WolfMann

Hey everyone, having trouble with the charge system on my 83 pickup. Fsm details two fusible links, only trouble is I can't seem to find them. Anyone know where the darned things are? Any help is appreciated, thank you.

RAD4Runner

Need to know what gage is used on stock.
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toy_tek

Direct off the battery. I have 3 on my 83, and they go right into the harness located behind the battery. The links are just sections of wire about 6" long, with non flammable insulation.

WolfMann

Thanks 111 that's what I was looking for, so these aren't the kind of links with the plastic cover that you twist off and the fuse inside? Do they go bad? I haven't been able to get a charge (battery reads at 7v after a jump start) and im 99% sure it's the alternator but I figured I should look at the little stuff first.

RAD4Runner

If you have electrical issues, start bay making sure ALL (not just ground. ALL) connections have bare, shiny metal tightly contacting bare, shiny metal.

[QUOTE=WolfMann;52369868]Thanks 111 that's what I was looking for, so these aren't the kind of links with the plastic cover that you twist off and the fuse inside?

THIS:
On first-gen 4Runners it looks like below.

They could but rarely. Splices could get corroded / brittle / loose and cause high resistance. If you suspect that:
1) Turn electrical loads ON,
2) Meter to Volts DC mode, negative probe to end of FL wire away from battery, positive probe to end of FL wire close to battery.
3) You should not get any volt, or if any it should be less than 1 volt.

Yes, check little things that cost little first.

What follows will be less expensive than replacing parts that may not be bad after all:
Here's how charging system works. First-gen 4Runner but the concept should be same.
Find the B, S, IG and L wires on your schematic and check voltages there. Then. keep us posted. Good luck.

toy_tek

nope just wire (unless someone changed yours). They melt internally if the load is too high (ie. a short). Test them with a meter like you'd check any other resistor / wire component.

Charge issue could also be voltage regulator. Charge issue troubleshooting covered in great length in other posts.

Best of luck!

WolfMann

Thank you guys, I appreciate all the help.

WolfMann

Hey guys, so here's an update still having trouble with no charge. Put in a rebuilt alternator, cleaned battery terminals, cleaned up connections around voltage regulator. Hopping to get some more advice, I wanted to try testing the output from the replacement alternator, connected positive line from volt meter to "b" terminal on alt. And neg line to a ground. With engine running after a jump I watched it drop down slowly from 12.25 til 11 something when I shut it down. These readings mimicked the level in the battery and what I'm wondering is 1) did I perform this test right or should I have disconnected the "b" line from alternator first? 2) if this test is correct does it imply that the replacement alternator is also faulty? One other bit of information, after installing alt and cleaning connections around volt regulator, the charge light has turned off on dash. Not sure why this is considering it's still not charging.

WolfMann

Also here is a picture of the voltage regulator, I'm wondering if anyone knows of a way to test this. The fsm detailed some ohm testing but the one they showed in manual Is different from the one in truck.

RAD4Runner

No, do not disconnect "B" wire. It is connected between battery positive and alt output so battery voltage there should be same as alt output. Alt out put should be 13.5V to 15.1V.
You should not replace parts until you are absolutely sure they are bad and replacing them will solve the problem, unless you have lots of spare cash.
Why not replace the battery as well? How old is it?

Did you read post above... Here's how charging system works.?
Find the B, S, IG and L wires on your schematic or see if wire colors match then check voltages there. Then. keep us posted. Good luck.

WolfMann

Newest update, after a bit more reading I realized the rebuilt alt I picked up as a replacement was a b-circuit alternator and what I needed was an a-circuit alternator. I guess the main difference is whether the voltage regulator has a six or five pin harness connection. So I swapped a few parts from the B alt to the A and I am currently getting a charge of 13.5v. I would still like to perform the test rad4 has outlined to get a better sense of where voltage regulator is at, but for the moment things are working ok.