thewalzexperience

I have a 1981 Toyota Pickup (base model) 22R 5 spd . Here’s my problem

The charge light came on the other day. After extensive trouble shooting it was discovered the battery was not being charged by the alternator. I swapped the voltage regulator with one known to be good. No change. I found out the battery had a dead cell. So I ended up replacing battery and alternator. No change. I tested out the fuses and found no bad ones. During the fuse testing I heard the engine idle down. I think I activated something while checking voltage on the fuses. I checked the battery when this happened. It was getting 18 volts from the alternator. Next I replaced the voltage regulator. Still 18 volts to the battery.

I took the truck in to an experienced auto electric shop. The battery, alternator and voltage regulator all test good (while on the running truck). I was told I must have a wiring issue. A short or fused wires. I am currently running systematic continuity checks of all wires pertaining to charging system. Since I ran out of day light I thought I would put this problem out in the field and hope for some guidance. Would a bad ignition main relay be the cause? How do I test the one I have?

Moderators,

Please forgive me for any forum transgression I may have incurred

I’m new. It’s late, and I’m out of Ideas.

Thank you all

gte718p

Check your grounds. Follow all the leads make sure the wires are in good shape, no kinks, no broken wires, no corrosion.

I just played this same game with a friends F350. One crappy ground was throwing everything off. Toyota have been know to do the same thing. One way to find the issue if you have a multimeter, you should have ~14 volts at the stud on the back of your alternator,keep going down steam checking each connection until you get a major voltage drop. First though check all the ground connections.

thewalzexperience

thanks gte,
I will check them grounds!
I live and work in a salty and humid place (Cocoa Beach Fla). This truck stays outside.

RAD4Runner

Agree with having a multi-meter and checking all connections, especially your "S" sense wire. If sense wire does not have connection to battery, regulator will think that battery has and is getting Zero voltage; it would tell alternator to keep on producing more voltage until "S" wire sees some voltage.
Make sure it is connected well to sense battery voltage, and that it sends this voltage back to the "S" terminal of the regulator.
Good connection means having bare metal to bare metal contact. Grey metal is not bare metal. You should have shiny silver and/or brass contacting each other.

What are you using to measure voltage? An Accurate multi-meter?

And you're still getting 18 V to battery, and charge light still comes on?
What makes the experienced auto electric shop say that the regulator is good when it still puts out 18V to battery? Did experienced auto electrician who makes a living solving this type of problem check your sense wire?

On the 22RE 1986-1988 4Runner, "B" runs between 13.5V to 14.5V. Could it be that 18V is normal on your 81 22R? Any comment from fellow owners of 81 22R's?


Absolutely not. Igniton relay merely turns on or off. It will not give you any more voltage.

thewalzexperience

A big THANKS! to all the advice ^above^
I also found illustrations and information from a site called
autoshop101.com.

I wil let you all know the outcome and eventually post pics of my rusty beater.

thewalzexperience

Thank you all once again for all the advice.
Attached there should be photos of my truck and, what I consider one of the big problems (among other wiring concerns), the fuse box.

This is how it looked after cleaning to the best of my ability. Still a mess.
I am now looking into the "1 wire" alternator conversion and an aftermarket replacement fuse box.

East Coast Florida is one of the most corrosive enviroments in the world.
Tied for first place with somewhere in Australia and like I said before this truck stays outside right across A1A from the Beach while I'm at work and about 3/4s of a mile from the beach at home.

I am retiring this coming November and look forward to giving this trusty rusty love of mine all the attention it deserves. Until then I'll keep spraying it down with WD-40 and silicone spray.

RAD4Runner

Nice!
Happy retirement!

Rowdydudeman

I feel like this is fated for me to have come across this thread! My issue is exactly the same and started the same day. however i've yet to have the free time required to diagnose the issue besides checking some of the grounds. In my experience it's nearly always a bad ground that throws everything out of whack. as soon as non-related systems start failing thats the first place i begin to look.
If i find a solution for mine i'll be sure to post it here for ya. and in the mean time... subscribed. lol

RAD4Runner

If you guys suspect bad ground causing problem with charging system, check ground wiring and connections of Battery Negative to Engine block. That ties alternator ground to negative post of battery. Good contact is bare metal on bare metal. Gray metal is not electrically bare metal. You should have shiny silver and/or brass surfaces making contact.

Rowdydudeman

i think once i get all my disabled emission stuff removed and it's (now) useless wiring, i'll be using some #2 and re-running grounds and major power drawing components. I bet the tired harness could use some new life breathed in to it.

Rowdydudeman

i neglected to mention that my ebrake light is staying on, and after more tinkering my battery level has NOT been dropping as it should without the alternator charging it.
however it will not run unless the battery is connected.

RAD4Runner

Your brake fault light will also come on because it is wired so a charge fault will make it come on as well. I know, confusing design.

Your truck will not run without battery because it takes a battery to start it, unless you push-start it.
If you keep running off of battery alone it would eventually die.

Rowdydudeman

broken resistor in the external regulator.
I think im just going to swap to the celica alt (60a) with it's internal regulator, AND it's only $40 from oreillys. and puts out 10 more amps. not a bad deal for $8 more.

Brino

Is this this a direct swap or was a bracket change required as well?