Any electrical experts? . . . Truck won't start

[Bungee]

I don't know squat about electrical.

I have a 2000 Silverado truck. Battery is 5 months old.

Everything was working fine until I changed the oil, and flushed the radiator today.

Tried to start it up, and suddenly everything went dead ... that is, dome lights and instrument lights worked until I turned the key, then everything went black. Starter wouldn't even click.

Managed to jump start it and drive it around. But stange things were happening electically ... the instrument needles would occasionally die for a second, then start back up ... the Battery, ABS, and Brake warning lights would flash on and off ... and a high-pitched whine could be heard that changed in pitch with engine RPM.

Got it home. Turned it off. Tried to turn it back on, but nothing happened ... no instrument light, no dome light, nothing.


I'm wondering if water splashing around the engine bay while flushing the radiator could be the cause.

I guess I could pull the battery for a trickle charge. But again, the battery is almost brand new.

Any ideas what's going on here? Or what should be done to get this vehicle on the road again?

Thanks

[amac209]

sounds like the alternator died. check all the fuses and fuseable links first. when the alternator isn't charging all kinds of strange electrical things happen. if you replace the alternator i would recomend replacing the battery at the same time.

[Gooseneck]

Also check/clean cable connections @ battery. Don't overlook the simple things. If the battery has removable caps, check the water level.

[Bungee]

Forgot to mention ... while driving, the amp gauge showed a rock-steady 14 amps.

Does this better indicate if it's a battery or alternator problem?

Thanks.

[Gooseneck]

I'm not sure if thats showing amps or volts but either way your alternator seems to be charging. Check the battery cables and the battery, even though it's almost new, batteries can shoot craps at any age.

[amac209]

you should get a shop to test it. sometimes one or 2 diodes will burn out in the alternator which will drain the battery when shut off and cause some strange problems while running.

[juma33]

clean and tighten the battery connections and also where the ground bolts to the body or frame. juma

[Bungee]

Turns out, simply cleaning the battery connections and tightening them down did the trick.

One of the big mistakes I made was running a load test with the battery cables connected...got a false reading.

Just wanted to post results in case anyone has a similar problem.

Thanks for all the responses.

[TweakedGM]

you were getting power every once and awhile you said.. that is bad for the alternator for getting power then lose it one of those times the alternator might have got a spike which blows the regulater is the alternator. tester hook up right to