06 Tacoma wont start or turn over

It's decent pay. The reason it doesn't pay good anymore is shops have way too much overhead costs so the mechanics pay is what suffers. Some of the older guys I work with tell me they used to get 50% of the labor rate as their hourly wage. Which means if it still worked that way I'd be making about $50 an hour. Now it's not even close. But hey it beats flipping burgers, working in an office, or no job at all.

 

Testing an alternator by disconnecting the battery with engine running is a very bad idea because you will risk destroying the electronic components, like the ECU. The battery acts like a filter and stabilizes the AC ripple from the alternator. Most auto parts and large discount chains selling batteries will test the battery and charging system for free.

 

I'm resurrecting this thread. I just had this same issue tonight and was able to get my truck back on the road quickly after reading the info here. Once again it's so nice having tacoma world at my finger tips!