rusmotor

Hi guys!
Really need help! My alternator died last week. Or so i figured -
the tachometer died first, then ABS light came on, and then the engine
started cutting out. When I turned the truck off and tried restrting it -
battery was dead.
I replaced the alternator, charged the battery and firured I was good to go.
50 miles later - same thing again!
Does anyone have any idea how to check if the new alternator is functioning
properly?
Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

littlerunner

if you didn't replace with factory alternator you may as well get your money back then get factory.a lot of aftermarket alternators will show to be charging off the veh but will not charge on the veh.mostly true for japanese manufacturers.have wrkd at toy,kia,mitsu,nissan,have changed out a lot of aftermrkt alts that would not chrge on the rig-good luck

rusmotor

Forgot to say that mine is a 96 runner with 3.4 engine.
Also, thought I should add that the problem started two days after returning
from a long off road trip. During the trip after crossing a couple streams,
all of a sudden my day driving lights started working even though they did not
sine I bought the truck. Although mpst likely unrelated to alternator problem,
it is also an electrical problem.

Could it be that on board computer is acting out?
Would pulling codes be a good idea?

rusmotor

I tried getting an alternator from Toyota, but they said they did not have them in stock and that they could have for me in two days. That was a week ago. Yesterday they told me it would be here next week, if I am lucky!
Meanwhile my truck was sitting in the far end of town with dead battery.
Yesterday I went and bought a rebuilt alternator. Toyota tells me they
dont carry alternators for 3rd generation anywhere in Montreal.
I guess I am stuck...

rusmotor

Someone seems to have had similar symptoms cuased by a shorted wire.
I am not fluent with electronics, but do have a voltmenter.
Any ideas on how to look for a short?

rdharper

Did the tach and abs light work correctly after you replaced the alternator and recharged the battery? I assume they did.

rdharper

Until it is fixed, take out the battery, recharge it, replace it, and get your truck to a safe place where you can work on it. Or at least that is what I'd do first.

Actually, I'd just buy a new one, just to simplify getting it home. Worse case you have an extra battery.

rusmotor

PROBLEM SOLVED, LESSON LEARNED!
A new alternator and a week of taking public transit later, after bugging people here on the forum with questions about pulling codes and possibility of ECU fault and such, I did at last find the problem, the cost of fixing which was just short of 20 cents worth of electric tape and 15 minutes of my not so precious time
Apparently what happened was that from four days of shaking and vibration during an off road trip which preceded the supposed alternator demise, those metal brackets which held wire harnesses in place
preventing them from swinging back and forth inside engine compartment, being quite rusty broke off allowing alternator harness to do just that - to swing its way onto alternator belt and be cut off!

I should have checked the wires much more thoroughly from the start.
The cut was a small one on the bottom part of the harness just where it merges into main wiring harness.
I tapped the wires together, re isolated them with electrical tape, and driven almost 500 miles since.
The battery seems to charge alright! I never actually needed the new alternator.

Lesson learned for me - check thoroughly first things first!
Thank you all guys for all the advice and help, and I will post pictures
as a formal introduction to the community today.
Ilya