Rotten Egg Smell!

[trailrider0493]

When my truck was new I had the problem of not being able to keep the batteries charged. GM replaced one battery as it tested DEAD, but the problem was a relay in the ac system that was stuck open and kept drawing the batteries down.

[Fightfan]

I can't for the life of me understand why this problem is so hard to track down. I'm about to sell the truck because I need a vehicle that is worth a $h!t. If I remove my alternator, can it be checked for cooking my batteries? Will it be drawing juice through the charging cable? WTF?!

[Heartbeat Hauler]

Are you sure it's the batteries? My truck started smelling real bad on the interior and it turned out that there was mold accumulating on the heater core. I had it in for routine maint. and I asked the dealer about this. They said while they were replacing my cabin filters they would spray some mold killer (?) on the core. Two years later no smell. ALSO, I always turn off the A/C and let the blower run for a few minutes before I shut the truck down. Apparently moisture accumulates on the core while in the A/C mode and then gets moldy. Turning on the heat speeds up the process. I may be off target here, but that fixed my smelly problem. Good luck.
JP

[Duramaster]

If you have a good dealer around, you might be able to get the Service Manager to come out and take a sniff of your problem. He/ She might have a better solution or might even agree with some of the suggestions that you have been given. Where at in Ohio do you live? I will TRY to get a name of a reputable dealer for you. No promises though.

[Fightfan]

I live in Dayton. The problem with both of the main Chevy dealers here is that they charge more than a premium for anything. That includes advice. I tried that route with the service center. they said they don't discuss problems and solutions over the phone and that they didn't give free advice. I had my alternator tested last night and it was bad. It has a dead spot in it. It will charge and then stop and the diode is bad. I'm going to get a new one and see what problem crops up next. Maybe I'll get lucky and get nickle and dimed right into the poor house.

[Fightfan]

Along with replacing my alternator, I am replacing the batteries, too. I don't want to take a chance with something going horribly wrong a month from now. I am upgrading to the 145 amp alternator and two red top Optima batteries with 800 cold cranking amps a piece. It may be overkill, but I hate being stranded. And if I have to get a jump start from another Ford, I'm going to light the truck on fire. That was straight out embarrassing. Any thoughts? On the fix, not the jump start.

[1blubyu]

I had an '01 LB7 and I had the exact same problem as you. I asked a friend of mine who is ASE certified and the first thing he said was to check the batteries. Sure enough, one was leaking so I changed it out. The problem went away for about two years and the same side battery started smelling again. I changed it out and the smell wasn't there anymore. I then sold the truck so I didn't get a chance to check the alternator.