1. Be not afraid.
2. You can stand in the puddle barefoot and not get a shock.
3.Putting the meter in series is not telling you anything aside from battery voltage
4. Put the battery cables on the battery. Start truck and jump if necessary.
5.Now read battery voltage from battery plus to battery minus. Should read 13.8 +/_
6. If it reads 13.8 alt is charging.
7. If its charging now you can disconnect battery, put a test light in between battery cable and battery- doesn’t matter + or -
8. Turn dome light override off first. Pull fuses one at a time until battery light goes out.
9. A bright says there is a draw....and a dim light is ok for clock, etc.
I just don’t like rolling in the mud, not worried about electrical shock.
I think his objection to the mudpuddle was just that it was a mudpuddle. Wrenching and troubleshooting wires is pain in the ass enough without laying in water.
For clarity
Nevermind. I thought he was reading across the batt terminals.
13v won’t hurt you at all.