LUVTruck.com

i had a dead battery today.this time it wasn't to one of my toys i didn't have jumper cables
i ended up having to call my phones road side assist.
i tried to push start it but at 100 lbs it was useless
: i got home turned it off tried to re-start it
it wouldn't start, an hour later it started and starts every time now
how come ?
my neighbor says his chevy and his other car did this and that chevys do that
doent sound right
i was driving all a.m. had a 12 volt adapter in use (my radio doent work) to plug in my portable cd player and had the headlights on (its safer to drive with headlights.(expecially on route 66 (foothill blvd) in calif.
could that have beena excessive drain?

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

sounds more like you have a bad battery conection to me, clean the terminals with sand paper and re-conect em. that should fix the problem

kewl
. if i cant get the positive cabel off, is it safe to use wd40 right?
my eSTRANGEd husband SAYS he is going to send me money for a new truck battery. hope he does then i know if it happens again its not the battery

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

the battery terminals are make of lead so if you have troubles getting them off just use a flat head screwdriver and do a little bit of prying on them. just remember when you are prying on the posative side dont let the screwdriver touch the body, sparks will fly and it will scare you a bit. wd40 wont hurt anything but it may be a mess. i wouldnt invest in a new battery untill you know that your old one is bad. from what you described it sounds like the battery is still good but its not getting a good conection. hope this helps.

Kevin

it did thanks.
i went to auto zone
they tested the battery
then chargrd it
took a full charge
and said the battery was still good
so its not the battery
i think (and hope ) it was just a freak occurence
starts and keeps staring fine

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

Sounds to me like cables or connectors too. You can get replacement connectors at most parts shops if yours are getting chewed up looking. A lot of times a loose battery connector will make the truck just click on trying to start and not spin over. It acts like the battery is dead, but it isn't. It can also prevent the alternator from being able to get a good charge into the battery as well.

I assume you've already done this, but for the benefit of others who might get some insight here is my tip: Take loose both battery connectors. Clean the inside of the connectors and the outside of the posts. You can get a terminal cleaning brush made for this, but in a pinch just scraping with a pocket knife can help. When you put the connectors back on, tighten them down good some the connector doesn't move much if at all on the post. If you can't get them that tight, you can turn the connector on its side and tap it with something to sort of squish it out of round slightly. Not a permanent fix, but it will get you home sometimes. If you can't get them tight, the best fix is to replace the connector or the whole cable.

You might also look at the wiring to the positive side of the bat. The big wire should be hooked tight to the starter. (DISCONNECT before trying to tighten it) and the smaller wire should go through a couple wires and then into the wiring harness, ending at the alternator and under the dash Just make sure the smaller wire is connected good and any plugs it goes through are hooked up tight and clean.

Hope this helps.

how many rednecks out there have had a connector break compleaty off and used a set of vicegrips to clamp the cable on?. i drove a chevette around for about 6 months like that

_________________
I like my steak like I like my women, young, tender and bloody.

All I need is my weed, women, and wine. -Edge City Outlaws

lmao, never seen that but ill keep it in mind if im ever stuck somewere

thank you so much. that info helps alot. the cables connection is kinda funky looking ( dust, lubricant grease (my best guess of what it is ) tomorrow i will do that,the truck started fine
i remember the radio i was plugging in to the 12 volt adapter as soon as i turned it on it kept cutting off. have to double check that cig lighter still works) this is not anything my little blue sony portable cd/mp3/casette/stereo has ever done. sometimes it was on but nonstop kept cutting out after 25 times trying to listen to sublime on cd i gave up
all that was before i turned the truck off the headlights were on too. (driving on route 66 (foothill is a deadly highway i was trying to be visible head on).
only when i turned the truck off at the social security office, only to find out their comps were down, i tried to leave but no luck - "dead battery"
do you think the situation of repeadiately powering cd player on killed it. the truck was always turned over when i used radio? maybe a combination,(if this helps) the truck prior to me getting it 2 weeks ago averaged 3 (yes, three) miles per week in the last 10 years by my dad. it was garaged and maintained though. my dad takes outstanding care to vechicles. and is not hard on them.
my odometer is as of now 599897 miles on the original engine.
evrythings stock except my back bumper

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

Here's a tip from someone that has restored over 30 classic cars and trucks in the last 25 years....take it or leave it...just my $.02 worth.

All the old vehicles that use the old glass fuses and the old-style fusebox with wiring that plugged into the fuse box were subject to doing some "wild and woundrous electrical voodoo' as my uncle...R.I.P.... (that got me first hooked on fixin' up old iron "just to make it purd-dee-er") used to say.

Numerous old electrical systems used to drive me (more) wacko trying to chase out the apparent gremlins that made everything electrical seem to work or quit whenever it darned well felt like it - untill he "wised me up" years ago..

Thanks to him, I have since learned the extreme value of a small die-grinder with a little brass wire wheel attached to clean electrical connections.....lol

But, if you find yourself in a situation devoid of power tools, then just pick up a small brass wire brush at your local parts, hardware, or dollar store. Open your hood, disconnect your battery connections, and find and un-attach your fusebox. Then - one at a time - pull your wire connectors and clean them and their contacts. After you have all of those done, re-attach your fuse box, and take out your fuses - one at a time - and clean, repair if necessary, and check their contacts (and their ends) to insure good contact and a good, secure electrical connection.

Then re-connect your battery connections (make sure the battery connections are clean, in good shape, and tight - just like the other posts said), and start 'er up and see if that doesn't help.

BTW, for extra credit...you can also look under the hood, under the dash, and underneath along the frame to find each and every ground wire that is attached to some chunk of metal, and clean, repair if necessary, and tighten them too.

This is a standard routine I use religously on every old buck-of-bolts I tackle as a project.

It has served me well...and IMHO...it's probably one of the best chunks of automotive restoration advice I've ever got.

thanks. as soon as i get the courage to unscrew things i will. i hope its soon that i do . i am just leary of having something happen and wishing i had never touched it.
i am the type that 3rd degrees auto stores and the chevy dealers about even adding any fluids. afraid i may add the wrong thing. (even brake fluid) but i will keep that tip in notes to do. thanks
signed : female blonde scaredy-cat. lol

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

Ok, I tried but I just couldn't let it slide. I just about choked on my Dr. Pepper after I read this. The battery not working on the LUV is bad enough but to have em go dead on the toys would just plain suck.

Chad

im innocent,
innocent i tell ya

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

either sublime or peter tosh
( those of you who aren't familiar; peter tosh is short for peter macintosh- one of the original wailers from bob marley and the wailers)

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?

you hippie, but hey so am i

i talked to a place that my dad always took the truck (the engine room- pomona, ca) because the other day the generator light stayed on after i shut the truck off. a second later it didn't wasn't to turn over i looked under the hood made sure the battery cables were tight, tried to turn it over again and it started.


maybe strong sunlight blocked out noticing the light staying on and thats what killed the battery
but i barely had gotten out when soc security had computers down, tried to leave and had problems

they said they wouldn't charge me to test if it was the ignition switch.
i'm not sure if other places charge to check or not.
he said since it stays on only after i shut the truck of that thats probally the culprit.
so around the 1st of sept i will have gas money to go to pomona (about prob 30 miles away) and i will let you all know

_________________
Happiness is stroking the lizard
(what?! i have a five foot iguana;
what were you thinking )

OUCH!
got luv bumps?