86 SR5 pickup, 5 speed, 22RE, 4x4 just for some info.

This afternoon I noticed my "charge" and "brake" lights were on. The charge meter thingy shows well above half charge but it's not up near the top like it usually is. I also noticed that if I rev the motor a little then the lights will go out, only to come back on a little later.

I'm guessing the charge light indicates the alternator (at 175,000 miles I gues it could be worn out) but why is the brake light coming on also?


Advice? Help?

Laters.

 

Brake light, check and top up your brake fluid level..

 

yup alternator or battery

 

When the alternator goes sour, it turns on all those lights. It's just the way the dash is wired.

 

x2.. time for a new alternator, or have that one fixed.

 

Thanks folks. Looks like I'm off to Napa.

 

noooooooo, dont get a napa or kragen alt. You can replace your alt brushes in nothing flat and keep your toyota alt. I even have brushes for $21 shipped

 

You're assuming it's the brushes. When mine went, the windings were all fried.

 

The fact that when he revves it up, the lights go out pretty much tells me its the brushes. You dont see many windings that fry unless something has badly gone wrong. Either way, you still dont want an aftermarket piece of junk alt in your truck

 

Well I went and grabbed an alt and I'm glad I did. The old one was a source of noise that I thought was just natural Toyota squeaks. That thing was a mess inside and the pulley was loose and all over the place. Thanks for the tip on the brushes but I needed to replace the entire thiing.

Oh and on a side note this is the first vehicle I've ever owned that I had to drop the skid plate to get the alternator out. Still pretty easy though.

 

Consider yourself lucky. I had to drain the radiator and remove the lower radiator hose to get mine out.

 

I thought I'd have to do that as well. Turns out you can remove the two bolts holding the lower hose to the block and it will shift out of the way enough to fall out the bottom. Kind of takes some wiggling but it works.

 

if your truck were equiped with an auto, the at oil temp light would have lit up too. there is a diode wired to those 2 (or 3, depending on your trans) lights that allows the battery to energize them if the alternator is not producing a charge (or enough).

at least thats what my Toyota Master Mechanic told me about my truck after some dumb ass at my college's auto body shop hooked up the jumper cables backwards and never told anyone... blew the alternator fusible link too... and toasted the battery. new denso alternator, fuse link, labor, and a battery set me back nearly 450 bucks...