Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 06-29-2014, 11:38 PM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Yosemite, CA
Posts: 46
severe battery issues.

Have an '04 6.0 diesel. Was on the way home from a trip today and got stranded 1 mile from home (lucky). I stopped and turned off the ignition, and when I went to fire it back up, the dash lights flickered and the gauge needles kinda had a seizure. Then I had no power and the van wouldn't start. Wouldn't even turn over. Nada. I tried jumping, and with a good ground, I got some clicking, but that's it. The start batteries are brand new and I'd been driving for 5 hours so they should've been sufficiently charged.

Also, I think my aux battery is bad, so I had turned off the inverter/charger for the whole trip and didn't use any 12v or 120v accessories for the trip. I also had disconnected the separator for the trip so the aux wouldn't charge while driving (It was giving off an odor and getting hot and I didn't have time to take it out).

Any ideas?

ecmccarthy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 12:08 AM   #2
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Yosemite, CA
Posts: 46
Severe battery issues.

Also, when the dash was freaking out, a warning message came up that said "water in fuel". Would this have anything to do with engine shutdown?
ecmccarthy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 09:09 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Ford_6L_E350's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Washington - Ridgefield
Posts: 4,728
Re: severe battery issues.

My batteries went down while driving when my alternator failed. Bad news is that low batteries can be hard on the FICM and that can kill injectors.

Good luck,

Mike
__________________
Alaska to Key West, Labrador and more
Prostate cancer survivor. See Thread Prostate cancer and Sportsmobiles
2015 VW GTI 2020 Fiat 124 Spider
2012 E250 Hitop camper
Ford_6L_E350 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 01:27 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
WhitH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Posts: 1,126
Re: severe battery issues.

My alternator is on its way out, I'm scheduled to have a high output one put in this Wednesday. I've been keeping an eye on voltage with my Scangauge and trickle charging at night. Even if you don't have a Scangauge your dash light should've come on if youre alternator was performing poorly enough to let your batteries die that quickly.
__________________
2015 Chevy Express 3500 Duramax
w/ Quigley 4x4 & Agile Fox shocks
Sold 2005 E350 Chateau
Quigley with Agile RIP, 6.0 PSD
WhitH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 02:37 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Tapatio's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: California
Posts: 1,012
Garage
Re: severe battery issues.

The starting batteries are in parallel. If one battery developes a shorted cell, it will drag the good one down with it. Did you replace both of them? I would drop the batteries and check them out along with the wires.
__________________
2006 E350 6.0PSD 5R110, SMB 4X4, RB-50, ARB lockers front/rear, Aluminess galore, AMP steps.
Callsign KK6GIY
Tapatio is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 03:19 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
twogone's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Taylor, Mississippi
Posts: 1,648
Re: severe battery issues.

*
__________________
'95 SMB E350 Quigley 7.3
https://www.taylorarts.com
... If you have to ask, you'll never understand...
"... torpedo'd, because we don't generally cotton to bullshit around here." -jage
"... do they ooch apart in the night?" -Dia
twogone is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 06:41 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 527
Re: severe battery issues.

Quote:
Originally Posted by WhitH
My alternator is on its way out, I'm scheduled to have a high output one put in this Wednesday. I've been keeping an eye on voltage with my Scangauge and trickle charging at night. Even if you don't have a Scangauge your dash light should've come on if youre alternator was performing poorly enough to let your batteries die that quickly.
This was me 6 months ago - monitoring scan gauge, trickle charging... got the HO and things are peachy. My batteries were not ruined but they never completely cycled like possibly happened to the O.P. All of our 6.0's are now on the 3x / year plan... plan on a major expense every 4 months!
Pat
__________________
2004 SMB 4x4 RB 6.0 PSD; ARP Head Studs, Gen 3 Cylinder Heads, BPD Oil Cooler connected to AMSOil Bypass, a whistling Wicked Wheel Turbo, Coolant Filter, Upgraded alternator, ScanGauge, SCT custom and SMB Fox shocks.
BFG 285/75 R16 KM3 Mud Terrains on ProComp 7069's
PatO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 07:52 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
UJOINT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: AVL NC
Posts: 1,008
Re: severe battery issues.

Yes, check the batteries but also check the main ground behind the batteries. See if its loose, tighten it up if needed.
__________________
Chris Steuber
02 E350 7.3 (V4)
17 Focus RS, 90 SHO, 49 CJ2A, 89 LSC, 20 T250 AWD
ujointoffroad.com
UJOINT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2014, 09:37 PM   #9
Site Team
 
daveb's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Turlock Ca
Posts: 10,407
Garage
Re: severe battery issues.

Having an amp meter can also help figure out what's going on. High amp flows that never taper off while charging usually indicate a bad battery in the bunch. Some inverters have an amp meter built in but you need to know what is a normal charge rate.

Don't let Ford check your batteries, rather have somebody drop each battery and do a load test on each of them on their own. And yes, always check the connections as mentioned. If your alternator is going out the amp meter will show minimal flow but the voltage can also go high and low. A good electrical shop probably does a better job at troubleshooting than your dealership but there are dealerships that shine if they go beyond what Ford mandates as procedure.
BTW, Surepower separators do run kind of warm normally. If you completely isolate the house battery and put a good charge to it, let it sit for 48 hours and check the voltage. A good battery should read 12.8, an OK battery will read 12.5 or 12.6, and anything lower is on its way out.
__________________
2006 Ford 6.0PSD EB-50/E-PH SMB 4X4 Rock Crawler Trailer

Sportsmobile 4X4 Adventures..........On and off road adventures
daveb is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-11-2014, 03:39 PM   #10
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Yosemite, CA
Posts: 46
Re: severe battery issues.

Thanks for all the input. A trusted mechanic has told me that he thinks it's the alternator. With the van running, it's putting out 11.5 or so volts. The start batteries are less than a year old and were both replaced at he same time under warranty from Ford.

I know the alternator was replaced by a previous owner. It was put in by Ford and I don't know what amperage it is, however, based on the fact that Ford installed it, it's probably a 110 or 120.

I want to put in a 200 or 220 amp alternator. Any suggestions on a source? Also, Ford tells me that if I did that it would need to be rewired. My mechanic says no. Any thoughts? Wouldn't the original build from Sportsmobile have included a larger output alternator, and thus, sufficient wiring for it?
ecmccarthy is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Sportsmobile SIP or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:33 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.