Full power shutdown (flicker) ???

While driving to work this morning...this happened about 6times in an hour....
...for about 1/2 second it was like the power shut down in my truck. Headlights out, dash and radio lights out, all dash needles dropped and the truck lurched/jerked a bit, then back to normal. (Note: Radio did not loose settings, maybe it was too quick?)
After the third time I pulled over, popped the hood and scratched my head... the +battery clamp was slightly loose so I gave the bolt an 1/8 turn, checked that all the fuses under the hood were fully inserted, then started driving again.
I kept driving and it happened just like that 1 or 2 more times until this.....
Basically the same power shutdown as above but it flickered a few times then when power came back on the RPM needle was at zero. The truck was running and speedo was working but I could not accelerate (rpm needle was on zero, not functioning) so the truck was coasting and slowed to about 20km/h before it would accelerate again.

Thoughts, suggestions?

 

1) clean/ tightened battery terminals
2) have battery/alternator load tested at local auto parts store along with code reader.

My guess either battery or alternator voltage regulator.

 

^^^^ Exactly what whattapunk said. Also, check your ground wires and start simple - could just be a bad ground connection somewhere. Good luck!

 

Thanks guys!
Battery terminals are good.
The battery is only a few months old and haven’t had issues yet, despite a recent week of around -30degC.

 

Sorry to hear about your power troubles this morning. Wondering if you could check the power outputs on the battery and as well the alternator outputs when under load.....might give us a clue.
Keep us posted and good luck!

 

IL, can you be a little more specific when you say...

How would I do this? Are you talking a wiggle test and make sure the connections are tight?
I do have a DC clamp on meter but unsure what amperage I’d be looking for.

I’m gonna search this forum for testing/pulling the alternator... unless someone has a link at their fingertips

 

Just go to your local Advance Auto Parts or Autozone. They'll test your whole battery and charging system for free.

 

check all grounding straps first

 

Do you have a volt meter?

When testing a car battery what should it read?
Fully charged automotive batteries should measure 12.6 volts or above (not running). When the engine is running, this measurement should be 13.7 to 14.7 volts.
How do you test a 12 volt battery?
To test the charging system, hold the voltmeter leads on the battery terminals while you rev the engine to about 2,000 rpm. The voltage should rise to a value between 13.8 and 14.5 volts, which is the minimum voltage needed to charge a typical 12V battery (to encourage full output from your alternator you can turn on all accessories ie. headlights ect.
Hope this helps...keep us posted.

 

I think it's important to remember that the symptoms point to a loose connection of some sort.

 

Take it off and clean it and the post. Do the negative side too.

 

I will, if I can figure out where they “all” are.
Are there more than the one that is about 6” off the negative battery post?

 

Will do

 

I believe our local substitute for your Autozone is PartSource.

Curious, can/will they do this without pulling the battery and/or alternator out of the truck?

 

Hmmm, good question. I know Advance and Autozone can test individual components in the store. I believe some of them can test the truck in the parking lot. Give them a call and see. I'd still be doing the wiggle test for loose connections before I go anywhere. And since you said you did have a loose battery cable, remove, clean and re-install both cables there.

 

I looked over the main pos/neg cables, gave them a good wiggle while the truck was running and there were no issues.

I could have, but didn’t have the time to pull the battery out to give myself room to remove the cable looms which concealed most of the cable between the battery and the alternator.

Here is the battery BEFORE removing clamps, wire-brushing, coating in anti-oxide and reinstalling. And also the results of the battery testing.

The posts/clamps were in pretty good shape so I’d be pretty surprised if they were the cause... that said, I did not have any issue on my 50min commute this morning, sooooooo ‍♂️

 

Pretty corroded there! Hopefully it looked better after cleaning. If that were my personal vehicle, I would be ordering new cables to rewire everything.

Maybe you should do the big 3 upgrade! Battery to alternator +, Battery ground to chassis and engine block to chassis.

 

Those cables are NASTY looking.

Where the cable bolts to the body is nasty too.

 

I'll second the motion. And a loose clamp looking that nasty can do some pretty weird things. Remember, if an electrical cable / connection is loose, it will eventually start to arc and this builds up carbon which eventually insulates the connection. That's why simply tightening a loose connection might not fix the bad connection. Sound familiar?

After you clean and tighten everything, there are a number of spray on products you can apply to the connections to prevent future corrosion. I'd recommend using some based on how corroded yours are.

 

there is an engine block ground somewhere, does that check out ?