95 F150 Dead Battery
11-20-2013, 12:14 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
95 F150 Dead Battery
Well, my truck has run perfect ever since I got it, which was around a year ago. I haven't had any major problems other than the Shift Forks, but now I'm having issues with my battery keeping charge. I'm guessing it's the alternator, but I don't have a great amount of knowledge when it comes this. I have a 1995 Ford F150 XL 4.9 L6 5 Spd. Manual. If you need more info. just say so.
I bought a Reverse Glow Gauge layover for my cluster, and the instructions said to wire the low input inverter into the parking brake light wire behind the cluster, and just said into a solid ground. So I called my dad and asked him what color the wires were. I was told that the white wire with pink stripe was the brake light, and that the black wire in the harness was the ground. I wired the gauge set into the two wires, and made sure that all of the exposed wire was hidden. I turned the key to the ON position, and the gauges worked like they were supposed to. When I turned the key to the START position however, the truck would turnover, but it wouldn't start. I figured that I did something wrong, or there was an exposed wire, so I went back to look, and nothing was exposed, so I unwired the gauges, and wired the original wires back together the way they were. Again, 100% sure that no wires were exposed, and I replaced the cluster, and the truck ran fine for about halfway through town, then my radio turned off, my headlights started getting VERY dim, and the truck didn't die out entirely, but I decided to shut it off so I didn't hurt anything. I had used jumper cables to help get it started again, then I guess it had enough charge to get me to my girlfriends house. After that, I had enough to get home that night, then back to her house and to school the next morning, and back to her house that afternoon (Sorry if that's confusing). On the way to her house the last time though, everything started to die out again, and I shut it off. I tried jumping it again this morning before school to give it some charge, but it didn't stay running very long after I disconnected the cables. Ever since I tried wiring the gauge set in, I have been having the problem. I'm hoping I didn't mess things up too bad, and hoping that the extent is the alternator, but I don't want to fix or replace my alternator, only for it to go bad again.
Sorry for the huge storybook, but I wanted to make sure I had all the information out there. I'm almost certain that I did something wrong with the cluster wiring, and it caused problems, but the instruction manual for the gauges made it seem simple, so I gave it a go. I should have had more help when doing it, but it's too late now I guess. Anyways, like I said though, I'm guessing the alternator because the battery will take a charge, but it isn't maintaining it. Any ideas, or ways I can test and resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated.
I bought a Reverse Glow Gauge layover for my cluster, and the instructions said to wire the low input inverter into the parking brake light wire behind the cluster, and just said into a solid ground. So I called my dad and asked him what color the wires were. I was told that the white wire with pink stripe was the brake light, and that the black wire in the harness was the ground. I wired the gauge set into the two wires, and made sure that all of the exposed wire was hidden. I turned the key to the ON position, and the gauges worked like they were supposed to. When I turned the key to the START position however, the truck would turnover, but it wouldn't start. I figured that I did something wrong, or there was an exposed wire, so I went back to look, and nothing was exposed, so I unwired the gauges, and wired the original wires back together the way they were. Again, 100% sure that no wires were exposed, and I replaced the cluster, and the truck ran fine for about halfway through town, then my radio turned off, my headlights started getting VERY dim, and the truck didn't die out entirely, but I decided to shut it off so I didn't hurt anything. I had used jumper cables to help get it started again, then I guess it had enough charge to get me to my girlfriends house. After that, I had enough to get home that night, then back to her house and to school the next morning, and back to her house that afternoon (Sorry if that's confusing). On the way to her house the last time though, everything started to die out again, and I shut it off. I tried jumping it again this morning before school to give it some charge, but it didn't stay running very long after I disconnected the cables. Ever since I tried wiring the gauge set in, I have been having the problem. I'm hoping I didn't mess things up too bad, and hoping that the extent is the alternator, but I don't want to fix or replace my alternator, only for it to go bad again.
Sorry for the huge storybook, but I wanted to make sure I had all the information out there. I'm almost certain that I did something wrong with the cluster wiring, and it caused problems, but the instruction manual for the gauges made it seem simple, so I gave it a go. I should have had more help when doing it, but it's too late now I guess. Anyways, like I said though, I'm guessing the alternator because the battery will take a charge, but it isn't maintaining it. Any ideas, or ways I can test and resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated.
11-21-2013, 01:16 AM
#2
Well, I would suggest that you(I'm guessing you don't have any testing tools) take it to one of your auto stores like Pep Boys, Auto Zone, or Advance or any of the others and they will check your battery and alternator for free and let you know if one is no good
11-21-2013, 06:33 AM
#3
Mark
iTrader: (1)
Go buy a cheapo multi meter...measure the DC Voltage on your batt without your truck running ...should be 12-13 VDC...now if you can start your truck and check your VDC at the battery again...should be around 14VDC if its not re-place your alt. if not replace your Batt.
Last edited by techrep; 11-21-2013 at 06:46 AM.
11-21-2013, 10:26 AM
#4
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the reply guys. I do have a tool to test it with, but I thought it would be a better idea to take it to OReilly's and have them test it for me so I could see how much it would cost to buy a new one while I was there. They told me that the Alternator was bad and I need a new one, so I'm going to have to conjure up some $$$ to make that happen. My next question is: Should I be worried about ruining the new alternator because of the glow gauges, or should it be fine if I put it back the way it was? Thanks in advance.
11-21-2013, 11:41 AM
#5
Mark
iTrader: (1)
the glow gauges didnt mess up your alt..
11-21-2013, 01:58 PM
#6
Senior Member
Thread Starter
What would it have been then? What kind of things would usually cause the alternator to breakdown? It worked perfectly fine before I went behind the cluster and started messing with stuff. I want to eliminate the chance for this to happen again, because alternators aren't super cheap in my book.