DupermanDave

So I decided to start my own thread because this is turning into a separate issue.

Lately, my radio has been blinking on and off when I use my turn signals. I have recently discovered if I turn all electrical devices on (headlights, secondary lights, and turn signals) the radio will stay off instead of blinking on and off.

Today I discovered someting new. If my engine is on and I rev the engine to 2000 RPM, the radio will come on and stay on, even with the lights on and the turn signal on. If i let the RPM drop at all, the radio will spaz out and start flashing on and off again.

I don't have the alterantor warning light, and I tested the battery last night and it tested good (though my multimeter may be a little odd or broke. I', testing it again sunday with a new one)

What's this a sign of? Truck starts quickly each morning and the radio is the only thing giving me grief. The battery is fairly new, maybe 5 months old. Alternator was also replaced by the PO about a year ago.

Outsane

Do the big three wire upgrade, and make sure the current grounds and power connections are good and solid, ie not bolted down to rust.

DupermanDave

I checked all the wires leading to the fuse box and they are all good. No rust or corrosion. I'll check out the grounds later (sick today). Where are all the grounds located? I see the one coming straight from the battery cable, but are there others?

Outsane

Not sure where all of them are..

I upgraded my ground and it helped out alot

DupermanDave

I think I'm going to do the big 3 swap. But I have a few questions. What gauge wiring should I use for each cable and where is the best place to buy the cables (Autozone or Lowes/Home Depot?)

I found a few posts regarding the big 3 swap, but no write ups on doing the swap. I see most people recommend 4 gauge. Is this the best to use?

-edit-
for future reference, this is the thread I found from google (yotatech search isn't the best lately) https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f131...upgrade-95850/

TNRabbit

4 is a good overall gauge. Some folks use 00, but I think that's a bit extreme...

Kiroshu

Ok it def sounds like an alternator to me even if they are going out it does not always throw a light.... is your truck auto or man? Clean your battery terminals and see if theres any diff... check your bat with a multi meter does it read at least 12-12.6 volts? if so its good. if not start from there... it sounds to me like an alternator going out i would recomend a new one.... if your truck is auto MAKE SURE YOU GET THE EXACT ONE FOR AN AUTO TRANNY OR ELSE YOU WILL BE SORRY!!! The alternator for the auto has a high output due to the auto trans being electronicaly controled....

DupermanDave

Mine's a manual. I tested the battery and got 13 volts. When I started flipping on all the electrical stuff, I got it to drop down to about 10 volts.

Battery terminals are very good looking. No corrosion or rust. Actually, they look brand new. Cables also look really good. There's a little rust on them, but I may just soak them in some vinegar or ketchup and let that eat away the rust.

If I can determine it's the alternator, I'll just rebuild it with a brush kit. No need to replace the whole thing.

Fae_Tal

yank the alt. and take it down to be tested. it'll piece you off to replace it and have the same problems after the fact.
I had a similar prob with my 88 4runner a month or so back. Random electrical gremlins, one day it was pouring buckets out, had the wipers and stereo on and stuff just started dying on me, knowing it was electrical I was pushing to get it back to the garage. She made it clear across town before she sputtered and died in the middle of an intersection...

Me and the old man tore it apart, pulled the alt, it tested fine, battery was good, everything was kosher...
ended up being a bad connection or ground, we tinkered with it for two days, couldn't find a "problem" put it together and it was fine. hurray for mystery fixes.

with older rigs you'll want to consider corrosion under the insulation though, just an idea.

DupermanDave

That's true, but even the uninsulated parts would look corroded since they're exposed. I thin I'm going to swap battery cables as well if the ground wires dont fix the problem. Battery cables are going to be swapped out when I do the intake swap, so that won't be an issue for long

Outsane

You can always run the truck, and pull the neg battery lead and see if the alt can keep up on its own..

and you can always upgrade your alt to the GM one wire or something of that nature.

DupermanDave

I was reading that online and there's a lot of people that warn against doing that. They say you may fry your computer or other electrical devices. Is this safe for the 22re?

scope103

Sigh ... Then your battery is not charged!

A car battery has a lot of ommph. You could turn on the headlights or even the heater fan (usually the biggest current draw) and not get more than 0.5 volts of drop. Since your battery has a 13v "surface charge" that drops immediately to 10v with any draw, it's probably no good.

You could check the water in the battery; if you're low enough you can get what you see with an "okay" battery. But it didn't do the battery any good to run the water down.

When you take the battery down to be checked, they'll do just what you did; hook it to a carbon-pile load, see the big voltage drop, and offer you a good battery. When you put it in, check the voltage when the truck is running. You should get about 14.1v. If you get a lot more (16?), then that will boil the water out of the battery, it may be why your current battery is bad, and it will destroy the new battery.

If (and only if) you get the wrong voltage with the new battery, then you can think about replacing the alternator. Or the cables. Or screwing around with vinegar.

DupermanDave

I shouldn't say those numbers are totally accurate, though. My multimeter has been acting up recently and I said in an earlier post I was going to retest the battery on Sunday. My multimeter wasn't letting me adjust my TPS because it kept giving me different readings, and inaccurate readings. Almost left the thing in front of my tire when I drove off. It's all I have to go by right now until I get another one on sunday.

Might actually be faster to not test it at all and just replace it. It has a 3 year warranty and I still have the receipt.

Sin91

Abe told me to post this:

I'd argue that point if the battery was fully charged (to 12.2V or higher prior to starting the vehicle) to begin with. If it didn't have more than that before being checked then right after starting the engine I would expect 13v. It should climb to 14.2-14.7 volts (in a perfect world) or at least 13.8v (the lower voltage will affect the lifespan of the battery moreso than the 'reserve' capacity).
Maybe you should qualify that a bit more? Starting batteries are rated in CCA (cold cranking amperes) and 'load' batteries (a.k.a. "deep cycle") are rated in AH (ampere-per-hour). Oomph is relative. If a car battery can run a car stereo for 6 hours and a deep cycle battery could run the stereo for 36 hours. Which has more 'oomph'?
Low beams, not including marker lights are a 9+ ampere draw:
AV=2
A*12=110
A=110/12
A=9.166666666666667 (ampere draw of ONLY the headlights, not including marker lights and dash lights)
And what's the AH rating of a "car battery"?
What matters more is how long it takes for that 1V drop to turn in to 2V, then 3V, 5V drop, etc.Batteries do not have water in them, particulary lead-acid batteries like we have in our vehicles. Fluid "level" in any liquid electrolyte battery is never an indicator of battery capacity. What you're interested in is "specific gravity". If the specific gravity is too high, it needs more solute, and if it's too low, but the fluid level is fine we have to start worrying about plate permeation and 'surface charges' and sulfation.... If after replenishing a low cell to the proper 'volume' and allowing the electrolyte to diffuse, the specific gravity is within specifications, nothing is wrong. We use a hygrometer to measure specific gravity, not some line on the side of the battery saying it's "full" or "empty".They shouldn't do what you said "you just did". They should charge the battery to an appropriate voltage, depending on the type of battery, allow a rest period for the battery to float or stabilize, then apply the load. If they don't do that, they're not testing properly. And it can take 1 to 24 hours to properly load test a battery, depending on the type of battery and the state of discharge the battery was in when it was presented for a test.The last thing you want to do is introduce acetic acid into a battery based on sulfuric acid chemistry. Google it if you don't get it.

Check the rest voltage of the battery- disconnect it from the vehicle overnight and check the voltage between the poles the next morning. Should be more than 12v.
Start the vehicle and let it idle until the engine is warm.
Check the battery voltage- should be 13.8-14.7.
Oh, and idle speed should be 750 when you check the battery voltage.

Then turn on the headlights- expect a .5 volt drop (yeah, that contradicts what I said before, but before, I was talking about running off the battery, not the battery and the engine) and about 25 rpms average drop in idle speed. So if the volts on the battery at idle after the engine warms up is 14.2 or so, turn the headlights on and they should drop to around 13.7 or so and the idle speed should drop a bit.
If that's true, the alternator is working and the load from the alternator trying to generate enough power to operate the lights has caused the engine rpms to drop- perfectly normal.

If when at idle and all the stock / factory installed lights are on- high beams, etc., the battery voltage falls below about 12, then maybe the idle is set too low or (more likely) the alternator/regulator circuits are starting to fail.

DupermanDave

Hmmm. Idle seems important in this process. I'll need to wait until the throttle body gets here before I can do everything properly. My TB is bad and causes the engine to idle at like 900-1100 RPM right now.

Oh, and I believe my battery does have water in it. I remember one of my batteries (maybe the old one) had instructions on the top to check water levels and fill it up to a certain point if necessary.

24Runna

Take it to Autozone. They have a cart that can test your battery, and alt while in the vehicle.

My DieHard battery, (about 8 years old), wouldn't hold a charge, ie when the car was on it would be fine, but the second you turn it off, you can't start it.

DupermanDave

i think i figured out the hard way that its the battery. Left me stranded at the gas station 50 miles from home. Luckily theres a checker right nearby i took my battery to. Theyre testing it and charging it as i type this on my phone. Not too happy. Could my alternator be on its way out too?

Outsane

Can you Jump the truck and run it with out the battery?

DupermanDave

havent tested without the battery. they said the battery tested fine and held a charge. Got it charged and now im at a resturaunt hoping it will start to get me home. If it tested fine...does that mean its the alternator? even fully charged the radio still flashed under power load