Yesterday after work I started my truck to go home No noticeable issue , temps low around 15F. After two blocks my check gages light went on and battery indicated 0volts. I drove about 30mins and made it home. Truck would not restart.

Had the alternator checked and it passed. I had the battery's on trickle charge for 24 hrs and they did not seem to charge while in the truck. Pulled them off the truck , put battery charger back oN them and they seem to hold charge reading 13v.

Battery's are 3-4 years old. Die hard platiunms. Any ideas?

 

I would take the batteries to a parts store that has the capability to load test them.

 

Check the connections at the PDC. I had this issue a long time ago, driving along, ding, 0 volts and check gauges light comes on. Was a loose positive at the PDC. Took literally years to find it. Mostly because key off, key on fixed the problem.

 

Thx for the responses. Where is the PDC located? Seems the problem disappeared so maybe that's my issue.

 

Thats the fuse box under the hood.

 

To me, if your charge gauge dropped to 0 while driving, you must have had some sort of intermittent issue with the charging system. Once running, even if the batteries are no good at all, the alternator should, in most cases, be able to provide power to keep system voltage at a normal reading. I would look for connection issues like suggested above, then I would have a look inside the alternator for brush wear that may cause an intermittent failure. When the brushes wear out, I've seen several instances on these trucks where the alternator would fail one day and work fine again the next.

 

Even if the alternator fell off the truck while driving, it shouldn't show a drop to 0 volt and still run.

 

PDC= Power Distribution Center

 

. . Sudden battery issues are often caused by corrosion on the battery posts. . Not the fuzz on the outside of the clamps, , That's people's biggest mistake. . It's the corrosion that grows between the post and the clamp. . Vehicle starts fine one minute and then is dead the next. .
. . Pull the clamps off and scrape corrosion off both the posts and the inside of the clamps . .