91 i6 battery gauge shaking. Like a lot. Video attached.
07-16-2018, 11:26 AM
#1
91 i6 battery gauge shaking. Like a lot. Video attached.
Hey y'all, was driving from Houston to Austin doing around 75. Truck drove like a dream until I was about 30 minutes out of Austin (about 130 miles of a trip) and this my battery gauge starts freaking out. Starts shaking back and forth as shown in the attached video. Once I gun it though it sticks in place.
I have no idea what to do, electricity scares me haha. Any feedback would be great! Thanks!
I have no idea what to do, electricity scares me haha. Any feedback would be great! Thanks!
Last edited by jdaum1222; 07-16-2018 at 12:02 PM. Reason: adding more information
07-16-2018, 11:32 AM
#2
Moved to the parent thread for more visibility
07-16-2018, 12:02 PM
#3
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What do the battery terminals look like? Click this & read all the captions:
(phone app link)
You should also check the alternator connector ASAP - they're known to set trucks on fire:
(phone app link)
You should put all the truck's details into your signature so we can find them when we want to answer you. Click this & read the caption:
(phone app link)
(phone app link)
You should also check the alternator connector ASAP - they're known to set trucks on fire:
(phone app link)
You should put all the truck's details into your signature so we can find them when we want to answer you. Click this & read the caption:
(phone app link)
07-18-2018, 03:49 PM
#4
Does this happen while at idle or just driving? We need to verify that your voltage is actually cucked, and that is isnt just the guage in your dash, the gauge in the dash is notoriously buggy. If at idle confirm with a quality multi meter. The little lighter voltage gauges probably don't read fast enough to work in this situation while driving to pick up those quick drops in voltage.
I had a similar situation with a different car and it was the voltage regulator in the alternator that was going out. Go to autozone and have your alternator checked.. Does it start up and run just fine? Does the rest of your power cut out when driving and the gauge starts to go nuts?
If it is the alternator/voltage regulator, do yourself a service and upgrade to the 3rd generation alternators. You can get the direct replacement from a 96 4.9 f150. some people also go to junkyards and pull them off of ford taurus of certain years and engines from this time period. the 3g alternators also offer about twice as much amps from the factory 2g.
The plug from the 2g alternators were notorious for rotting out and catching fire. The 3g eliminates this by going to a 1/4 inch post. One plug is retained form the harness. The other plug you cut out and splice together the two black wires to a ring terminal, the other wire from that plug is the stator wire if i remember correctly and you just connect that to the stator plug on the back of the 3g alternator. Some people run an additional heavier cable from the ring terminal on the alternator to the ignition relay, but that is only really needed if you upgrade to a "high performance" aternator. I am running a 150 amp alternator to power a 1500 watt stereo.
I had a similar situation with a different car and it was the voltage regulator in the alternator that was going out. Go to autozone and have your alternator checked.. Does it start up and run just fine? Does the rest of your power cut out when driving and the gauge starts to go nuts?
If it is the alternator/voltage regulator, do yourself a service and upgrade to the 3rd generation alternators. You can get the direct replacement from a 96 4.9 f150. some people also go to junkyards and pull them off of ford taurus of certain years and engines from this time period. the 3g alternators also offer about twice as much amps from the factory 2g.
The plug from the 2g alternators were notorious for rotting out and catching fire. The 3g eliminates this by going to a 1/4 inch post. One plug is retained form the harness. The other plug you cut out and splice together the two black wires to a ring terminal, the other wire from that plug is the stator wire if i remember correctly and you just connect that to the stator plug on the back of the 3g alternator. Some people run an additional heavier cable from the ring terminal on the alternator to the ignition relay, but that is only really needed if you upgrade to a "high performance" aternator. I am running a 150 amp alternator to power a 1500 watt stereo.
07-21-2018, 07:35 AM
#5
Does this happen while at idle or just driving? We need to verify that your voltage is actually cucked, and that is isnt just the guage in your dash, the gauge in the dash is notoriously buggy. If at idle confirm with a quality multi meter. The little lighter voltage gauges probably don't read fast enough to work in this situation while driving to pick up those quick drops in voltage.
I had a similar situation with a different car and it was the voltage regulator in the alternator that was going out. Go to autozone and have your alternator checked.. Does it start up and run just fine? Does the rest of your power cut out when driving and the gauge starts to go nuts?
If it is the alternator/voltage regulator, do yourself a service and upgrade to the 3rd generation alternators. You can get the direct replacement from a 96 4.9 f150. some people also go to junkyards and pull them off of ford taurus of certain years and engines from this time period. the 3g alternators also offer about twice as much amps from the factory 2g.
The plug from the 2g alternators were notorious for rotting out and catching fire. The 3g eliminates this by going to a 1/4 inch post. One plug is retained form the harness. The other plug you cut out and splice together the two black wires to a ring terminal, the other wire from that plug is the stator wire if i remember correctly and you just connect that to the stator plug on the back of the 3g alternator. Some people run an additional heavier cable from the ring terminal on the alternator to the ignition relay, but that is only really needed if you upgrade to a "high performance" aternator. I am running a 150 amp alternator to power a 1500 watt stereo.
I had a similar situation with a different car and it was the voltage regulator in the alternator that was going out. Go to autozone and have your alternator checked.. Does it start up and run just fine? Does the rest of your power cut out when driving and the gauge starts to go nuts?
If it is the alternator/voltage regulator, do yourself a service and upgrade to the 3rd generation alternators. You can get the direct replacement from a 96 4.9 f150. some people also go to junkyards and pull them off of ford taurus of certain years and engines from this time period. the 3g alternators also offer about twice as much amps from the factory 2g.
The plug from the 2g alternators were notorious for rotting out and catching fire. The 3g eliminates this by going to a 1/4 inch post. One plug is retained form the harness. The other plug you cut out and splice together the two black wires to a ring terminal, the other wire from that plug is the stator wire if i remember correctly and you just connect that to the stator plug on the back of the 3g alternator. Some people run an additional heavier cable from the ring terminal on the alternator to the ignition relay, but that is only really needed if you upgrade to a "high performance" aternator. I am running a 150 amp alternator to power a 1500 watt stereo.
I had my 2G alternator catch on fire (thankfully my wife was driving it at the time, so I can - and have - been able to tease her about setting it on fire ever since). I swapped to a 3G and have been able to drive flameless ever since.
