kingofdodge7131

ok, trucks always done this but never worried about it really but it gets old


what i have is a lack of charging when the truck starts. the interior lights get dimm and bright along with headlights, takes a good 5 miles then the amp meter goes from 12ish to over 14(charging. Done this for lil over a year, any ideas?

DSLRammin

grid heaters are drawing power. Normal.

kingofdodge7131

didnt know they ran for 5 minutes? i can almost make it to wal mart (4 miles away ) before it kicks in

043500QC

Yep, its completly normal. Grid heaters cycle according to the Ambient air temp if I`m not mistaken. Anytime under 45* I believe.

CMC

I think the temp is higher then 45 that the grid heater cycles. Mine does it down here in Corpus when the tempis in the 50's

picdodge

I think it's a combination of heating grid and voltage regulator. My truck does not charge as it should. It takes a few minutes for the VR to excite the alt.. It's been that way since new, STAR said it's ok, when I took it to the dealer, after having roadside come and jump it 3 times. I just make sure to take a couple of extra laps on short around town runs. It is only noticable when its cool out and the grid is in operation. I checked mine with a meter and it is slow to excite the alt. even when warm. Just one of them things. I guess?