Hey all,

Ive got an 88' 4runner with a 22re 5sp base model and up until recently has ran like a champ.

A few weeks ago I was driving to another town about 40 miles away. Usually not a big deal, make the drive 1-2 times a week. On this particular trip, I happened to notice that the headlights were dimmer than usual. I then noticed that the voltmeter on the dash (I swapped in an SR5 cluster) was hovering just above the middle line which I assume is around 7-8v.

I managed to limp into town, where It started shutting down electronics like the radio and whatnot. Got the battery charged up enough to make the drive back to my house. On the drive home, Things hovered right around I would say 8-9v on the dash gauge.

Pulled the battery and had it on the charger for a day or two, but it wouldnt charge more than about 10v, So I picked up a new battery (needed one regardless). I also pulled the alternator and took it to napa and the guy who tested it said it spun good and checked out fine.

I have also cleaned the grounds from the battery to the body and frame, as well as the head to the body and the ground on the ps pump bracket.

After getting everything back together, new battery in, alt back in, grounds cleaned, I Drove it around and the volts still were not where they should be (see photo).

Parked in over night and the next morning the battery was a 7.31v (from a multimeter). So that makes me think that something somewhere is draining the battery even when its not on?

Im not very good with electrical issues and don't really know where to go from here.

Any insight would be much appriciated!


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From your picture the alternator seems to be charging in the normal range.

The line in the center of the voltmeter is 12 volts.

something is draining the battery anything on

Brake light switch sticking ?/

Light in the glove compartment.??

So get the battery charged up again.

you can go fuse by fuse looking for a current draw find if you have abnormal ones.

Double check with the meter see if the battery is charging.


Might be possible you just got a bad battery .

 

Do a voltage drop test between battery positive and the big wire at the alternator. Anything above 0.2 volts then it has a bad/dirty connection or too much resistance in the wire. Do the same test from the battery negative to the engine block, and again from the battery negative to the body.

 

I figured that it was reading a little low because before all this happened, the voltmeter would be right at the second to top line.

Nothing is on that I can tell. No light in the glove box.

Battery is on the charger.

Ill check for voltage drop when I get home tonight.