99 k2500 diesel suburban
 

ok guys what should the voltage be at the starter solenoid while cranking one of these bad boys? i am getting about 10 volts. thanks! 8-)

should get source voltage. 24 volts or maybe a few mv less if the wire is a little corroded.

How many batteries? Wired series or parallel? My Dodge has two batteries in parallel, so I am still on a 12v based deal. Is the Suburban running two 12v batteries in series?

Chris

no parallel. thats why i kinda had this face goin :-? i did a quick check on alldata and i am going to do some further testing tomorrow.

I don't know too much about the chevy diesels, but another thing to keep in mind is glow plugs (I think chevy and ford use them, Dodge has grid heaters). They are a big draw because they are dead short heating element. If you are cranking while the glow plugs/grid heaters are on/cycling, you'd see a big drop in voltage. When its cold out and I haven't plugged in, my charging system will surge (down to about 10 volts then back to 14) as the grid heaters cylce on and off. It everything else checks and you do in fact have glow plugs or something similar make sure that circuit isn't hanging open.

Chris

id post this on thedieselplace.com excellent site for ALL diesels!

they do use a glow plug. it has a light when you turn the key on that says wait to start. then after the plug warms it shuts off and yada yada. i have noticed though, after the starter clicks/sticks sometimes then starts after a couple trys, the wait to start light will come on and off a few times. i noticed the running lights dim out too. i am going to chase some grounds i think. the truck was lifted and maybe one is loose or improperly installed. it has a newer starter and batteries. all the cables are good on them. see what happens tomorrow

cool i'll check that out if i don't make any headway tomorrow!

ended up being the starter. if you are familiar with gm, they came up with these ingenious quick disconnect fittings for heater hoses. yeah well it was leaking at the threaded portion of the fitting, just slightly, and running down to the starter. but instead of the fitting turning out, it broke clean off. so it turned into a job and is all better now. thanks guys! 8-)