Hardbody partial electrical failure

Faraday · Nov 30th, 2004, 11:30 AM

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum, and i haven't been able to find a problem similar to mine in the archives, so here goes...

I am a (formerly) happy hardbody driver for many years now. My truck is a 1986, or rather an 1986 1/2, the first model year. it is an SE-V6 4WD manual trans. I've added a few things over the years such as a bedliner, manual hubs, R134a conversion, but nothing extreme, it's basically stock. And it has 276K miles! It has never left me stranded in mud, snow, or sand. I feel like the truck is a part of me, which is why I'm so depressed about its electrical problem.

I hope someone here can guide me through it.

OK, here is the sequence of tragic events.

First the battery died last month after it was only 15 months old. I took it back to the store and they exchanged it because they told me it was bad.

Second, The new battery has done the same thing where it seems fine and dies suddenly where it just won't be able to turn over the engine. The starter is OK. The store charged it up and checked the alternator. they told me it was a 60A and that it was outputting 40A and 13V at idle with no load.

Lastly, and recently, all of the electrical system except for the ignition system has died. No lights, dashboard gauges, radio, nothing. With a recharged battery the engine starts and the truck runs normally, but obviously it is not charging the battery enough. The failure was preceded by the turn signals blinking rapidly. Does that mean a bulb is bad? Maybe a short?

I am at a loss to explain it or find the problem. Could it simply need a new alternator? I think it probably does. If so, would that explain why nothing else works? Is there a fusible link or a relay I should check? Thanks!

**88pathoffroad** · Nov 30th, 2004, 02:50 PM

I'd venture to say that your alternator is crapping out on you. Even if it was putting out 40 amps at 13V, that's still a bit low. It should be putting out 14.4V or so when it charges.

If you can find one, get a good junkyard Quest or Villager alternator and swap it out. The Quest alt is 110 amps.

Here's a writeup on how to swap it out, the procedure is exactly the same for your HB pickup.

http://www.damagedreality.com/altswap.html

Faraday · Dec 8th, 2004, 01:35 PM

Thanks for the advice about the alternator swap. I don't have the time to do it right now but I'll put it on the list. I replaced the positive battery cable connector, which I found in stock at a local parts store. The power to the truck is back and I think it was a bad connection with one of the plugs that connects to the positive termal. The output on the alternator has gone down to zero now, so it looks like you are right.