1. Home
  2. Toyota Trucks
  3. Charging Problem...?

Charging Problem...?

Greetings all, I am sure that I have read the answer on the newsgroup, but cannot locate it right now. I left the head-lights on in the '90 4x4 P/U. Ran the battery down. Jumped the battery off my craftsman charger and started the truck and drove 7 miles to work, no problem. After my 12 hour shift, it started back up and ran 7 miles to the house. Today on my way to Navy Reserves, I drove about 13 miles and the battery light came on along with the brake light. It appeared that the head-lights got dimmer the longer I drove. Got to Drill and parked the truck for 9 hours. It started back up and I was able to drive about 11 miles and the lights on the dash came on as before. By the time I got to the house (22 miles) the engine would bog down as I turned the head lights on. Now I am sure that I have an electrical problem.

  1. It is a battery that is 3 years old and only has about 8,000 miles on it.It is probably stressed, but good enough to regenerate during the idle time. 2. It threw a belt and needs a new one. 3. Belt is loose and needs to be tightened. 4. Bad/Loose connection at Battery Posts. 5. Corroded connections at block for the ground side. 6. Corroded connections on the alternator. 7. Bad brushes in the Alternator. 8. Open diode not charging the battery from the Alternator. 9. Something else.

My question to all of you is, "are there any items that can cause the problem?" And how hard is it to replace the diode pac?

I will drive my wife's car on Sunday and check for the above problems on Monday.

Bill

Reply to
Bill Pelka
Loading thread data ...

Sounds like ya may have cooked something in ya chargeing system, how did you do the "Jump"?

Reply to
Scotty

Jumped with the charger connected with the red lead to positive and the black to the lifting point (ground) on the engine.

With a little more looking on the web, thru google, I was able to find a link to a repair of my alternator. The link speaks about my problem as being a bad brush set on the alternator. The author's indications were the same as mine. Both brake and battery light on. Parts are cheap and sounds like a simple repair.

Will keep you all posted...

Bill

Reply to
Bill Pelka

I have an '88 pickup and had the exact symptoms back in 1994. It turned out to be a shorted cell in the battery. I replaced the battery and all was well. Since then, I've had batteries fail, but never with the same symptoms. After 17 years and 176,000 miles, I'm still on the original alternator and brushes.

Pardon me while I find some wood to knock on... :>))

BTW, I think the engine bogs down because the full load of the headlights is being handled by the alternator with little or no help from the battery...

Reply to
TOM

A quick though not conclusive test for a shorted battery cell is to remove battery caps, turn headlights on and have someone crank engine while you look in battery cells. (If battery is emitting a very strong acrid smell or is bubbling and/or hot with no load on it do not put your face over it as it may be ready to explode.) If you observe a cell that starts bubbling immediately then it is very likely shorted. Battery needs to be charged and load tested to verify. Autozone and some Sears will also test battery and charging system for free. HTH, davidj92

Reply to
davidj92

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.