Newbie and his truck....

[Erock80]

So I'm a complete ******* greenie with my "new" plow truck. Never had one before, never tinkered with one before, never... well you get the idea, it's a whole new experience for me.

Long story short is I came across a 98 1500 in mint cond. with only 50k on it! It came with a 7 1/2' Western plow that was professionally installed... but the kicker is, it was NEVER plowed with. Some of you may say, yeah right, I got taken, but it's true - I'll spare you the details, just trust me. Anyway, the truck is b-e-a-u-tiful.

But we got our first big snow this year, and I decided to take my toy out and try it. I got the plow all mounted up checked it all over and went to town on my driveway. Well, I started to notice that the amp meter would dive down to about 9 every time I moved the plow. This also makes the lights dim a little and the battery light came on, once. I shut it off and restarted, the amp guage came back up to 14 again like it's supposed to. It's been fine since, but everytime I move the plow it still dives down to 9.

Is this normal or is my alternator too small? The truck is set up with dual batteries like it's supposed to be. Bats are matching and a few years old, but seem to be in good shape otherwise, i.e. it starts fine even in bitter cold and nothing has made me think there is a problem with either of them.

If my alternator should be beefed up, how big should I go/what kind should I go with? Do you other plow guys have any suggestions of what to use, or is stock just fine(assuming it just may need to be replaced). I know if I walk into an Autozone or something they'll look at me like I have two heads when I say I want something other than what their precious computer will tell them to give me, i.e. stock. Any thoughts/suggestions would be really appreciated!

Thanks
"greenie"

[wild bill]

i would put about a 140amp alt and a big battery .up grade the charging wire from the alt to a at least a 8 gauge ,4 gauge is better .check all your ground's on the plow also .some amp draw is normal with use of the plow as long as it is not excessive for the type of plow .

[gmctrucks]

Don't know nothing about that we here in TEXAS don't use those things but when you said Auto Zone my temp went up Auto Zone has cheap parts stay away from it IMOP. Did I do that right in my own opinion? Hey maybe I just made a new one.
Good luck! GMC
PS-Welcome to the forum I hope you stay a spell.

[leolkfrm]

Welcome to the forum
I would service the plow, drain the hydrolic oil, make sure you use the correct one! if it is getting thick it puts a greater strain on the system. all of this of course is if you haven't done it yet!

[Erock80]

Thank you guys, I will try the aforementioned suggestions, starting with a fluid drain and refill and then on to cables and possibly a new alternator or batteries if nothing else works. Oh and yeah, I'll be staying far from any Autozones and their cheap parts (unless it's for blue-juice or carwash soap). Thank god for NAPA.

[leolkfrm]

blue juice is junk use prestone, it cleans the salt additives better, how did you make out with the power drain?

[rdhack]

I would definitely look at all grounds on the plow. Matter of fact check all the plow wiring......A quick cleaning might save you a lot of money.

[batty1214]

If it were me and I were you, I would put on a bigger altenator (140amp).... and if you had room.. possibly 2 batteries if your a cheapie like me(thats what I did on my plow truck), or pay to yellow top or some top l dollar for a yellow top or "super battery" like that.. you might also check the grounding to the plow motor...

[Erock80]

Well here's the update. It was a ground.

It's a completely detachable plow, meaning the pump and everything comes off when I remove the plow. The plow motor grounds through the framework of the plow into the frame of the truck via the hinges and connecting points.

I took some sandpaper and made sure all the pins and holes where nice and shiny and lubed em all up good with some dielectric grease.

The amp gauge still goes down some, but what do you want for something that draws 200amps every time the switch is hit. But no battery lights are coming on and certainly no huge power crashes like before.

Diagnosis: Ground problem
Results: Fixed

Thanks to everyone for your input and ideas. Always appreciated!