truck broke down.. electrical problem???

[SimplyPV]

hey guys.. it happened.... went wheelin hard last night through some mud. got bogged down pretty good, mud everywhere, even got kicked out of a car washing place this morning (different story), my problem is, after i got done wheelin, i was drivin home and the truck started goin haywire! no pun intended. i'd be drivin at any speed... even accelerating or hitting bumps or whatever, and my dash lights would flick brigher repeatedly, my rpm tack would go crazy! then it settle back down, only to do it again.. and alot! every time this happened, it felt like the engine was losing power... then i pulled over, turned it off, and couldnt start it! had to get jumped..... limped home. got in this morning, she started right up.... drove down the street and back, had no problem, then later got back in and drove down the street, it started again! got to church and left the truck in the lot.. went back out an hr later and was able to get in and start it up, moved it to a closer parking space, then shut it off... came back a few hours later and couldnt restart it! no lights on the dash, no cab lights, no running lights, nothing! only things that worked were electrical accessories that were wired directly to the battery such as my electric fan, fog lights, spotties, and the stock headlights. checked all fuses and connections. everything checks out ok. checked and tested battery and alternator, they checked out fine as well. couldnt even jump it. every time i turn the key, lights on the dash does NOT come on. cab light doesnt come on. running lights dont come on when i turn on my headlights... i'm not sure if maybe the relay for the main is blown... but how can you tell? any ideas? what do i look for??? any help please? thanks guys!

[HeathGQ]

its called mud.... gets into everything, wrecks everything, especially electrical. 1)Alternator, 2) puter (hope its not this POV, you've had enough bad luck).

[murcod]

How was the battery and alternator tested? They need to be tested under load.

For so many electrical systems to be affected it has to be something like that causing the trouble.

[SimplyPV]

david they were tested under load.. earlier today before i went to the church... stopped by an auto parts store and asked them to test it... said battery and alternator was fine... even now battery still has power.... i can turn on my accessories... but anything else.. forget it. forgot to mention... someone at the church says it could be the ignition??? but that doesnt explain the power surges i had experienced through the dash.... i dont know... i'm getting really desperate.. gonna have a look at it tomorrow in daylight....

[murcod]

Just because all the other electrics inside work doesn't necessarily mean there's nothing wrong with the alternator/ battery etc. The engine running draws a lot of current and that's when faults will show up.

You may find that it will all be OK once everything has had a chance to dry out.

[SimplyPV]

great news guys..... the problem has been solved! i simply started messing around with the wires under the hood, trying to figure out what made the power outage for the dash, and isolated it down to the negative terminal for the alternator, looked at it... and it was split.... took it off and had a closer look.. there were two wires! tracing them, i found that one of them led back to the battery, the other went to the main wiring harness! in about ten minutes, i had the attachment cut off, wires stripped, reattached, and tons of electrical tape wrapped around it.. runs real sweet now.... boy i feel stupid.... but now i know.. spose its a never ending learning process. heh. thanks for you help guys... i really appericate it!