Battery dead?
 

Hey guys,

Woke up this morning to find that my battery was dead on my 4Runner. The only question I have is if the battery was at fault, or did the alternator not do it's job in charging the battery. I went ahead and bought a new battery, simply because the one that was in there was the one that was received with the car. I bought an Optima orange top. I guess I will just have to wait and see if the alternator charges it.

Any way to really know if the alternator is working. I noticed when I started the car after putting in the new battery, the voltage was higher with the car started than with it on the ACC switch. Does this indicate that the alternator is working?

Any suggestions would be very helpful.

Dead Battery
 

Well, what you mentioned is a pretty good indication that the alt is still working. Do you have a voltage meter? If you do, put it on the + and the - at the battery then using the throttle from under the hood, rev the motor. You should see the voltage go up slightly when you rev it (maybe around 14+ volts. At idle, it is probably closer to 12 or 12.5.

My battery quit this past March only after being completely drained a few times (once at a tailgate :drink: and a few times from my kids messing with the interior lights :baby: as they did their best impressions of 'American Tourister' gorillas)

Did you find any lights on when you replaced the battery? :pat:

Go for a drive with the new battery, running the radio, a/c, etc. After you return home, shut off the engine for a few minutes. If it starts right back up, it was the battery. If it doesn't, the alt.

The battery will drain while driving if the alt is bad.

Jeff

Thanks for the replies! I checked the voltage at the battery with the engine off: 12.6 volts. With the engine running: 13.7. This is an indicator that the alt. is working right?

No lights on, and if they were, I wouldn't have known it because when I jumped in the truck this morning, nothing worked. No radio, clock, beeps, anything. It didn't even click when I turned the key.

BTW- I thought this strange: when I jumped the bad battery to go get a new one, I connected the cables, and the car started very easily with the key. I didn't even rev the other engine or give it any time to charge up. Then, I disconnected the jumper cables and tried to start it again. It tried, then stopped completely. I then went to get a new battery and installed it. Just for kicks, I tested the voltage of the old battery which had been sitting for awhile: 12.3 volts. Weird?

Dead Battery
 

What happens with older batteries is that they won't take a charge after a while - that's when we get new. It may have had some dead cells that didn't allow it to deliver enough current to start it after you drove to the store. When you jumped it, you were starting from the strong battery in the other vehicle (primarily). Optima batteries are great - I've had them in other vehicles with big stereo power and have been very pleased with their performance...:D

rpeAMP, I just had the same problem. I was told by some fellas at the firehouse that the summer time is really tough on your battery. You use your A/C alot and the hot weather helps the liquid in the battery evaporate. I just got a new battery and it is fine. But the first one was working great and then one day, nothing! I can say, you did get a great battery though. I know the Optima are gel batteries, so you should not have the evaporation problem! :fireman: