So long story short, replaced alternator and both batteries around 4 months ago while on a road trip. Vehicle has been running good since then but floats around 12.6-13.1 volts according to dash. A few days ago it was down to 11.2 and the battery and auto start/stop came on. Vehicle ended up shutting down abruptly on road with many lights and indicators going off on dash. Could not jump to restart with either jump box or cables. Towed back home and took batteries out to charge. They held a charge and when I connected the main battery back to the power cable under seat the alternator was smoking. Disconnected quickly and pulled alternator out. Seems to be a short somewhere, no continuity within the alternator itself as I tested it outside the vehicle. I do get an intermittent short between the power and ground of the alternator cables with battery disconnected and alternator out of vehicle. Any ideas where to look before I take it to a shop tomorrow?
Electrical issues 2018 Durango Gt 3.6
Codered711
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So long story short, replaced alternator and both batteries around 4 months ago while on a road trip. Vehicle has been running good since then but floats around 12.6-13.1 volts according to dash. A few days ago it was down to 11.2 and the battery and auto start/stop came on. Vehicle ended up shutting down abruptly on road with many lights and indicators going off on dash. Could not jump to restart with either jump box or cables. Towed back home and took batteries out to charge. They held a charge and when I connected the main battery back to the power cable under seat the alternator was smoking. Disconnected quickly and pulled alternator out. Seems to be a short somewhere, no continuity within the alternator itself as I tested it outside the vehicle. I do get an intermittent short between the power and ground of the alternator cables with battery disconnected and alternator out of vehicle. Any ideas where to look before I take it to a shop tomorrow?
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Forgot to add before the vehicle shut down on the road it had disable most of the features as it was down to 10.1 volts. I received a call and it connected to unconnect and dropped the voltage to 7 volts and lead to it shutting down.
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It was an autozone duralast one
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Get the "new" alternator tested asap to rule it out. Hopefully it has a good warranty. Your description of the events suggests that the alternator was not charging, and you were running off of battery power until they were no longer able to supply enough power.
Don
Don
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Yes that seems to be what occurred but now it’s as if a short has presented itself
I say it's another bad alternator.
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So I changed the alternator and got everything back together. Truck is drivable again and doing well. Last night driving it was running steadily at 13.9-14.0 volts. This morning it’s staying at 12.6v. Should I test the batteries under load?
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Also forgot to add, auto start stop is no longer functioning. Has light on and says unavailable
Yes, get the batteries load tested.
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I'd load test the batteries with the intent of getting them covered under warranty. Use an OEM alternator, not a reman or aftermarket.
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Will do, thanks for the quick replies and help brother. Will update once done.
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