I did the same test on the positive side but wasn't sure if I was getting the right reading.

Wednesday morning I did the test again with same results but some times intermittently I was getting a 2.21 reading so I wasn't sure if I was doing the test right because I never got a constant. This time the alternator was failing.

I did find that I got it to fail a few times if I just turned the heater on before start up. As I messed around under the hood I did notice that the black and orange wire that leads to the start solinoid was getting pretty warm almost hot on the side of the solinoid to the inline fuse link. I have noticed that before so I cut the link out replaced it with new fuse link soldered in. Haven't got it to fail again so I will keep my eye on it.

I did go and buy some new battery ground cables and a new battery positive cable. Also bought some ground strap of body grounds. But as we know one thing at a time. Thanks again for the help keep you posted.

I think you've found the problem. The .02V from the alternator to ground indicates that the circuit is very good. But the intermittent 2.21V from the positive post of the battery to the alternator's output indicates that something in the charging cable is the problem.

And the fact that the you found the black/orange wire hot is exactly where the bad connection is. So, cutting the connection out and soldering in a new one is the solution. Well done!

The only problem is that you aren't sure you fixed it, so will now be anxious, worried that it will come back. I'll bet it doesn't.

[Steve83]

... .02 from alternator case to negative batt post.

...

Wednesday morning I did the test again with same results but some times intermittently I was getting a 2.21 reading so I wasn't sure if I was doing the test right because I never got a constant.

Did you lock the meter's range, so it wasn't just shifting the decimal point?

This time the alternator was failing.

How exactly did you identify that? Just from the voltage reading?

I did go and buy some new battery ground cables and a new battery positive cable.

Beware. New is not always good, or even better than what you had.

[RustedJunk84]

I think you've found the problem. The .02V from the alternator to ground indicates that the circuit is very good. But the intermittent 2.21V from the positive post of the battery to the alternator's output indicates that something in the charging cable is the problem.

And the fact that the you found the black/orange wire hot is exactly where the bad connection is. So, cutting the connection out and soldering in a new one is the solution. Well done!

The only problem is that you aren't sure you fixed it, so will now be anxious, worried that it will come back. I'll bet it doesn't.

So it's been a few weeks sorry I haven't got back to you for some time. So I told you I got some new battery cables. I did replace the positive cable and also the negative cable from the battery to the frame to the block. That so far seems to fix it. I have been taking a longer drive back to the house at night after work. One night even ran heater, wipers, and headlights for a little over 30 min. So far so good but I'm not putting all my stuff away yet.

A messed up part was that my TPS started to go had a few days before I replaced the cables. So I was thinking I had a new symptom. Replaced the TPS and that fixed that problem. So far everything is running good again.

Thanks again for all you guys help. Sometimes you just get frustrated and over look small stuff looking for a bigger problems.

[Gary Lewis]

So it's been a few weeks sorry I haven't got back to you for some time. So I told you I got some new battery cables. I did replace the positive cable and also the negative cable from the battery to the frame to the block. That so far seems to fix it. I have been taking a longer drive back to the house at night after work. One night even ran heater, wipers, and headlights for a little over 30 min. So far so good but I'm not putting all my stuff away yet.

A messed up part was that my TPS started to go had a few days before I replaced the cables. So I was thinking I had a new symptom. Replaced the TPS and that fixed that problem. So far everything is running good again.

Thanks again for all you guys help. Sometimes you just get frustrated and over look small stuff looking for a bigger problems.

While I understand the reluctance to "put your stuff away", I'm pretty sure you fixed the problem with the new cable. I must have had an intermittent connection.

Anyway, thanks for the followup.