Hello,

I have a 1984 M1009 with the 6.2L Diesel. I was out and about and the battery died. I went back and got it jump started and fired up but now all of the lights do not work. The taillights, driving lights went out.. (The turn signal lights already didn't work.) I had just bought this rig so unsure of what had previously been done. I checked all of the fuses under the dash and none of them are blown. Any advice or ideas would be great.

Thanks
Josh

 

Is the alternator charging? From the sounds of it, that would be a no. It sounds like your alternator crapped out and then the battery went dead. Your engine doesn't need power to run.

 

One of the Batteries is bad. It died when I had parked at a local movie theatre. That problem I can fix. I already swapped the driver side alternator and just need to buy a battery. Might have the second one checked while I am at it.
Thanks for your response

 

Does anyone have any ideas? I am stuck ... Any good ideas would be greatly appreciated

 

What were the results of having the alternator tested? Have you replaced the bad battery?

I believe that only the starting system is 24V on the military trucks and that the rest runs off of the standard 12V power system. So other than the alternator and having good batteries into it, it is possible that there is a burnt out fusible link... A test light would really help you to narrow down the source of the problem. Start at the battery and work your way out.

 

Both batteries are good and the alternator is charging? Is this a 24volt system? Bad battery cables can cause all kinds of havoc. Check your battery cables by cutting a few inches back into the insulation. If you see any corrosion or oxidation at all, replace the cables. Don't forget to check all the grounds cables too. You should have good ground connections between the engine, body and battery.
Also... check for loose connections on top of the starter at the solenoid.

 

LOL.. thanks... the battery/alternator issue I can fix. I only mentioned it to give all the info I have up to the problem. It is all of the lights (driving, break, dash, blackout, high beams, turn signals, and emergancy lights) going out and it not being a fuse that is stumping me. It is a Military 24V system. Any idea what could cause all of the lights in the entire vehicle to stop working all at the same time?

 

Do your gauges work? Sounds like a bad connection to the main fuse block.

 

They don't.. It appears but I'm not sure but everything that is 12v is not working.. I was just now talking to one of my buddies and he states that there has to be something that converts the 24v system to 12v.. I have no idea what.. but he thinks perhaps that is what I blew. I'll hae to check the connection to the fuse block as well though. That would make sense. Adding that to my list of items to check. The bottom line is that it all worked before I jump started it. I had to use two batteries to jump start her, one in a pickup and then a spare.

 

I think I read somewhere that it's just a big resistor that drops the 24V to 12V. Check around the engine compartment for something like that. Definitely a break in the line though if everything 12V just stopped working. Good luck!