[devildog29]

I was driving down the road towing a trailer. I looked down and noticed that my speedo and volts gauge were not working. Interior lights were making an "alarm" sound. The next day, truck wouldn't start. I tested the battery with a multimeter, and the reading was 9.46 volts, so I charged it. I took the alternator to Autozone and had it tested. They said it was good, but I replaced it anyways. The battery is still not charging. I checked for cracked and burnt wires but all were fine. Checked all fuses- no problems. Where should I look next and what possibly could be my problem??

1990 350 5.7 LT

 

[OldDiesel]

Check all your grounds. Could be something to do with the trailer, maybe overloaded an improperly fused wire causing a short? I hate electrical stuff.

 

[ChevyFan]

Yeah, chasing down a short or other electical issues is just about the lest fun thing to do. Good luck with that. Did this all start suddenly like this?

 

[devildog29]

Yeah... it all started with a flat tire after we went offroading (with dirtbikes.... reason for the trailor) in the middle of the desert. First a flat on the Burban- then one on the trailer. Then all the electrical stuff started midway on the drive home. Very. Bad. Day.

 

[Burbski]

I'd start by replacing your battery cables. They may look OK but they could be croded on the inside of the jacket.

 

[devildog29]

Well you are all going to laugh, but I took my truck to work because everyone there are Lav mechanics. My boss looked at it for 10 mins. pulled out the fuse to my gauges and it was burnt.
Put a new one in and Bam it started charging. We looked around a bit and found the wire that shorted the fuse out. Thanx for your help. I hate electrical problems. Maybe I would have found the problem quicker if it weren't for all the emptys on my work bench.

 

[OldDiesel]

Well, at least it was an easy fix!