Ok, so i just replaced my alternator so I doubt that is the cause, but here's what happens. I have no problem starting my car, but when I push down my brake pedal and hold it when coming to a stop, the battery meter drops to almost 9volts. All the dash lights dim and the heater slows down, but my truck has never died. But when I get on the accelerator again and get going it gets right back up to 14 volts. Do I have a bad battery? Could my bad alternator have caused my battery to get like this? This happens after I've driven the truck for a while, It doesn't start right off the bat. Thanks in adavance.

 

Update, now it's taking forever to start. It just clicks. I looked at the battery meter when the truck was just in the on position, and the battery meter only gets to the first tick above 9 volts. Even in just the on position shouldn't it be at least near 14 volts? I really hope this is a battery issue and not a starter. All my connections are clean, but I'll take another look.

 

You either have a bad battery or a high draw on the electrical system even after the key is turned off.

 

I will put money on a bad ground! Check the engine to frame ground/ engine to firewall ground. If you want to, put a 10 awg wire from the neg batt cable to the firewall.

 

Have you had the battery and alternator tested? AutoZone, for one, will do this for you free.

 

I had the alternator tested a couple months ago. It wasn't spinning smoothly, it was pretty rough. So maybe because it wasn't working right itself, it had a negative effect on the battery, no pun intended. I also tested the battery when I tested the alternator, and it was fine, the only issue was I had a bad bolt connector and that got rid of my original problem, the original problem being that when I would go to start the truck, all the lights and everything would completely shut down, resetting my stereo clock and everything. That is no longer an issue though. So I think tomorrow I'll have my battery tested, I have a 3 year replacement warranty on it and it's only 4 months old. Thanks guys for all your help. Much appreciated.

 

Ok I had my battery tested and they recharged it. Now it's doing that stupid click thing again. I turn the key to start, it clicks once and then does nothing. Replaced my alternator and had the battery charged. I'll clean my connections tomorrow, but if that doesn't solve it, what's my next step?

NEW UPDATE: I had my driving lamps disconnected and the battery meter still goes up and down when I press the brakes and come to a stop. But at a dead stop in park it would be at about 14. I turn on my driving lamps and it drops, shut them off and it goes back up. But when I'm moving in drive it makes no difference whether they are on or off. I'm really puzzled. I have an aftermarket bolt that has threads on the back to connect my accessories. I'm thinking it may be the cause of the problem. I could get a different connector so it would work with my original battery bolt. It would still click when I turned the key to start and only my DRL's would turn off, all the dash lights would stay on. But after turning it from on to start a few times, it starts. What do you guys think?

 

What would I do if it were a high draw?

 

Find the circuit/component responsible and fix the problem. There should be very little draw on the battery when the key is off.

 

If your aftermarket battery bolt is too long (the end screwed to the battery), it may pull the lead plate with the female threads out from the battery perhaps causing intermittent or poor contact. The threads into the battery should be only as long as the stock bolt.
I've seen this only once but the symptoms were similar to yours. The female connector eventually fell out of the battery or we never would have guessed what was going on.
Hope this helps.