Alternator?? Or maybe bad ground? starting issues

[okiepowerstroke]

I have a 2002 7.3L.

I have been having starting problems for the last few weeks. I blamed it on not plugging in the heater block with temps in the teens to 20's. Well after i jump it it seems to be fine. Then all of a sudden it wont start again, without a jump.

I tested the batteries and they test good. The alternator is 1 year old.

Last night the wife was driving it and the lights got dim and the ABS light came on. i was luckily following her in my truck. She wanted me to drive it home for her. So before we did this i hooked my truck up to hers to help give it enough charge to get it home. after 5 min. or so i decided to give it a go. All of a sudden the alternator starting charging again and the lights got bright. i got home and shut it off and tried to restart with NO problems.

This morning my wife is driving it and she said it does not seem to be stopping good, but the abs light is not on this time.

Does this sound like a ground issue, or possibly a alternator issue?

I am not 100% sure i know what im doing but i hooked up a multimeter to the batteries yesterday after i got it home and set it on DC V and while checking each battery got 17-18 volts and then 21 volts while the engine was running. i thought that was strange so i checked my 6.0L and got he exact same reading. I may not be using the meter right, hell i dont know.

[okiepowerstroke]

so maybe i get the shaft everywhere i go, but wanted some opinions. The alternator was taken to auito zone to be tested and they said it is bad. However they told me it was for a 2003 and NOT a 2002.......

They sold me the wrong alternator last year. Hopefully this will fix the prob.

[Buffalo444]

Did you check the batteries with one of the positive posts disconnected? your readings wont be right if youre using it with both batteries hooked up...

And they said the alternator was for the wrong year? Idk, but I coulda swore they were the same throughout.... lol but this is coming from an e99 guy

Good luck getting it all sorted out, electrical issues suck...

[396 strocker]

hi guys iam new in the site. been having problem how to post. sorry i am jumping to something else.i got my 1st 7.3 crank but dont run.i install new alternator ,starter,glow relay,cps. i live in moulton al. anybody knows how to get in contact with alabamafrog? your help be appreciated. lou

[okiepowerstroke]

Originally Posted by Buffalo444

Did you check the batteries with one of the positive posts disconnected? your readings wont be right if youre using it with both batteries hooked up...

And they said the alternator was for the wrong year? Idk, but I coulda swore they were the same throughout.... lol but this is coming from an e99 guy

Good luck getting it all sorted out, electrical issues suck...

No i did not, that explains my reading though. I replaced the alternator, we will see how it does. THe model number on the alternator was different, so i assume they are different.

Mine is the 7.3 model being a 02, and i think the 03's are 6.0's

[lsc8]

I have a related question. I have an e99. I was checking the electrical cause of starting issues as well. I checked my batteries with a battery tester. Both read 12V. While cranking the one i tested dropped down to 7-8V before coming back up when started. After the truck is running the passenger side battery reads 14.5V, but the drivers side is only reading 11.5-12V. I figure that the batteries are toast, but what is the deal with the drivers battery? Is my cable bad?