jtsefton

Hey Yall.

Back Story bought my Toyota Truck a year ago, old guy. 1989 206k miles. Had a lot of custom wiring and stuff done on it.

I replaced the alternator/Battery about 6 months ago. Original alternator was still there. Had been running great since then.

Was driving it the other day when all of a sudden I lost eletrical power, no lights, windshield wipers or turn signals. I pulled over and turned the truck off. Knew it probably wouldn't start, of course it didn't. Emergency lights still worked BTW.

Had a handyman come take a look at it, alternator ground wiring was all messed up and it had blown a fuse. Re wired and replaced the fuse.

Truck won't start still, and now no lights or emergency lights work. Truck will start and run when it is being jumped from another vehicle. But if not connected absolutely no electrical power.

I believe I need everything rewired, and a multimeter to test all the connections. What do you all think? I attached a bunch of pictures.

Anything or thoughts help. Or a good plan of action.

osv

that bare crimp connector in the third pic looks like a disaster waiting to happen.

so "no electrical power" means no dash lights either?

getting a multimeter and a schematic of the truck wiring is probably where i'd start, just confirm all of the wiring.

jtsefton

Correct - No dash lights.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Time for a Multi Meter

We need some real world Voltages

Just what do you mean by Alternator ground wiring .

The alternator grounds through the bracket

Prehaps you meant the wire coming off the Alternator B terminal that goes to the Fuse block

Your battery might be completely

Then you might just have bad battery terminals dead

Odin

+1





Those non insulated red, blue and yellow crimp wire connectors are a pet peeve of mine. They like to hide all sorts of corrosion and they are often crimped poorly leading to a poor connection and low power transfer. They shouldn't ever be used outside of the vehicle. The interior is the only area where they should be used but even then
I HATE THEM!

Actually from the pictures the wiring doesn't look too hacked up yet. Please do not continue with the non insulated crimp wire connector trend. Let it die like disco.


It could be an easy find. Try the easy way first-
Preferably at night and in a darkened garage have someone sit in the truck, turn the headlight switch on and leave it on, then you go under the hood and start wiggling wires or connection areas that look suspicious. If the lights or interior lights start flickering you know the general whereabouts of the problem and can narrow it down from there.

Suspect any connection that doesn't look factory, then suspect and inspect the main grounds to and at the body. It's not enough to simply look.
Unmount/ Clean with a wire brush/ Apply a little Dielectric grease/ Remount

This guide can help you locate the grounds, make sure they are all there and in good condition https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-guide-194413/



Failing that it's time to start testing with a multimeter.

jtsefton

Thanks for everyones help soo far.

I tried to jump my car to at least get it back to the street by my house (It is 4 or 5 blocks away). The battery won't hold a charge and my truck dies within 30 seconds of disconnecting from Jumper Cables.

What do you all think the best course of action is at this point? Seems like I for sure need to get another battery, I definitely don't want to get a new one and kill it right away because my wiring is messed up, Is this a risk>?

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Battery Charger ??

Recharge the battery to get you home.

Install another battery to just get you home.

Don`t think without checking things out that every thing is good to go and then the battery discharges and your back to not running

Figure out if the battery will not take a charge or if it is not charging.

Sounds like a not charging issue.

These EFI systems if the voltage is to low the ECU goes into a self protection mode that is why it quits.

Time for a Meter and real numbers

Charchee

I would absolutely start with a new battery. If the alternator was miswired and was blowing fuses it could have drastically overcharged your battery and ruined it. Testing the battery, even with a load tester, can sometimes fool you and that's why I say get a new battery before you spend too much time digging through the rest of the electrical system. I spent a week tracing my way through the electrical system of a tree cutter at work a couple weeks ago. I started with the batteries of course but when they load tested ok, I moved on down the line. Only after I gave up and replaced the batteries did the problems go away. When I got the batteries back to the shop I tested them for a longer period of time and found that they would read perfect for about 20 seconds and then drop to subzero voltage. Had a dead short inside one of them. Alternator overcharging caused it. If that's not it, just start working your way back from the battery. Check your main + wire to the fuse box and your fusible link if yours has one. My 89 4Runner does. And of course check your big cables and grounds. My money is on the battery.

jtsefton

..:: Update ::..

Took battery into autoshop, they tested it said it was completely toast. Bought a new Battery - installed it. Drove around for a day, when I used my turn signals/lights would watch my battery level dip on the dashboard. Clearly losing power somewhere.

Current Battery is dead and car will turn over but not start. I have a multimeter coming via Amazon tomorrow. Assuming will be able to get more info.

Where do you think I am losing all my power too? How would I kill the battery that fast?

Odin

Put the battery on A CHARGER ASAP
You can damage a battery by letting it sit at a discharged state.

An alternator should not be used to recharge a battery because it's hard on them. They aren't meant to recharge batteries but to power the accessories. The only charging that should be asked of them is to restore the discharge that happened when power was needed to turn on the interior light (when you opened the door), activate the fuel pump, and turn the starter over with engine load.

RAD4Runner

Store sold you a battery but did not test your charging system?
I would not trust that store, then.

Your charging system is probably not working or NOT properly-connected to battery. Therefore, the truck is draining the battery i order to keep it running while charging system is not replenishing battery charge.

When you get your multi-meter, please do voltage checks according to:

How Charging System Works on 22R-E

Charchee

Charge up your battery using a battery charger "not jumper cables" and see if your truck will start. If it does, measure the voltage at the battery. Should read around 13.5-14.5 volts if the alternator is working. If less than that, move on to troubleshooting the alternator. Test for voltage on the alternator terminals and at the fuse box like shown in RAD4Runner's link above. If, however, you read something like 16 volts or higher, shut her down. Your alternator is overcharging and killing, or has killed, your new battery. I've installed new faulty alternators in my semi trucks at work that exploded 4 batteries in just a couple hours due to overcharging. It's probably just not charging but better safe than sorry. The only reason I even bring it up is because you had a "toasted" battery and you said that "it would turn over but not start". I assume you were trying to jump it off. If that is the case you may have blown an engine fuse due to a problem with the charging system. Just take your multi-meter and a notepad and work your way back through the charging system and you'll find the problem.

GorgeRunner

Multimeter is a good call. Aside from bad wires and connections, eyeballing electrical problems won't get you too far.

Definitely check the alternator charging circuit first. As others have mentioned, it should be charging about 14.2v. If it's less than that, good chance the alternator is bad. If it's more than that, the regulator may be shot. Either way, the alternator needs to be replaced.

If that doesn't do the trick, you have to find what the electrical drain is. You can use the resistance function of the multimeter to find open and short circuits. Start with the "aftermarket" wiring and connections. If that doesn't do it, you need to find voltage specs and start testing, starting with the most likely power drain. Use common sense. If the truck goes dead during the day, then it's probably not the lights. Keep track of your testing progress so you don't repeat things.

Electrical problems can be tough, don't think you'll find many vehicle owners who look forward to dealing with them. Stick with it and you'll find the problem.

Good luck.

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Given the choice Electrical is the easy part of working on a vehicle.

The second best is repairing and rebuilding frames

I hate doing brakes

changing the oil is the hardest for me because I always get a bath