tubpainter

Hello. I'm the proud, new owner of my first dream vehicle. It's a 1991 4Runner. It's is awesome in all areas except one.

I am having a significant electrical issue. Hopefully someone here can help.

I bought it last week. two days ago, after driving with zero problems, it wouldn't crank. The inside lights worked, but it just clicked. The alt/bat light, brake light, and maybe one other dash warning lights came on. We jumped it off and, after seeing that the sticker said '06, I replaced the battery. No problems...

The following day, I had a CD player installed. Still no problems.

Today, I noticed that the new CD player would stop playing for a few moments when I engaged the left turn signal. Then it would resume.

Tonight, I was backing a flat trailer (no light kit) into the yard. As I would shift in and out of reverse and move the wheel from right to left, the CD player problem as well as the above mentioned dash warning indicators would periodically flicker on. There may have even been some clicking and ticking noises in the steering/dash area. Not sure.

I parked the the truck and cut off the engine. All interior lights worked. A few minutes later, I returned and tried to crank it. No luck. Same as the first time it went "dead."

Any direction as to what may be the issue would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks.

bend

iTrader: (1)

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...rite-up-33526/

tubpainter

Thanks, Bend! I appreciate you responding so quickly. By the way, would you have a link to a post regarding the rear door lock mechanism for a 1991 4Runner? That's really the only other problem I'm having. The door lock won't flip up nor will it allow me to manually pull it up. I have had to remove the panel and I can mess with the "switch" manually to get it to open. Could that also be electrical?

Lots to learn. Thanks again!!!

pb4ugotobed

I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark here and say alternator.

What is your current battery voltage?
If you jumpstart it, what is the battery voltage with the truck running? If it's less than 14volts then chances are you're gonna need an alternator. There's a slight chance your alternator fuse is blown, however that is pretty unlikely.

Luckily, replacing the alternator is literally a 10-15 minute job.

pb4ugotobed

The rear door lock is entirely mechanical. It will ONLY lift up (unlock) if the rear window is ALL the way down. if it's just 98% down it won't unlock.

As soon as you start rolling the rear window up the rear door locks. This is to prevent you from opening the rear door with the window still rolled up (without a frame that back window would break pretty easily

tubpainter

Thanks, pb4. I don't have the know-how to know the exact voltage. I do know that the guy that jumped it off showed me where it was "low" on the battery gauge. Once the new battery was installed, it worked great for a while and measured normal on the gauge.. I was wondering if it might be an alternator issue, too. I admit I have little knowledge at this point, but I want to learn everything I can about it. This is a 3.0 litre V6 motor. I think there may be another in some of the 4Runners (22-R??) Is this a consideration when replacing the alternator as far as difficulty?

Thanks again!

tubpainter

pb4,

The window seems to go down all the way. It worked up until yesterday, then suddenly stopped working correctly. Could the window have become re-oriented somehow? How best to check/repair the window so that it operates with a full range of motion?

sak59

I would say the alt too. I hadclose to the same problem- it was the brake, a/t oil temp , and alt light I took out the alt and when I went down to get a new battery had it checked and the voltage was in spec - it ran fine for about a week ( the lights would still go on and off occationally) and then one day it was dead. I had a buddy come over to look at it and after charging the battery he found that the alt had a intermittent problem, put in a rebuilt one and no more lights on and its been running great. Good luck dude.

sak59

ps. I have a 3.slow too - if you remove the air box ( three bolt on the fender and a couple hoses) the alt can come out in seconds - ( took me 240 seconds ) !

tubpainter

Sak,

Thanks for your help, Sak. I believe you and the others are correct with the alternator diagnosis. That's what i will check tomorrow. The post-purchase realization that I had, as you referred to it, a 3.slow has also been part of the learning curve. I'm blown away with how great it drives and handles. Just need to get the bugs out so i can begin looking into all things 4Runner. I've wanted one forever. Finally got one at 42. This is an awesome site. Thanks again for the help.

tubpainter

I should say I will try the alternator first, but the deeper I read into the great link that Bend sent, I really think that may be the issue. Thanks to everyone for the help. i'm sure i will have more questions later.

Nogarage

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...rite-up-33526/

Matt90V6SR5

Hey tub' welcome to yotaworld I just got my first 90 4Runner at age 44 in august.How many miles on your 91?

91-mexi-yota

hey tub, may b new to the forums, but my yota is the second iv ownd,mines a 4 cylinder, but... i had the same prblum, i was just ridin along and it shut off. so close to the problum, if the alternator doesnt fix it, take a couple hours and check all the wires thatr come off ur battery. my problums was simply a a bare wire hittin a peice of metal and groundin out. so.. mayb somthin u would wanna look over, just make sure dont have ne bare wires, as for the back window.. i took my tailgate apart and fixed mne, it was just the weature stripping on the sides of the window and woldnt let it roll up or down

tubpainter

Hey, Matt. It has 260K. You would never know it, though. Not a squeak or rattle to be heard. I love it. The Second-Generation was always my favorite style. Thanks, Mexi for the loose wire tip. I just don't think it's anything too terribly serious. I am just as impressed with this forum as I am with the 4Runner! Thanks to all who have been so helpful!

clydehatchet

welcome to the 2nd gen family, tub.

pb4ugotobed

Make sure your blinker fluid isn't too low... I've heard that can cause weird intermittant problems

There is also a 7.5 amp "charge" fuse for the alternator. should be in the under hood fuse box. Make sure this fuse is good.

If the fuse is good,

You can take your alternator down to autozone and they'll test it for you for free. I have the 3.0 and it only took me a couple minutes to replace my alternator and I didn't bother taking the airbox out. There's plenty of room down there. There's literally only 3 or 4 bolts you even have to touch.

Or you can go to radio shack, walmart, harbor freight, wherever. Buy a digital multi meter (good to have anyways) you can pick up a cheap one for 3 or 4 bucks. Put the negative lead of the meter on the negative battery terminal and the red lead on the positive battery terminal. record the voltage reading (should be around 12.4 to 12.7 volts for a fully charged battery). Now start the engine, and again record the voltage reading on the meter. It should be anywhere from 14.0 to 14.8 volts if your alternator is healthy. If you aren't in that range with the engine running then chances are your alternator is done.

Regarding your rear window, is it the window itself that won't work, or the door lock for the tailgate? I'm a little confused from your descriptions...

tubpainter

pb4, I replaced the alternator after having it checked at Advance Auto Parts. It was clearly to blame. Since replacing the alternator, there have been no problems at all.

With regard to the back tailgate lock, it is a problem with the lock mechanism. The window rolls down fine when using the up/down btton from the console. However, the window will not roll down when using the key. I have the panel removed so that I have access to the lock mechanism. Once the window is lowered, I can reach down and release the rear door by manipulating the "lock assembly" by hand.

Thanks again to everyone who responded to this thread. I have no doubt that I have found the best forum to come to!