Originally Posted by Odin

There's been alot of threads on here lately about alternators and starter problems, so much so I think cleaning battery POS and NEG cables and their contact areas along with voltage drop testing should be a sticky!

Normally one of the things that is suggested is to clean ALL the main power and ground wires and their contact areas. The normal reply is they look good.
This is pretty much a caned response meaning-
They didn't clean them because they "L@@ked" good on the outside so they didn't bother to clean them The problem could easily be right at the connection where you can't see it until it is disassembled and cleaned!
I just can't take people serious when they won't do this one simple thing. Plenty of people have replaced a battery, alternator or a starter before they do this one step and still have problems.
Knock the simple stuff off the list first!



Doing a quick visual inspection doesn't cut it!



To be reliable all contact area's must be clean and shiny like the day it rolled off the assembly line. With the small power and ground wires on these trucks just a little corrosion can create extra work for the alternator (think life span), reduced light levels from the interior and headlights, cause starter problems (spin slow, not at all, clicking) or even cause wires to overheat and smoke.


buuut anyhow, I'm outta here

Originally Posted by Odin

That's great but the voltage test only tells part of the story.

What you guys with starter and alternator problems really need to do is clean all your power and ground connections no matter what shape you think they're in.
When I start having problems in those area's it's the first thing I do. In some cases it only takes a little corrosion to effect a circuit and with our wimpy 6 gauge battery cables I suspect that's the case quite often. And remember since Japan doesn't rate their wires like we do that wire is probably closer to 7 awg.
If you haven't cleaned the wire and the area of the part it's connected to with a wire brush or something of the sort and made it shiny all bets are off.
Adding a little dielectric grease or Deox-IT before reattachment will help keep problems away.

The second step for me is a Voltage Drop Test
Unlike simply testing for voltage performing a Voltage Drop Test tells you how much loss there is from between two points and can sometimes pinpoint things easier.

Unlike a regular voltage test when performing a voltage drop test BOTH test leads are connected to only one side of the circuit. That is, if you want to test the NEG side both leads have to be connected to the NEG circuit.
Also, it doesn't matter if your gauge gives you a negative or positive reading, you're still going to get the numbers you need and that's lost voltage.
The noted acceptable loss on the NEG side is .200V but I like to see much less.
The noted acceptable loss for the POS side is up to .5V but remember LOWER READINGS ON BOTH SIDES ARE DESIRABLE.

Rather than explain how to do it here's a couple video's that explain it in detail and the second one shows real results.

Originally Posted by RJR

A "couple of seconds" is lifetime (literally) when it comes to blowing up electronics. Usually an overvoltage surge will take out unprotected transistors and IC's in a matter of milli-seconds - much faster than a human can react. There is no "safe" time for an overvoltage event.

That being said, the auto manufacturers recognize that voltage regulators fail, and are pretty good about building protection into the ECU's and other more expensive electronic parts. Your aftermarket stereo, maybe, maybe not.

Disconnecting the battery is NOT the best way to find out if your alternator is working, your uncle notwithstanding. The best way is with your trusty multimeter. With the engine running, voltage at the battery should be between 12.5 and 13.5, 14 absolute max. Lower means your alternator likely isn't working, higher means your voltage regulator is not working.

Originally Posted by Odin

Don't run the engine without the battery hooked up, that's a good way of shortening the life of the alternator and in some cases it can take out the ECM.

Stop replacing things until you find out what's wrong. If you still have it immediately try charging your old battery back up to full strength on a good charger.

Don't just assume your power and ground wires are good and making strong contact. This assumption has cost a lot of people some good money. The cables on these trucks are pitifully small and it doesn't take much corrosion to effect them. Get out a wire brush and clean all the ends of the connectors and the areas they are connected to. Scrub them with a wire brush or some 0000 Super Fine steel wool, it's easy and won't take that long.

If you still have problems it's time to do a voltage drop test to look for bad connections, bad wires and check out your alternator. It's very easy to do. Electronical stuff confuses me but even a simpleton like myself can do it. Start by watching this video then watch some different ones if it still isn't clear.

Originally Posted by SilentBounty

And yeah the stickys are very helpful on this site. I always read up on them again and again and learn something new every time! Glad you got ito man!

Originally Posted by 4RunnerRogers

I installed an aftermarket radio and that killed my battery in 1 week. I had to put a kill switch on it to solve the problem.

Originally Posted by RJR

It could do it if you accidentally connected the stereo power wire to an "always on" 12V source, rather than 12V switched through the ignition/accessory switch.

Originally Posted by SilentBounty

No im not sure of a good source of ground straps.

Originally Posted by Odin

I can't make sticky's, I have no control over that.But it would sure be nice so we could get rid of some of the same questions over and over...

Originally Posted by wyoming9

Spend all the money on a fancy battery and can`t get the current where it needs to go.