Bad Alt? Bad Battery? HELP!

Alright, so, I bought my truck last February and it had a brand new Interstate battery in it with a 2 year warranty. Basically, my truck starts fine after sitting for over an hour or so and when its cold. However, if I drive 10 minutes, stop, and hop in again it struggles to get going. It seems to occur more frequently when its hot out. It eventually starts but it can't be good for the starter to go through this too much longer. I've got a multimeter, tell me where to test. Thanks in advance.

 

does it crank when it doesnt want to start or does it just click

 

Nothing to do with the electrical system from my experience with my old 96. The gas gets "vapor locked" in the intake and it takes a few seconds to get enough good gas into the cylinder to get it going. As long as you don't constantly crank it for like 15 seconds straight your starter will be fine.

 

Doesn't sound like either one to me. Sounds more like tune up. Pull some plugs to see if they need changing. Maybe plug wires or coil packs. Could also be fuel delivery related. Throttle body need cleaning?

 

take your multimeter and see how many volts the battery is putting out when the car is running. it should be close to 14V. if it's somewhere around 11V then your alt. isn't charging up the battery. with the truck off, the batter should read 12V. if it reads ~10V then your battery isn't holding a charge.

 

+1 and make sure it's not all corroded.

 

When you go to start your vehicle does it hesitate to crank, or it cranks fine and just won't fire? IF it cranks fine, put the gas to the floor at the same time. IF it starts then, you need an new IAC (idle air crontrol motor) Classic sympton is, doesn't want to start right away after quick stops but fires right up when cold. IAC acts like a choke on the carberator and when they get worn or gunked up they stay open.

 

i did plugs and wires when i bought it, but its possible theyre not gapped correctly. im fairly mechanical minded and not afraid to jump into something but without much experience its possible i messed them up. it cranks fine and i dont think holding the pedal down helps at all. once it finally starts it struggles and then works its way into a smooth start/idle. i do have some jank battery terminals and when i bought it the ground wasnt even connected. how do i go about replacing the terminals as they are connected into the rest of the harness? yesterday i hauled a big trailer helping a friend move and had my "ect power" on and i feel like that compounds the problem when i go to start again 30 minutes after unloading the trailer.
thanks for the replies