Electrical nightmare 2001 F250 PSD 7.3

[DsNitroCircus]

Runs for 10 minutes then all gauges shut down and truck just dies. When I try to start it back up the battery is dead. New batteries and GPR. Any suggestions as to what is causing this?

[Zaairman]

Bad alternator? Is the battery light on?

[NoRalPh]

Yea, you're not really making this very clear......

The batteries are NOT really dead - right? By that I mean, you're not having to get out a charger and recharge them for a couple of hours - are you? You have new batteries and it's starting OK just that it dies after 10 mins. Then, when you turn the key it doesn't do anything. Has it done this more than once? Can you just try again the next day and it starts again?

Try turning on your headlights, are they dim & orange?

[justinmix]

Yeah, I'm confused too. How do you get it going again? Sounds like a bad alternator and some crap batteries. Even with no alternator it should run for more then 10 minutes off the batteries alone.

[DsNitroCircus]

The truck was hard to start when it would get to about 40 degrees outside or lower. I put a new GPR in it and have 2 new batteries in it. After replacing the GPR I charged it for 5 min. it started up good and ran fine. Spent the day running errands with not a problem all day. The next day I had to charge it for 10 min. it started up and idled fine, but had a relay clicking behind the radio. Radio and overhead console doesn't work and the ABS and battery lights are on. It will idle for about 15 mins and then die. I have to hook it back up to the charger to start it again.

[bob harris]

Bad battery leads I reckon

[justinmix]

Sounds like the alternator is not charging. Charge the batteries. Take a voltmeter and check battery voltage with the batteries charged up and the truck not running. Record this voltage. it should be around 12 +/- 1 volt. Now start the truck and recheck the voltage at the batteries. It should be 13 volts are higher after the glow plugs go off. If it's still at the same voltage as when the truck was not running then the alternator is not charging the batteries. Take the voltmeter and check the voltage on the big terminal on the alternator. This should have battery voltage there, indicating the wiring from the alternator to the batteries is ok. If all this checks out then the alternator is not charging and needs to be replaced.

[rsecondchance1]

You may have a stuck glow plug relay. I have had 2 go bad on me in the past. Will drain the battery right down to nothing. Let us know what you find.

[tenpack]

x2 on the GPR being stuck, it takes a lot of amps to suck two good batteries dead