TacomaJP

Good evening gentlemen, I'm new to this forum so please forgive me if I accidentally break a rule. I will read the rules and follow them asap. As for now, however, I desperately need your help to fix my 99 Tacoma. I'm in school, full time, this semester and splitting that time with the Air Force Reserves ...so I HAVE to have my truck for transportation.

Here's the issue. On my way home today, in the rain, I hit a bump in the road (just a pothole...nothing bad) But upon hitting said bump, my radio(after market radio with separate amp) powered off. No more power to the radio. Then, I noticed that my tachometer was "jumpy". When I hit the breaks, it would cut the power to the tach gauge. As soon as I let my foot off the breaks, all power ran as usual. When I got home, I pulled up in the driveway and the engine seemed like it was wanting to die. I gave it a little gas and, just for kicks, turned on the high beams. This killed the engine. I tried starting it again, but it just cranked as though it had a bad battery. And after a few short cranks, it stopped doing anything. The dome light was definitely weak so I recharged the battery (battery is 6 months old and full of acid/water) It allowed me to start it once more, but I'm still having the dim dome light/breaks kill the tach gauge problem. Something is draining the battery. I unhooked the amp/radio, but I'm still having the problem. The alternator is less than a year old and the battery, less than 6 months.
If anyone can point me in the right direction, I will buy them a beer and be forever indebted to them!! Thanks for any help!

J

yotaman85

couple things pop to mind. 1. your battery/alternator is bad, just because its new-ish doesnt mean its not broken.. 2. your "pothole" loosened a ground wire under the hood... 3. the aftermarket radio/amp/speaker system was wired half-assed and you have a live wire screwing things up.. intermitent problems make my head hurt, but, OCKHAM'S RAZOR...

TacomaJP

Thanks!
Yeah... I'm going to test the Alt/Battery tomorrow morning to eliminate that possibility.
I checked all the wires/fuses I could get my hands on. I'm praying it's nothing to do with the wiring harness.
I'll double check that I have everything aftermarket taken off, in the morning.

Could it be a relay or something causing some kind of "crossed wires" thing? I know just enough about electronics to get myself in trouble, so forgive me if it's a dumb question. It just seems odd that by applying the break lights, I could cut the power to the tach/dash gauges. ??

Either way, thanks for the quick response. I'm scanning through old posts and I think my problem is fairly original. Great stuff on this forum though! Glad to finally be a part!

yotaman85

if it was a fuse or relay it would be a instant problem, not a speratic thing..

your welcome and good luck.

TacomaJP

Ok... here's the latest. I took it to Pepboys and had them do the 'ol battery/alt test. The first test ran the battery at DOA. I replaced it with a new one and then they ran the test again. 2nd test came out as the Alt being fried. So I had them pull the Alt and run it completely separate from the system. It wouldn't even give a reading. Catastrophic failure. :/ Lucky for me, it's still under warranty. I bought the truck last year from a guy (original owner) and he had gone to Pepboys as a quick fix. I'm thinking he had a rebuilt one put in to cut costs. They replaced it for me, with a brand new one. So far, everything tests fine. I have a brand new battery and Alt and a warranty for both.

Here's what I'm thinking. The Alt was a re-build and destined for doom. The battery, in this case was just an innocent bystander. On my 1 hour drive back home yesterday, the Alt gave out. But not all the way. At highway speeds it would still give enough charge to keep me going. When I got back into town, however, the constant stopping at stoplights and driving 35mph, gave the battery a "heart-attack". It deepcycled 3 times with me trying to figure out what was going on. That plus the over amping it was having to do to pick up the slack for the Alt the whole hour drive. So, battery tested no good. Alt tested nothing. Now all should be well, right??

Am I missing something? or is this a plausible theory?

I know only time will tell, but I'm hoping I've nipped it in the bud. ??

ThatGuy1295

Sounds plausible. If the alt had a bad regulator it could fry a battery by sending to much voltage to it.

TacomaJP

Well... that celebration didn't last too long. I went out to my truck to go drive somewhere and everything runs fine.... except the airbag light is now blinking. I'm assuming this is a code of some kind. I'm about to go out and check all fuses again.
Does anyone know of an airbag code? What it could mean? It's currently more on than off. If it was Morse Code it would be "DAH.........DIT...DAH..........DIT"
If that helps? haha!

TacomaJP

Alrighty... So I checked all fuses and associated wiring and found nothing at fault. I took a chance and pulled the power off the battery and let it sit for 30 mins hoping that it would reset something. And now that I reconnected everything, it seems to work. I did a quick test drive down to the local CVS and back, in rain and over bumps, and it looks and drives like its the fully functioning Toyota Taco 4x4 that I've grown to love! I will know as time passes if all really is well. But in the mean time, thanks to you guys who responded! I appreciate the advice!

J