Gen light / Charging problems.

[Mudstone]

my heat actually... doesn't get that hot... should it?

 

[DaGlitch]

my heat actually... doesn't get that hot... should it?

Yea it should get pretty hot. Your thermostat might be stuck open. Let the truck warm up for awhile and give the upper radiator hose a squeeze. It should be pretty hard to squeeze, and if it isn't your thermostat is probably stuck open. If it was over heating, then it would be stuck closed, which doesn't sound like it's the case.

 

[Mudstone]

grr i just went through **** to replace the thermostat... have a part number by any chance or a reccomendation on one to use?

 

[DaGlitch]

your heater core may also be clogged as well. Do you have an engine coolant temp gauge? If so, what temp does it say your truck is running at? It should be around 190F.

 

[Mudstone]

no temp guage... i did dump a mass amount of stop leak in the truck for a temp fix... any way to check the cloggedness of the heater core? like it gets warm... i wouldn't call it hot though

 

[4bogginchevys]

when you squeeze the upper hose you might pay close attention to make sure it's full of coolant, the upper hose on some of these like to get an air pocket in it. That air pocket affects all cooling system performance, good luck

 

[doghead]

no temp guage... i did dump a mass amount of stop leak in the truck for a temp fix... any way to check the cloggedness of the heater core? like it gets warm... i wouldn't call it hot though

You could disconnect the hoses that go to the heater core. Then blow it out and fill it with CLR. Let it sit like that for an hour or so, then flush it out with clean water. That should clear it well, unless it is totally plugged up with stop leak. If stop leak is plugging it up, try running water backwards through it. Stop Leak in large quantities can cause real problems.

 

[deuce808]

any one know the charging systen on a deuce... the volt meter dropped to the low side of yellow and then after turning off the heat it went up a bit and hovered around then above the lil mark in the green area to the far right of green and then a few minutes later dropped and hovered again in the yellow, when i got home i turned off the lights and all othe electrical, heat ect and it seemed to go to normanl in the green on the volt meter and when i turned lights on it dropped and with the flasheres it went up and down with the flash sequence.... and before i noticed all this i smelled something lige a wire getting hot but all seems to work fine.. starts up good , oh and the turn signal indicator in the cab seems a bit dim... any insight guys.....

 

[acesneights1]

Hey great thread. My M1008 seems to be "lazy" charging and rthe gen1 light does not come on even with just key on. I'm wondering if it's the bulb.

 

[Mudstone]

what fixed my charging issue was the ground on gen1. i fixed it and now all charging is fine. only prob now is a whirring starter.

 

[gaunt1969]

One of the best things you can do on these trucks is to start at the battery and go to every connection and clean it. Just follow the cables around. Use a wire brush and some sort of corrosion wash and clean all connections including the grounds, buss-bars etc. and alt connections. Just spend 3 or 4 hrs or so. If you havent you should, it will not hurt and needs to be done at some point.
As it has been said these trucks spend more time sitting around corroding than running.
when I got my truck it had a chattering GP relay and was dragging to start when cold. by doing this I found all my major electrical problems. Ie " loose pos post on gen-1 dirty ground for gen-1 I had a .5v drop from the alt to the battery.
As I remember when I was in the service the procedure was it it is not in the tick mark in the green after warm up submit a work order to have it corrected.