possible short? Please help

MMaDDoGG
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possible short? Please help

Unread post by MMaDDoGG » Tue Nov 04, 2014 11:31 am

i have a 95 chevy c1500 v8 200k plus miles. new battery. seems to short out and die, and wont restart. when key is turned on the amp gauge barely moves up. ive tried fumbling with the obvious wires (+ - wires etc) with no change. its done this once before. i let the truck sit for about a month then bought a new batt and problem went away. today while driving it died, with the same symptoms. also ive notice that when driving the blinkers make the amp gauge fluctuate down with every flash. thanks in advance for response

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carriedi
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by carriedi » Tue Nov 04, 2014 8:33 pm

if you had a short that would cause the battery to drain so much, all of a sudden, that the truck would die while driving, you would be able to smell smoke somewhere. that would take a lot of amperage to do that. More likely, the battery has been draining over time.

have you checked to make sure the alternator is charging? Or that you have good connections for power and grounds? you might want to check voltages at the ignition switch too to see if you have a poor connection there. what does the volt gauge say when the engine is running?
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MMaDDoGG
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by MMaDDoGG » Wed Nov 05, 2014 6:57 am

while running amps show approx 13. the gauge fluctuates when blinker is flashing. the truck turns over but the amp gauge doesn't move

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carriedi
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by carriedi » Wed Nov 05, 2014 11:46 am

you should have a volt gauge not an amp gauge. having the gauge move when the blinkers are flashing is normal unless it is going to far to the discharge side.

you should use a dvom and check to see if the battery voltage is 13.8 to 14.2 with the engine running.

first things to check, I would verify that the alternator is charging correctly and check to see if there is a draw on the battery when the engine is not running.
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MMaDDoGG
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by MMaDDoGG » Wed Nov 05, 2014 6:31 pm

im talking about the amp\volt gauge in dash.

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carriedi
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by carriedi » Thu Nov 06, 2014 1:30 am

have you measured your running voltage? Have you checked for a draw on the battery?
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MMaDDoGG
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by MMaDDoGG » Mon Nov 10, 2014 7:26 am

ok, i think ive narrowed it down to no power at ign coil. what next?

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carriedi
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Re: possible short? Please help

Unread post by carriedi » Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:23 pm

the coil gets it power from the pink wire from the ignition switch. the switch gets it's power from maxi fuse 5 (50A) and maxi fuse 6 (40A) on red wires from the under hood fuse panel to the ignition switch. So, if you don't have power on the pink wire make sure you have power going up to the ignition switch. might be a bad switch.
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