tshezz

ok yall,
im working with a 89 carb. 22r. with 188 on the odometer. when i get started up the parking-brake light and batt light on the dash are on. the brake light remains on when it is dis-engaged. driving home the other night, i ended up roll starting it to get home and would have pretty much driven home in the dark if not for the car behind me. so, a new alternator later, the lights are still on. also, when at idle, the engine will often start racing. could my batt be fryed? and killed my old alt and now in the process of doing the same to my new one?

and another thing....wtf on having to drain the coolant to get to the alt....

operose

very well could be the battery if you've already replaced the alternator.

a parts shop can do a load test on the battery for you

tshezz

had the batt checked at napa, and results indicated good. still stumped, just gonna go on the idea that it may be a short with the batt light in the dash - wishful thinking- until something else occurs.

OSIRIS

Get a new battery. sometimes they test ok, but they could have a bad cell. I had the wire coming from the alt. corroded and it caused so much resistence that it burned itself off and I had to cut that end of the wire off and put on a new wire, solder it to the original alt, cause it was still good and then get a new battery. The batt light means you are getting good alt. charge. My reason was bad wire, not alt. Still change battery regardless of what NAPA says.

notanymore

just because a battery will test good doesnt mean it is good, with my old battery wouldnt hold a charge but autozone said it tested good, replaced the battery and all was good but check all your wiring under there too and make sure its all good. for your brake light you proally are low on fluid, try topping it off and the light should go out. but double check all your wiring especially your grounds

2WDoffroadx

What makes you think you have to drain the coolant to change the alt?
I had my alt replaced a while back and the idea of the coolant sounds rediculous. They didnt drain anything.

AH64ID

The instructions to change the alt indicate that you need to drain the coolant and remove a hose, but the easiest way to do it is to remove the fan and shroud, no mess

Those lights indicate a problem in your charging system. A good alt should keep the light off with a bad battery. I would check all the connections on the alt/batt, and give the battery a good overnight charge on a 2amp charger. Then see what happens. Also check the voltage with the truck running, should be 13.5 or higher.

tshezz

yes, went through and cleaned up all the wires. i will probably replace all the wiring when i get a chance. driving around today, the light didnt come on. so, im thinking all may be well.

but the idea of a new battery is sounding good.

VoxMan

So the other night driving home my car slowly died..lights dimmed, rear ABS light came on. A block from home the car died. My sister-in-law came and jumped it, after which the idot lights and all were normal, batt gauge showed regular. Next morning I fired it up and after about 10 mins the battery was drained, the tach was jumping all over the place, no ABS light, but brake light came on. My thought was alternator, got new one, charged batt, same problem. Replaced battery cables (one was really corroded), charged batt..same problem. Got a new battery today, voltage reads 12.6 with car off, but what worries me is I keep hearing the voltage with car on should be higher than 12.6 but on mine it reads the same as with car off. is this ok or a sign of something still wrong?

89 toy

it should be around 14 volts. did you check the alt fuse under the hood?

notanymore

if your tach is jumping around you might have bad grounds, make sure to check those, i had a problem simmilar to that and it was because the grounds were bad

rusmotor

VoxMan,

I have EXACTLY the same problem as you, and i did exactly the same -
replaced alternator and charged the battery. 50 miles latter - dead again
with same symptoms - first tachometer starts jumping up and down,
then ABS lights and rough idle, and then engine starts cutting out and dies.
And yes -voltage at the battery does not change with rpm increase.

littlerunner told me that if new alternator is not OEM it may not be doing the job right. I am trying to rule out other possibilities first, as Toyotas around
here dont carry any truck parts and take weeks to get them back order delivered.

Let me know if you figure out what is happening with your truck!
Good luck!