98 Jimmy 4.3l blows batteries? I hate electrical lol

[CanukGMC]

K quick rundown on what's going on:

-last year my battery completely died, I could jump it and run the truck but as soon as I shut it off it wouldn't even crank. So I bought a new battery (NAPA Legend) and dropped it in. I tried charging the OLD battery and got an "open cell, see service shop" error on my electronic charger.

-All was fine till winter. One day suddenly, probably 8 months after battery purchase, it wouldn't start. I jumped it and drove around for an hour, shut it down and in the AM it barely cranked over. So I put it on the charger and again got an F03 (open cell error, see service shop) after a few hours on the charger.

-I brought the NEW battery back and had it replace under warranty, they confirmed with their tester it was fried. Dropped a new NEW battery into the jimmy and everything seemed fine for a few weeks. Then one day a couple weeks in it was dead again (at this point I've turned off ALL interior lights via fuses, I leave the stereo shut off completely and leave the internal blower\defroster turned OFF). I put the battery on the charger over night and it charges fine (charger automatically floats once full so I can't over charge it by accident).

-All is well for another week and I don't run the truck for 2 days, just 2 days (each day it's run it's driven AT LEAST 30miles) and it won't crank. That was last night. So I throw the charger on again and get an FO3 error AGAIN. I take the battery in to NAPA, get ANOTHER new one under warranty and this is where I'm at now.




Sorry for a long story.



Here's what I want to know:

-what causes a battery to blow over and over? I'm sure NAPA will only give me so many before they think I'm abusing it.



Here's my current theory:

-Maybe the alternator is not producing a proper charge. I have no shops here that can test my alt output. I bought a new one and will drop it in today (200$ after core, sigh). The alternator obviously produces enough current to run the coil and plugs while I'm driving but maybe the charging circuit is fried and is stressing\frying the battery somehow? Maybe it's not charging at all and everytime I crank the engine it uses some power but then runs off the alternator until I go to crank it again until the battery dies completely.


Any ideas would be great.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by CanukGMC

K quick rundown on what's going on:

-last year my battery completely died, I could jump it and run the truck but as soon as I shut it off it wouldn't even crank. So I bought a new battery (NAPA Legend) and dropped it in. I tried charging the OLD battery and got an "open cell, see service shop" error on my electronic charger.

-All was fine till winter. One day suddenly, probably 8 months after battery purchase, it wouldn't start. I jumped it and drove around for an hour, shut it down and in the AM it barely cranked over. So I put it on the charger and again got an F03 (open cell error, see service shop) after a few hours on the charger.

-I brought the NEW battery back and had it replace under warranty, they confirmed with their tester it was fried. Dropped a new NEW battery into the jimmy and everything seemed fine for a few weeks. Then one day a couple weeks in it was dead again (at this point I've turned off ALL interior lights via fuses, I leave the stereo shut off completely and leave the internal blower\defroster turned OFF). I put the battery on the charger over night and it charges fine (charger automatically floats once full so I can't over charge it by accident).

-All is well for another week and I don't run the truck for 2 days, just 2 days (each day it's run it's driven AT LEAST 30miles) and it won't crank. That was last night. So I throw the charger on again and get an FO3 error AGAIN. I take the battery in to NAPA, get ANOTHER new one under warranty and this is where I'm at now.




Sorry for a long story.



Here's what I want to know:

-what causes a battery to blow over and over? I'm sure NAPA will only give me so many before they think I'm abusing it.



Here's my current theory:

-Maybe the alternator is not producing a proper charge. I have no shops here that can test my alt output. I bought a new one and will drop it in today (200$ after core, sigh). The alternator obviously produces enough current to run the coil and plugs while I'm driving but maybe the charging circuit is fried and is stressing\frying the battery somehow? Maybe it's not charging at all and everytime I crank the engine it uses some power but then runs off the alternator until I go to crank it again until the battery dies completely.


Any ideas would be great.

A good volt meter should tell you if it has the proper voltage and charging good.
Good luck

[CanukGMC]

Originally Posted by MT-2500

A good volt meter should tell you if it has the proper voltage and charging good.
Good luck

I don't doubt it is sort of working right, so I mean even with a voltmeter on it I'm sure I'll see output voltage. What I can't figure out is why batteries LITERALLY are popping. It's not that they just die, the cells within the battery a frying and becoming non-responsive to charge or use. I appreciate the response I just don't know enough about electrical to throw a voltmeter on my alternator output and look for surges or whatever could actually cause blown cells.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by CanukGMC

I don't doubt it is sort of working right, so I mean even with a voltmeter on it I'm sure I'll see output voltage. What I can't figure out is why batteries LITERALLY are popping. It's not that they just die, the cells within the battery a frying and becoming non-responsive to charge or use. I appreciate the response I just don't know enough about electrical to throw a voltmeter on my alternator output and look for surges or whatever could actually cause blown cells.

AS SAID A GOOD VOLT METER WILL TEST YOUR CHARGING SYSTEM.

You need to look for overcharging {HIGH COLTAGE} if it is frying batterys.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE A VOLTMETER FIND SOMEPLACE OR SOMEONE THAT DOES.

Ask your Napa store if they can help you.

A lot of parts places give free battery and charging and computer system test.
Is that a gold plated NAPA battery?
You should be able to by 2-1/2 top of line batterys for 200 bucks.

[CanukGMC]

Originally Posted by MT-2500

AS SAID A GOOD VOLT METER WILL TEST YOUR CHARGING SYSTEM.

You need to look for overcharging {HIGH COLTAGE} if it is frying batterys.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW TO USE A VOLTMETER FIND SOMEPLACE OR SOMEONE THAT DOES.

Ask your Napa store if they can help you.

A lot of parts places give free battery and charging and computer system test.
Is that a gold plated NAPA battery?
You should be able to by 2-1/2 top of line batterys for 200 bucks.

No one really around to help with that, we don't have a "real" napa up here. It's like a sub outlet within a shop that sells NAPA parts. Markups are extreme because I live in a remote area, put it this way, I don't live in a town\village\city or anything lol, I literally live in the forest on a private lake. I did ask if they could test alternators in house and they said they would have to charge shop time to do it and they don't carry the tools to do it as NAPA, only as the shop (hah). They did have the battery tester that registers if the batt is dead or not on hand because the batts do carry warranty.

I do appreciate the replies though. New battery is in, alternator is out and replaced. I did notice that when starting and idling there wasn't this "marbles rolling around" sound coming from under the hood anymore. I turned the old alt by hand and didn't feel an resistance, but I can'y apply the same RPM or tension the belt does. I have a feeling the old one was shot. Time will tell of course.

I also finally took the rear gate apart and unplugged that damned rear window solonoid. RANDOMLY it would pop and unlock the back window without cause. There was (that I could find) no fuse for it either in the main block. Maybe it was shorting. Who knows.

[djd99]

Originally Posted by CanukGMC

No one really around to help with that, we don't have a "real" napa up here. It's like a sub outlet within a shop that sells NAPA parts. Markups are extreme because I live in a remote area, put it this way, I don't live in a town\village\city or anything lol, I literally live in the forest on a private lake. I did ask if they could test alternators in house and they said they would have to charge shop time to do it and they don't carry the tools to do it as NAPA, only as the shop (hah). They did have the battery tester that registers if the batt is dead or not on hand because the batts do carry warranty.

I do appreciate the replies though. New battery is in, alternator is out and replaced. I did notice that when starting and idling there wasn't this "marbles rolling around" sound coming from under the hood anymore. I turned the old alt by hand and didn't feel an resistance, but I can'y apply the same RPM or tension the belt does. I have a feeling the old one was shot. Time will tell of course.

I also finally took the rear gate apart and unplugged that damned rear window solonoid. RANDOMLY it would pop and unlock the back window without cause. There was (that I could find) no fuse for it either in the main block. Maybe it was shorting. Who knows.

It's really easy to use a volt meter if you have access to one, all you do is put the red lead on the positive(red) on battery then take the black lead from the meter and put it on the black(negative side of battery) and take a reading with the truck off(should be around 12 volts) now start your truck and take the same test now it should read around 13 volts anything 14 and higher most likely is why your battery's are going dead.

Also this Marbles rolling around your hearing in my experience means your Alternator is going bad.

[CanukGMC]

Originally Posted by djd99

It's really easy to use a volt meter if you have access to one, all you do is put the red lead on the positive(red) on battery then take the black lead from the meter and put it on the black(negative side of battery) and take a reading with the truck off(should be around 12 volts) now start your truck and take the same test now it should read around 13 volts anything 14 and higher most likely is why your battery's are going dead.

Also this Marbles rolling around your hearing in my experience means your Alternator is going bad.

Ah see I didn't think it'd be that simple. I know how to measure with a voltmeter, I just didn't know what a "charging" state would look like voltage wise. If it moves up and down, cycles, or anything odd like that. This is definitely good to know for the future, like I said that marbles sound did disapear the second I cranked it with the new alt so I'm really hoping it was a bad old unit, I really don't want to start gutting electrical looking for shorts\fuzzy grounds lol. Thanks everyone for your input, that's why I love this site even if I already have a plan on what to fix, it's good to get more points of view that may go "whoah, bad idea, do this...".

[old_master]

When the battery is fully charged, all accessories turned off, engine running at 1500 RPM, ideal charging voltage is 14.2 volts. It would be best to check alternator amperage output, but if you don't have the equipment, checking voltage only will have to do.

[rhandwor]

It sounds you live in Canada so you will have to find Canadian suppliers or pay extra shipping. The links show pictures of what they are talking about.
http://www.autopart.com/tools/toolsmain/tool/T_3014.htm
http://www.autopart.com/tools/toolsmain/tool/T_A305.htm
One is for voltage and the other is for amperage.

[CanukGMC]

Thanks guys, I checked the voltage with the new alt and batt at idle after letting the truck warm up to op temps with everything shut off, it was just a touch above 14v or around there so I think it's regulating fine. I didn't have a chance to test the old one obviously but I think that did it <knock on wood>. I'll post up if it blows again.

[old_master]

We'll keep our fingers crossed.