Hey guys I have a 89 runner with a 3.slow. About one month ago I got the charge and ebrake lights on the dash. So a few day later the truck died. Was running on the bat, I got the battery charged (opitma red top) and when the engine runnning it only pumped 12.50V at the battery and alt. Checked the wires to the alt and all passed. So one would think replace the alt. I did with a duralast from auto zone. Worked till the other day. When I started it up the charge and ebrake lights were on. After a few miles they go away. It does this every few days or when I let the truck sit. Antyone have a clue why it's not charging? Maybe the battery is dying? Any help would be awsome. Thanks guys

 

did you get a reman alternator? those things can really be a hit or miss type of deal

 

it is there duralast ones, looked new

 

Did you clean the terminal that hooks to the battery and the battery to make sure both are shinny?

Also the wire that hooks into the terminal can get dirty inside. Peel back the plastic around the end where it hooks. Look for green crap built up in there under the insulation. If there seems to be a lot you can buy a new battery wires for under 10 bucks around here.

You could also leave your door open so the dome light is on. Turn the key as if to start the truck, if the dome light dims a lot, again to me that points to dirty battery connections.

 

this is innacurate. your door light dims because your starter is pulling the battery down somewhere from 9-10 volts for startup. this is perfectly normal. if your battery is somewhat discharged it'll drop more as the motor will be spinning slower and pulling more amps.

if you want to see how good your terminals are, you can do a voltage drop test between your battery post and termanls and wires.

as for the reman alternator part, all reman alternators look new, but they still have used parts internally that can fail

 

Ok, but I have used the trick for years. A slight dimming is normal, but I said a lot. Try it on a few rigs that are starting right, then compare to the rig your having problems with.

 

thanks guys, after it sits it seams to loose it's charge but after driving it around the block it's noraml. I don't have a dome light so thats out. only ligh that starys on is the green square light next to the cruze control. For some reason it is always on when you pull out the key. No clue why. But it has been doing that for sometime now.