I have had it.Today was the last straw. I had to give my dad a ride to work so i can fix his starter for him and on the way there the plug fell out of the back of the alternator twice on the way there and 4 times on the way home. I cant figure this thing out. Its been doing it more and more. I had some light to look and the back of the new alternator i put in a few months back is clean and the clip is there. I pull the harnes and the clips there too. I clip the thing in and give it a wiggle and its latched. Jump back in and drive a block and the charge light comes back on and i pull over and its either all the way out or i wiggle it and it clips. The clip seems tight but its obvioulsy not holding. The other night when this happened i went to my 4runner and my parts truck and BOTH are different plugs. Is there another alternator set up i can run and maybe pigtail a harnes from a doner truck that would give me more power? Im sick of this and if it has to come out again then it needs to be upgraded.

 

MR2 alt upgrade
http://www.off-road.com/toyota/tech/100alt/index.html

Northwest Regulator (18002426367) makes plugs and harness' for alternators. I picked a converter for when I swap the 4runner alternator to the mr2 alternator. #50-160159 Converts Toyota round plug internal fan alternator to replace oval plug Toyota.
http://www.nwreg.com/

 

I have an alternator I would be willing to sell ...

 

Check your motor mounts, it sounds like your engine is moving a lot and the alt wiring doesn't have the slack to allow that much movement.

 

motor mounts are new. I just replaced them when we replaced the motor. i think i figured it out. My truck went through a week thing of killing alternators. I just replaced it But noticed the plug was pretty stiff. A few weeks ago i was going through and tightening some bolts and pulled off the wiring...i was half asleep when i put it back on and think i broke the tab on the alternator. I called a buddy at Checker and he said he would cover it and just bring it in. So i took it up he wrote down that the clip was broken and i got a new one. LOL I gotta put the new one in but i will get to that this week before we go up this weekend.

Its been driving me up the wall tryin to figure it out. I hope this fixes it.Im finding that after trucks sit for a long time they just rot away.
My fix/mod it list for the week
alternator and ground wire now, put the webber carb on, replace the coil,gasket on the manual pump..swapping the pump too,new plug wires(again!) maybe throw the header on but i still dont know if i wanna run it on my truck. add diff breathers,rear wheel cylinder and shoes. i havent even got to the fun stuff yet.....Im selling my runner caue one rig is more then enough work to keep me busy!

 

Is the plug flush with the rear of the alt cover or does it extend or protrude beyond the cover (this is with the connector unplugged) If it extends, there is an adaptor the rebuilders put onto the original regulator. Just unplug the adapter and plug your harness right into the regulator without the adapter.

 

what is the pourpose of this adapter?

 

The rounded part of the regulator gets broke, (usually just a chip that never affects performance) either from the installer, rebuilder etc. So a guy buying a reman unit sees the chip and sais no way, besides, it shows they "reclaimed" the regulator (in othjer words, its used) and this piece just hides the break. I have seen this cause trouble on several occasions. Just remove it, plug the connector directly into the alt without the adapter. I was a rebuilder for 4 years prior to my current job now, that was some time ago, but havent forgetten a thing. I'm a whiz on electrical (licensed HAM radio operator too) and know my way around every alt out there, ie automkotive, every industrial one made, etc. Same goes for startyers, but charging was my specialty!

 

There is an o-ring that goes around the plug. I have had it where it comes off and gets pushed down in the plug hole. Then when you plug it in it does not sit all the way because of the o-ring.

 

i will check for the O ring when i instal it today
Thanks for the heads up

 

Love your quote! "Lift it, fat chicks can't jump"