Hey everyone I'm new to the site but I've used it a lot to fix my troubles on the pick up. I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place or not, but my e99 7.3 has an annoying issue I cant figure out. When I turn on the key to start in the morning my dash lights are real dim. After the truck starts they get to the brightness they should be at. When I turn my headlights on at first they are dim as well. 30 seconds or so after driving they get to the normal brightness. Neither dash lights or headlights go bright and dim once they reach their normal level they stay there. Batteries are good, only 1.5yrs old. And I just had my Alternator rebuilt. Truck not running batteries are 12.3volts. When truck is running they are 14.2. It hasn't given starting troubles yet but winter is coming and I fear it will start giving troubles. Any suggestions?
Start by cleaning your battery cables - both ends - on all cables. After scrubbing the grounds, coat them with a corrosion preventative after reinstalling. Check the large cable on the back of the alternator - make sure its clean and tight and has no voltage drop between the alternator and the positive lead of the battery.
Don't forget that after starting, the glow plugs are still on for a bit. Up to 120 seconds. During that time, you would expect lights and dash to be slightly dimmer that usual.
12.3 volts is slightly low - charged batteries with no load should be 12.54 volts minimum. If you put them on a trickle charger and truly get them to 100%, they will read 12.7 volts or above. At 12.3, you're looking at just over 50% charge.
If it were me (and I've done this), I would permanently mount a trickle charger to a Marinco style plug and plug your truck in. Do this anytime its going to be cold or if you aren't going to be using the truck for a period of time. It uses almost no electricity to maintain batteries and you'll be amazed at how much better a diesel starts on full batteries.
Last winter the truck never did this. I guess I should I have mentioned that the batteries were 12.3 volts after sitting for two days. I'm normally pretty good about plugging the truck in when its cold. Especially since I replaced all the glow plugs in Feb this year. My battery terminals aren't corroded, but the one positive wire is kind of loose on the connected, like I bet if II gave it a solid tug I would pull it out of the connector.
They are low amperage battery chargers designed to keep a battery at full charge without damaging the battery like a traditional battery charger would do. Noco Genius is my favorite brand, followed by Schumacher and then Battery Tender. Get one that you could permanently mount for convenience. Do the Marinco mod so all you have to do is plug the extension cord into the bumper.
Just looked up the Marinco mod. Looks worth while. How do you like your gauges and DP f6 chip? Just ordered the chip. Still deciding on brand of gauges.
And just so I'm understanding you, you did the marinco mod and connected your battery maintainer to that plug in? So you have the marinco mod and your block heater plug ins?
The plug on the driver's side I have wired to my block heater. The one on my passenger side, I have wired to the battery maintainer. Where I live, I only need my block heater once every ten years, but the battery maintainer comes in handy all the time.
Here's a good maintainer -
I love my gauges - the ISSPRO and the Autolite brands are impossible to beat. The DP-Tuner is the one mod on my truck I would fight you for. Its the best thing I've ever done to my truck. I think the F5 is sufficient though. I got the F6 thinking I would buy extra tunes down the road but the ones I got initially are so phenomenal that I haven't had any need to buy any more. You really will hate yourself for not having tuned your truck earlier after your first drive with the DP-tuner installed.
Alright, well some small projects to look forward too haha. Does your battery maintainer use a lot of power? Will I expect my electricity bill to go way up?
Either will work. It just will shorten the time needed to charge as the amps go up. The 3.5 is on sale today as part of cyber Monday at Amazon. Get one quick! Just need one as the batteries are hard wired to each other.
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