First off i wanted to show my appreciation for this forum, this community has been hands-down the best resource for keeping these trucks on the road. You guys truly are an awesome group, seeing your dedication to these cars and informing people of what you guys have learned.
I HATE SELF TAPPING SCREWS
For some reason or another, the previous owner decided to use these hex head self-tapping sheet metal screws to mount everything he worked on. These screws are great if you're putting up roof flashing or working on a gutter on the side of your house, but in my opinion, they are the worst choice for any automotive application. The reason being that there is nothing backing the screw besides the thin piece of sheet metal that it just created a hole through, causing them to back out and wiggle free. My first issue was dealing with the audio equipment in the truck, the amplifier, subwoofer and all the speakers were mounted with these screws. Eventually as the car drove around and shook over every bump, these screws would back out and cause some awful rattles in the cab. I bought a threaded rivet gun to properly mount things like my new subwoofer, the rattling amp, and even fixing bad grounds that were used with these self-tapping screws.
CHASING ELECTRICAL PROBLEMS
Along with chasing after these rattling items in the cabin, I've also been having some problems with my truck sometimes starting and not starting. I first bought a new battery and that let me get to work. After I experienced the same problem a couple days later, i started doing a more through inspection of the wiring, and here's where I was left with my head scratching. Why in the world would someone use one of these crappy screws to mount the three main fusible links on the positive side of the terminal? The same screws used on all the other audio equipment was here forced into the left side of the battery terminal (shown below) and causing the yellow 60A fuse to send sparks flying out of it because of the loosened connection. After installing two new battery terminals on each side and replacing the fusible link (info found here on that http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin...=Fusible+links), I thought I had found the problem, but I'm still experiencing the same symptoms of a bad alternator, with a rough idle sometimes, poor acceleration, and watching my headlights flicker to the beat of my subwoofer at red lights. I took a multimeter to the battery and found that when the truck is running with no accessories on, the alternator struggles to charge the battery over 12v. Once i turn on my ac, my radio, and my headlights, my voltage drops as low as 10 across the battery terminals. I've checked the voltage drop across both the alternator case and the positive post, and they both read out good readings, so i think I've narrowed down my problem to the alternator not charging the battery properly.
NEW ALTERNATOR
My question on this is, i can get a new OEM 45A alternator tomorrow for my truck, throw it in and call it a day. But for my application, with my radio, AC and my LED lights, should i invest the money and get a bigger Alternator? And if i should, what are my best options? I found this one on eBay that is supposed to be a bolt-on performance part, but its 165a compared to the 45a stock rated one. https://www.ebay.com/itm/252789723733 Is this overkill? Also, the company who makes these recommends to get a smaller belt and an "extra power cable" to work with my 95 2.4L mighty max.
As always, any help is greatly appreciated. Here are some pictures of the stuff I've been talking about. Cheers and Happy belated Easter!
One more thing, if anyone can help me learn more about how to upload photos cause i stink!
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks