Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Voltmeter Problem?

[Hitec.Redneck]

Today just after leaving home, the chimes went off and the check gauge light was on. Looked at the gauges, and the voltmeter was falling fast and went all the way to 0. I stopped to check and see if the belt came off or broke, it was fine. So I turned around at the next exit, went back home. The batteries are original, the truck is now 4 years old (2002 model). When I got back home, I turned the truck off, and as soon as I turned the key back on the voltmeter began to show voltage, it was pretty low. I cranked the truck, no problems and the alternator showed to be working, the voltage quickly returned to normal. I went and had the batteries tested, both were bad, so I replaced them both.

It just seems odd the voltmeter went all the way to 0 and did not return till the key was cycled. Does this sound normal, or should I keep looking for other problems. The batteries read 14. 2 with a fluke at idle.

 

[Little Bill]

Could have been an intermittant open circuit in one of the batteries. Sometimes the connections between cells corrode through and do weird things.

 

[DKupfrian]

Mine did the same thing a year back. It turned out to be the heavy gauge wire coming off the alt wearing through and grounding on the alt itself. This causes it to shut off to prevent further damage. Restarting the truck would fix it until it grounded again. The fix was the dealership rerouted the wire to not be strained across the alt and put shrink wrap on the bare wire.

 

[Hitec.Redneck]

Thanks for the info, I will check it out as soon as I can.