Electrical problem
2001 Ford F150 V8 Two Wheel Drive Automatic 156000 miles
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Hello..

This weekend, the battery light became illuminated out of nowhere. After the second time we drove it, the battery got weaker and weaker, while the lights dimmed. We barely made it home.

Sounds like a simple alternator problem, right? Well, we replaced the alternator today (which did indeed test bad), but are still having problems. The alternator will not charge the battery at all, and now all electrical functions in the truck will not work as well as the motor not run.. no juice going anywhere at all.

When we jump the truck with cables, the battery gauge reads full, and everything is fine. After removing the cables, it takes about 5 seconds and the needle dips all the way down to the bottom and things slowly go wrong. Battery is dead as a doornail.

Checked all the fuses, and visibly they look fine. Cables look fine, nothing was touched prior to the battery light coming on.

What could it be?