Low batteries everytime i start truck? anyone know why?

[F250 Fever]

i tested my batteries and each of them have at least 12 volts so every time my truck sits the battery gauge is very low and the truck barley kicks over i cant figure out why?? oh and i jus replaced the GPR 3 days ago. and is there a way to check my alternator with my multimeter?


i checked each battery seperate btw while each were disconnected.

any advice would be great guys.

[ju015dd]

How old are you batts, and make sure the connections are nice and snug. I have noticed that if I have a slightly loose connection my truck dosen't want to start. I found this out after doing some work one day from laying on top of the motor I some how managed to wiggle loose one of the connections. Also , a shade tree way of checking to see if the alt is working is stick a screwdriver to the back of it while truck is running. If it is working it will act like a magnet.

[F250 Fever]

good advice man one of my battery cables is a bit loose because i cant tighten the bolt on it, ill spend more time on it and make sure its snug tight, ill get back to you on that thank you.

[plato-350]

A couple things to try. Get a volt meter and somebody to help you. Start the truck and wait for a minute for the glow plug relay to cycle off. After that check voltage at idle you shouldn't see anything less than 12.6 volts. leave the volt meter hooked up and get somebody to idle the truck up while you watch the meter. If the voltage goes up, the alt. is ok. With the truck off, and the batteries read below 12v replace batts. A good strong battery should read 12-13v. If everything reads ok, but the truck still cranks over slow or has a hard time, replace the starter its going bad. let me know what you find out. Oh, and like said above, loose cables can cause you problems. Make sure they're clean & tight. Hope this helps out.

[Soot_Life]

haha i just went to my local battery shop today for the same reason... both batteries are in tip top shape butim still reading like 9 volts on the dash while starting and it is slowww

figure now its my starter. Or since my voltage guage on the dash seems to jump around from time to time my stator on my alternator is going.... more thanlikely both.

[korg70kbc]

parasitic draw, cables, loose connectors sooooo many things can cause that as I found out

[F250 Fever]

Wow jus found out it was somethin as simple as slightly loose battery cables, its not like they could fall off from hitting a bump but all I did was jus tighten them up and bingo fixed thanks guys for the tips

[ju015dd]

Good deal, like I said earlier. I had the same prob when I first bought the truck. They have to be good and tight.