boseph222

I just bought an 86 22REC 4x4 and i have replaced the alternator 5 times. I am no mechanic by any means and i find it hard to believe i am just getting a bad alternator each time. I was wondering if any body else has had this problem. I don't have any extra stereo or anything that would drain the battery. Could it be the wiring? I don't know! Please help!

Robert m

iTrader: (2)

I would check out the wiring and the battery for good measure. Out of curiosity, what alternators are you using?

boseph222

im not sure. after the 2nd one i had a mechanic do it. i thought i was doing something wrong. there are a lot of loose ends on the wiring though i think it might be a good idea to do it. this is my first toyota and i want to get it tits.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Years ago on a Ford, I had to swap out 4 starters in 4 months. Got to where I could do it blindfolded. It is getting harder to find shops that rebuild starters and alternators. Most parts stores have them rebuilt in Mexico and they can be bad out of the box. Have your rebuilt locally if possible and if they know what they are doing.

Bad wiring will cause you issues. Get those fixed first.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Just what happens if your getting a month out of each one they seem to at least work.

All these failed alternators where checked when returned as bad so you received credit.

Is it not rather expensive to have these bad alternators swapped ??

Have the battery terminals and cables been upgraded along with the wire from B terminal of the alternator to the fuse block ??

As was stated the quality of rebuilds has gone down if a parts store has a bad lot quite possible you are getting all of them.

The real question is just what symptoms are you having that prompts the no charge condition??

boseph222

Yea there are a lot of loose ends in the wiring. No symptoms. Just the charge light comes on. Then I pull the black cable off the battery and it dies.

Robert m

iTrader: (2)

Stop doing that^^^ This truck is not a 60's chevy. Pulling the ground cable doesn't prove anything.
Go buy a multimeter and check the actual voltage on the battery and on the alternator stud. You can actually get a free one from harbor freight with a coupon. It;s not a great one, but it will read the voltage fine.

Superstud

If you have the wrong battery in your truck it can cause your issue. If the battery is wrong your truck will run completely off of your alternator which adds stress on it and can cause premature alternator failures

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

No idea just what cable the op is pulling off if it is the ground cable of course the engine will shut off.

I feel sorry there is no way to know if this mechanic ??is just making a minor repair and telling you the alternator is bad or if your frying the alternators doing something dumb because your not up to speed on vehicle electrical systems yet

Superstud

Can you please explain just what a wrong battery is ??

Do you have a list of Wrong Batteries ??

How do I know if I have a wrong battery ??

Superstud

First grab a multimeter and check your battery. It should read close to 12.6 volts when the truck is off. Then turn on the engine again and check the battery. If the voltmeter reads between 14-15 volts then the battery is normal. But if the battery reads over 15 volts or less than 13 volts, then there might be a problem with the voltage regulator, the wiring or the alternator.

Superstud

If you just go and grab a random battery from store and throat and like a lot of people do they end up having issues with the vehicles they don't have enough cold cranking amps to turn over their vehicle and be easy on the battery(easy meaning keeping voltage drop of the battery in regulations). When starting this if it isn't in regulation your battery is going to be draining more than its supposed to each time start your truck. Due to this your alternator is working twice as hard hence a lower life span of your alternator

MudHippy

Your theory does not hold water.

The truck does completely run off of the alternator. The battery is only playing the middle man by keeping the voltage in the electrical system more consistent. A voltage buffer so to speak. If the alternator is working, it's doing most the real work, most of the time. The battery just sits there fully charged doing very little(aside from transfering a consistent voltage from the alternator to the electrical system).

A bad alternator may kill your battery, through insufficient charging. If the battery voltage can't be maintained at 12.4V or above it's bad for the battery(causes heavy sulfation).

But a bad battery will probably not kill your alternator. It would have to be holding no charge at all(making the alternator constantly charge at maximum amperage). If that was the case it wouldn't start. The alternator is a purpose built HD battery charger. Charging batteries isn't likely to harm it at all unless the battery refuses to charge. Even then it's a huge stretch of the imagination(like I said, it won't even start, the alternator won't spin, no work will be done by it, and no potentially alternator damaging heat will be generated).

These alternators have internal voltage regulators too BTW. And the random battery at the store is not so random. You'll be hard pressed to find one that doesn't have the recommended CCA/AH or more that will "comfortably" fit in your vehicle. There's an industry standard for automotive batteries. IOW, a car battery is a car battery for the most part. Your main concern should be getting one that fits in your vehicle, size wise. If it fits, it'll likely work just fine. Amperage recommendations are just that...recommendations. Whatever works, works.


This is undoubtedly a wiring issue.

"It's better to remain silent and be considered a fool. Than to speak and remove all doubt."

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

I was really Hoping for the wrong Battery List !!!

Then what about Ambient Air Temperature does that play into the Wrong Battery Scenario Winter in Prudhoe Bay as compared to Winter Key West ?/

Superstud

Oh so you obviously know what is wrong then and you obviously have a degree so you don't need anyone's help.

Superstud

If you think I'm so dumb do a Google search. Not only have I seen this happen in my shop I was taught it in collage

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

No degree for me to stupid to get into any school .

I was told I had the lowest scores ever in those tests you take.

I was just trying to learn about something I had never heard of!!

I guess your language is to hard for me to understand !!