When I returned home I shut the truck off. It cranked slow when I tried to start it again. I noticed that my engine block heater was leaking onto my frame to Battery ground. I cleaned it off, stopped the leak, and tried to start the truck. It fired up, but my voltmeter showed no charge. I have several extra voltage regulators and alternators. Simple fix, or so I thought....
After going through my spare alternators and volt regs with no luck I cleaned the grounds - bat to frame, frame to engine, engine to fire wall, volt reg to rad support, and alt grounds.
I then checked continuity of wires between alternator and battery/solenoid. No blown fuses, and the resistance checks out good (factory wiring).
Since none of my spares worked, I then began the throwing of new parts at the problem
New alternator, new voltage regulator, new ground strap from battery to frame. Still nothing.
Next I did what I should've done from the beginning. Consulted my shop manual and searched forums.
After performing a field test I know that my alternator is indeed good. All of my grounds are good. I'm 99% sure the voltage regulator is good. My battery has 12.6 volts off and 12.4 running. I've only ever seen too high voltage from a bad regulator. My wiring is *almost* good. I have found that the S terminal (green w/red stripe) at the voltage reg does not have power when the key is in run.
Since the problem seems to coincide with when installed DSII I'm wondering if when I removed the dash if I knocked something loose. It appears as if the S terminal gets power from the ignition switch through the gauge in the dash? I know the ign switch is sending power to it, I just ran out of time and couldn't get to pulling the dash. Not sure if I'm on the right track here, but I'm at my wits end and don't know where else to start looking...
