got a brand spankin new battery went with the optima red top same kind that in my car and never givin me any starting trouble in the coldest of cold and hotest of hot
well i was pulling out of the parts stor parking lot and had my turn signal on
noticed that my volts guage reads at probably less then 11 volts
maybe the battery is bad from the store but i had the turn signal on and it bobd back and forth between 12 and 10
with my headlights on it doesnt do it but when i have lights on and turn signal on it does it even worse
is this due to my battery
also the altenator i have is like 3 months old and its a 105 amp
i guess tomorrow im gonna be testing the altenator at the store to see if its bad
if not then battery
also yes i did make sure the conectors were on tight

 

i stand corrected the volts guage is reading 14-12 volts with the turn signal on not 12-10
i checked my battery with a multi meter and i got 13.56-13.80 volts with no lights on just the truck on
then i turned on the lights same thing
then turn signal it read13.40-13.56volts
then i turned off all lights checked my altenator cable bolt on the back to the battery im getting 13.56-13.80 volts
with lights on same thing with turn signal its a little less
i guess my volts gauge is about shot or its got a loose ground on it time for an after market on next friday

 

Do something for me here.

Connect your negative multimeter lead on the positive battery terminal, and the other on the battery terminal on the alternator (do this with the truck running and idling). This is called a voltage drop test, and it will tell you how much voltage is being "lost" between the alternator output, and that voltage getting to your battery. It's possible that you have some corrosion/damaged wires between your new alternator and good battery. Personally, my "bus bar" or the block of studs on the firewall by the coolant jug is a likely cause of this unwanted resistance. I had my hood seal pushed up and water was running down there rusting out them bolts a little.

Lemme know what reading you get

 

i will try that here in the next few minutes
also i lost all radio memory

 

That would have happened because you disconnected the battery for replacement. Perfectly normal, but only avoidable with a memory keeper or if you hooked up another battery while you were fiddling with your permanent one.

 

ok ready hears what i got
just headlights on 385.6
with light and turn signal on 1.205-1.460
with just turn signal on 260/ 220 180/ 199
with lights off 186.9-134-187-190
that is what i got when i did the test

 

i know that is normal what isnt is after you shut your truck off after reprograming all the stations then getting in it 30 minutes later and all memory was lost

 

Well I can't really tell from what you've told me. Are the readings in milivolts?

Set your multimeter to the lowest scale and see what it says. Should be reading milivolts. Anywho, you shouldn't have a reading over .5 volts dropped on that wire. You chould just use a wire brush and scrub up any crusty looking connections you see. Make sure that where the alternator connects to the block on the firewall is nice and clean.

Also make sure your battery cables are clean. Next voltage drop test is find a clean looking bolt on the block, and connect your positive meter lead there, and the negative lead to the negative side of the battery. What are the readings there?

You only need to do these tests with one setting. Headlights on is fine. You don't need to try different things really.

EDIT: after another look, I think you're fine on voltage drop. Still run the second check

 

opps i had it set wrong well it will try this one more time
anyway ill let ya know what i find when im done im goin outside to redo it

 

i got .101 from the positive on alt. to positive on battery