Made sure the truck batt was good and charged, on the fourth drop of the plow (old western joystick cable) all the lights went off & it stalled. Jump started with another truck & then parked it. So what gives ? Altenator, or just a dead batt. ? Time to get the tester out I guess. Oh the truck is a 1990 ford f-250 302 5 speed.
Lights go very dim & truck stalls with plow.
- Thread starter rmk4ever
- Start date
T
Team Elkhorn
Guest
Check both the battery and the alternator. If either are weak, you'll find out while plowing. Could also be a bad plow motor, drawing too much power. They say it shouldn't take more than 3 seconds to lift the plow all the way up. If it does, your wasting amps. Even with the newer trucks with the high output alternators, we have to stop and rev the motors to let the alternators catch up. Also, (only if its safe), run with your lights off, every little bit helps.
Also check all the wiring. A truck that old could have what they call "fretting corrosion" where the wires picked up some salt over time, found a weak spot in the coating, and corroded through the wires.
Just had this on my 1995 Suburban, the wire from the battery to the alternator corroded in two inside the wire loom. Found it by tugging on the wires and half the wire came out in my hand!
Just had this on my 1995 Suburban, the wire from the battery to the alternator corroded in two inside the wire loom. Found it by tugging on the wires and half the wire came out in my hand!
bouncer
Member
This is where dual batteries come in handy but your problem description indicates the plow lift motor is heading south. I could kill the engine on my plow truck if I accidentally hit the switch for "UP" and the plow was already up. Good luck.
So I wound up replacing batt, would not hold a charge overnight would drop to 10.2 volts, so dead cell. Alt was also replaced was not charging. Now I have a stall issue it cranks right up but as soon as the idle goes to drop it just flat out dies, now I can keep her running by the skinny peddle but sounds like it's running on 4 cyl. Fuel pressure checks out, so that leaves the pump & reg out. I'm thinking either coil or ign module. When I test these it's always in a cold non running sit & they check out. Anybody think I should look elsewhere? 