On the way to work this morning I saw my ABS light come on. A couple of minutes later the battery light came on followed in a few seconds by the brake light. TAC, Speedo, Gas, Temp, Oil Pres gauges all working, Amp gauge bottomed out. Air bag light comes on and dash lights start dimming. Truck still running just fine though.

Mile down the road, as I stop at a red light, Amp gauge starts working, all warning lights go out and dash lights brighten. Accelerate away from the red light and all warning lights come back on, dash lights go out and all gauges quit working. Notice windows won't roll down and power door locks won't work. Truck running fine.

Get to work, park, check under hood. Belt is fine and all looks normal (5:30am normal anyway). Turn the truck off and it won't restart.

Serious problem or most likely the battery? Any help appreciated because I won't get off until 5:00pm and it will be dark again by then.

Thanks,
Gary

 

To me it sounds more like your alternator is on it's way out. Do you have a voltmeter? If it won't restart I'm guessing your battery has drained. It *could* still be your battery but based on those symptoms I'm more convinced alternator.


Your alternator might also still be partially working but unable to deliver full power. So as you've been driving, your battery has slowly been getting more and more drained... It could have lasted days, etc.. It doesn't really explain why it comes back to life when you've stopped but it's still possible.


It could even be as simple as the battery cable is loose or alternator wire corroded. Wouldn't hurt to check that.


I know this isn't a lot of help but based on what you've described it's sounding that way. If you have access to a voltmeter, that'd be the easiest way to start diagnosing.