Battery light came on after...

I took my 2011 tacoma trd 4x4 for some off-road /mudding yesterday for the first time. I had a blast but on my way home the battery warning light came on. My buddy took a look at the alternator and noticed it was a little dirty. After washing it with some electric washing sprayer and drying, the battery warning light turned off but not for long, now it goes on and off. My first off-road trip and at only 1979.00 miles it kinda sucks, I guess I'll give it a good wash and take it to the dealer, I hope the warranty will cover this issue. Any of you taco lovers had a similar problem after doing some mudding?

 

That's not "a little mudding" You will be very lucky to get a service guy stupid enuf to not notice that when you take it in.

 

your alternator is fixed now? so was the battery light doing this as the result of your alternator taking a crap, or is this a new issue

?

your pic is now my favorite mudding shot...

 

The light keeps going on after a few minutes then goes off and so on. We were there for 2 hours then on my way home 30 minutes later after leaving the off-road park it came on.

 

I never said little mudding...

 

assuming that your trucks starts without any problems, i am going to guess your alternator might not be putting out enough amps...... maybe you should get a meter and test. you can go to auto parts store and get it tested if you already havent' for free.

 

you did that to a 2011 w. less than 2000 miles? wow

 

Mud spraying up over the roof? Yeah, that's not going to be a warranty issue unless they feel really, really generous.

Being in mud that deep, did you already relocate your rear axle breather?

 

Sorry- Read the some mudding and then "a little dirty" and lumped them together.

Good luck!!

 

I don't understand "Mudding". Off-Roading on the other hand makes complete sense....

OP.. Good luck with your issue.

 

neither do. If you need to get somewhere, go. If not. Save your time, money. But its not all about pragmatism I guess and everyone is only a child once.

 

more people going fast into water/mud dont you people ever learn. when we go camping at a spot called jim creek we see people that are not the smartest and think that speed is going to help or it will be fun. i love watching these people because it never turns out well at al.l i hope you learned your lesson

 

If the voltage checks out, wonder if the engine may still be alittle wet.

 

just... wow. good luck getting coverage.

 

The Alternator needs cleaned...clean out the brushes.

 

If your pounding hard thru the big puddles, it can shock load your alternator when all that water gets pumped/splashed thru it, and thats probably what happened. Been there, done it a few times with trucks and cars.

Gotta ease thru the deep puddles, no rallycross 6000 across them. I hate going 4x4ing with people that do that, because I usually end up pulling them home(once). If your going to do that, make sure to have a really good battery and pull the belt off of the alternator before hand. You'll get lucky a few times, but eventually it will bite you in the ass.

New alternator, or at least a in-vehicle volt/amp checkout.

Check your fuses.

 

Gave the alternator a good clean and now the battery light is a thing of the past. Next time I'll go thru the mud a lot faster.

 

Next time you might be lucky enough to get a "check engine" light..