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Heiwashin
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Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:05 pm

I'm trying to determine what could be causing this. A few days ago my rear ac blower stopped working. It was a slow death where it got progressively weaker over the course of a few hours. Although I found that failure method odd I wrote it off as whatever.

Yesterday and today the truck has been showing very unusual startup behavior. It will choke as if it has weak batteries, then suddenly start turning like a champion until it starts. If it starts to sag on key turn and I let off immediately, then try again, it will usually turn perfectly.

Today the front fan has started failing in the same manner as the back one. This happens while the truck is running or not.

The last odd potential symptom is that I happened to peak at my voltage meter yesterday at a random time and noticed a big sudden hit to my voltage. It dropped from 14 to 13.5 for a few seconds and then back again with nothing to prompt it, and I've never seen that happen before. Based on things I've done I can say that the .5v drop is about a 1kw power draw.

What the **** is wrong with my truck.

As a side note I'm heading to the terminal immediately because my instincts tell me the electrical system is becoming a fire risk, and they're giving me my new heavy hauling truck anyway as a result. I'm still curious how this particular set of events can be related.

*Edit voltage measured who knows where remains at expected levels while attempting to use both the front a rear fans that are barely functional now. Everything else, like lights, seems to work appropriately for the time being.
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SuperSpy
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:22 pm

Sounds like an intermittent short, which is a massive pain in the butt to diagnose as it could be anywhere in an electrical system with a chassis ground.
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DragonDaddyBear
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:37 pm

Check the connection of the battery. Because everything is going wrong and there is an use driving it is the likely culprit. The alternator dying can cause issues,too. You can start to isolate the other potential issues by looking at what failing items are on the same fuse circuit. An easy way to test stuff is at the fuse box. There are usually 2, one under the hood and another under the dash.
 
ludi
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 12:56 pm

Based solely on passenger vehicle experience, i would also vote for a bad ground or battery connection, a bad battery, and a failing alternator, in that order. Any of those can cause all manner of intermittent gremlins.
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superjawes
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:02 pm

SuperSpy wrote:
Sounds like an intermittent short, which is a massive pain in the butt to diagnose as it could be anywhere in an electrical system with a chassis ground.

DragonDaddyBear wrote:
Check the connection of the battery. Because everything is going wrong and there is an use driving it is the likely culprit.

Yeah, could be an intermittent battery connection. That would drop your available current, explaining sags in the voltmeter and losing certain functions.

Also, do you have some sort of load shedding? As if the truck is progressively dropping functions that it doesn't have power for (starting with the least important ones)?
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Mr Bill
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:19 pm

I had a problem in my old neon with battery drain. Battery voltage seemed to be fine. But took off the cable and checked for current. About an amp of leakage. Turned out to be the relay for my AC's magnetic clutch frozen in the on position. Put in a new relay and everything started working with full power again.
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Heiwashin
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:35 pm

superjawes wrote:

Also, do you have some sort of load shedding? As if the truck is progressively dropping functions that it doesn't have power for (starting with the least important ones)?



Yes the truck is capable of shutting down power to the bunk. The bunks fuse box also seems unnaturally hot, but not from any one particular fuse. But if the problem was isolated to the bunk why is my front air failing. I'll check my batteries but basically about 3 hours and I'll be in the new truck.
Last edited by Heiwashin on Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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ludi
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Re: Electrical problem

Wed Aug 02, 2017 2:01 pm

Heiwashin wrote:
The bunks fuse box also seems unnaturally hot, but not from any one particular fuse.

Hmm. Could be a bad connection to a large load. Could also just be a consequence of motor loads (such as the AC compressor) being forced to start and top frequently as they cut in and out due to a problem elsewhere.
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superjawes
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Re: Electrical problem

Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:13 pm

Sooo...everything turn out all right with the truck?
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Heiwashin
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Re: Electrical problem

Thu Aug 03, 2017 10:24 pm

Well I turned it in and got my new one so I can't really say other than it hadn't caught fire yet. The shop guys raised an eyebrow too when I explained it, especially when I noticed that the front airs fan would function better if I left it off for an hour or so, then slowly get worse again. That's in line with a heat based resistance buildup.
Looking for Knowledge wrote:
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