Driving along and Charge and Brake lites came on, turned on defrost fan to high and lites go out. Also when engine is at idle no lites but as soon as RPM's come up lites back on. Swapped batteries with my 84 Toy P/U and no difference. Alternator next most likely or is there some way to test with a meter? Thanx fer any help Dave
87 4-Runner charging system
May 14, 2005
4 Replies
Both lights is an indication the alternator has seen better days. Chances are the brushes are worn, replacements can be had at any True Value or CarQuest. True Value will run you $6.00, CarQuest will be about $12, Toyota about $16. Pretty easy replacement.
Appreciate the assistance, It was indeed the brushes, Brake lite had me confused.
Replace the brush set.
As I have written here before, on my '87 Corolla SR5, and apparently on other models from the same period, it seems the Brake warning light always comes on when the Charge light comes on due to alternator failure. Like David's, in my case it was the alternator brushes. For more details, anyone interested can search for my prior posts on this at
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.Stephen
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