New problem

Hey guys in a really bad bind, my truck died on me. Last couple times I have started it batteries sounded weak. I was getting ready to bring my son to work so I started it up to warm the truck up. I had to shut it down for 10 minutes and when I went to start it the gauges go nuts and all the idiot lights flash really quick.

It's a 02 with no after market guages with a php chip. It's never done this before the battiers are fresh and everything is tight.

Oh it did start leaking fuel which I figured was the fuel bowl but I don't think that would make it act like it's doing. I mean the dash lights flash really quick the needles bury themselves and the buzzer sounds sick. I just got done replacing the entire cooling system but it's been running fine though. Thanks in advance for any help.

Has it been raining, could be the windshield leaking into the fuse box under the dash.

Fuel bowl probably not related, but get the military grade o-ring replacements so you
dont have to do it every few years.

dmd said:

Has it been raining, could be the windshield leaking into the fuse box under the dash.

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As a matter of fact it has been. Windshield use to leak bad until I had it replaced but that was years ago. Can maybe the battiers just go bad? The guages going nuts is what worries me never seen them do that.

dmd said:

Fuel bowl probably not related, but get the military grade o-ring replacements so you
dont have to do it every few years.

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I will been looking at videos on how to fix it now I have a whole new problem.

Youd could have a battery with a shorted cell in it. Thatll cause all sorts of ***ked up chit to happen. Id have the batteries tested, and replace them with a good set. I prefer the motorcraft 850s, but thers othe good ones out there too. Think there was a thread on it a while back. Dont go with anything less than a 750cca. And ca is much different than cca. Plus check your cables and make sure they aint corroded to hell.

Check your alternator too, when the one on my last 02 went out it did about the same thing. I jumped it got new batteries 3 days later same thing. 15 minutes on a 10amp charger and it would start, and be fine until the second time I tried to start it on the third day.

I sure will guys thanks for the replys. I will go have them tested tomorrow. They are the duralast from autozone. I will check the alternator out also, hope it's something simple like that. Will let you guys know what I find out.

It was the batteries, one was capped out so I replaced both. I bought them in 2012 so they weren't to old. Only problem was the guy sold me exactly what I had and what it said the truck called for but they were only 750 cca.

Not sure if that will cause any problems but she fired up quick.

750s are ok. Just dont expect them to live long. I used to use sears but they wont honor the warranty on batteries if you actually use it. These trucks are pretty tough in batteries in my opinion. If you use it daily they last longest. If you use it and let it sit they tend to crap out in 3 years.

TyCorr said:

750s are ok. Just dont expect them to live long. I used to use sears but they wont honor the warranty on batteries if you actually use it. These trucks are pretty tough in batteries in my opinion. If you use it daily they last longest. If you use it and let it sit they tend to crap out in 3 years.

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OK cool. Yes it has been sitting more than running, I mean months at a time so you are correct that's what must have killed them. Thanks for the reply now I need to fix my freaking fuel bowl which is leaking like mad.

TyCorr said:

750s are ok. Just dont expect them to live long. I used to use sears but they wont honor the warranty on batteries if you actually use it. These trucks are pretty tough in batteries in my opinion. If you use it daily they last longest. If you use it and let it sit they tend to crap out in 3 years.

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couldn't have said it better homi.

Turbosuzuki said:

OK cool. Yes it has been sitting more than running, I mean months at a time so you are correct that's what must have killed them. Thanks for the reply now I need to fix my freaking fuel bowl which is leaking like mad.

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fire it up and put a volt meter on the batteries.. see what that alternator is putting out!

750 are what came from the factory. but like mentioned, get the highest you can stuff in there.. especially if it isn't ran daily..

live life full throttle

god bless america and the farmer who feeds your fat ass

Justin Cain said a battery tender is good if you let the truck sit as it'll keep them charged so they hold amperage.

Thanks for the help guys it means alot. You guys on here have helped me out alot. I haven't changed my alternater out so that will go out next most likely lol.

I did buy a battery tender to keep my batteries charged but was always unhooking it when working on it and not plugging it up. I will just pay more attention to things.

get a hand held volt meter on the batteries while it's running near operating temps and report back

live life full throttle

god bless america and the farmer who feeds your fat ass

I didnt see this before, but ~4 year old batteries aren't fresh. Thats on the downhill slope for even good quality batteries. Glad you got it running. Also, since you're in a 7.3, your starter is likely to be ~13 years old if its original. You'd be amazed how quick they spin up with a new starter too. The OEM starters rarely die, but they do draw excessive current as they age, and that makes even good batteries sound tired while cranking.

mikeeg02 said:

I didnt see this before, but ~4 year old batteries aren't fresh. Thats on the downhill slope for even good quality batteries. Glad you got it running. Also, since you're in a 7.3, your starter is likely to be ~13 years old if its original. You'd be amazed how quick they spin up with a new starter too. The OEM starters rarely die, but they do draw excessive current as they age, and that makes even good batteries sound tired while cranking.

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Thats how most people figure out they have a bad starter. Gets hard to start, batteries draw down, truck wont start. So they replace batteries and low and behold, nothing. Starter is dead lol

Just throw money at it, instead of investing a little bit of money in basic diagnostic tools and learning how to use them. It's not like a DVM cost a ton, you can get a decent one for 30 bucks, YouTube will teach you how to use it in a few minutes. In it's lifetime, that thirty dollar tool will save you thousands.

Arisley said:

Just throw money at it, instead of investing a little bit of money in basic diagnostic tools and learning how to use them. It's not like a DVM cost a ton, you can get a decent one for 30 bucks, YouTube will teach you how to use it in a few minutes. In it's lifetime, that thirty dollar tool will save you thousands.

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Couldnt have said it better with a degree from Harvard.