I've got an 87 4x4 Toyota, and she wont turn over unless I hook up the battery charger to it. I replaced the alternator, battery should still be good(red top optima) , I cleaned the battery terminals and cleaned all wires touching the terminals. any suggestions? thanks!

 

Get a multi meter and check for voltage drops, I had to replace my wife's cable ends because they were both cracked but looking at them they looked fine, voltage drop showed that the cables themselves were getting less than 10 volts.

 

^^x2^^ Also, how do you KNOW your battery is good. Being a red top doesn't mean squat. They fail just as bad as conventional batteries. Load test your battery using your meter. The meter should not drop below 10 volts.

 

turns out the starter was bad, she runs great now!