alternator

ok.. after a mishap over the weekend that ending up with me getting my truck towed... i got some questions... i believe what made my truck give out was my alternator... i mean i ran off the battery for about 200 plus miles... but anywho... heres the deal.. right before it died all my electronics went crazy... speedo said i was doing 0 mph.. my gps said 55.... uhhh all my indicating lights came on... 4x4.. ebrakes... headlights flickered and died... acceleration went away... take into account my battery light was on...

back to the questions...
I called the dealer today to see how much an alternator was... they wanted 440....and an aftermarket was 160... so i bought an aftermarket one.. also...

They didnt have an 09 alternator in stock.. so i said ill take an 08... i think they should be the same.. can anyone chime in on this? and if you can help me through changing it, it would be nice... Luni said it wasnt taht hard so i think ill take a stab at it...

My battery is completely dead now... thing is heavy as fuck... i think im gonna see if i can jump start it then recharge it with new alternator.... or should i just get a new battery?

Thanks,
Tony

 

Batteries usually come back after being killed once or twice, if they weren't allowed to sit dead for more than a day or two. Maybe pull the battery, set it on a bench with a charger and see if it'll take a charge and hold it before you put it back in the truck and count on it.

But you got an 09...the battery should be warranteed for a new replacement for at least two years. I'd just drag it into Toyota and get a new one for free. They don't need to be told anything about why it is dead. Play stupid, it works.

 

yep....thats the alternator alright. if i remember correctly from taking luni's off at the meet.......you need to disconnect the plug in forit, then there are gonna be about 3 bolts i believe that need to be removed, and then the alt should drop down and out. after you change the alts....you'll need to jump your truck off and let your battery build back up a bit.

 

k.. ill play stupid.. battery is kinda muddy.. maybe i need to clean it off first... lol

 

thanks man.. im assuming i can keep the same bolts and belt.... im stupid mechanically.. so hopefully i can do this.. any special tools i would need? can this be done on the ground? i can see the alt. from the top and through my wheel well

 

I wouldn't. Partially negates the "I have no clue what happened" thing.

Oh yeah I found out the hard way the bolts Toyota uses to mount the alternator, especially the long thru-bolt, are made of some sort of recycled pot metal. Don't over-torque them!

 

ohh ok.. ill just leave it as is...

 

If the dealer doesn't replace it, I think you'll still be alright with the same battery as long as you get it charged back up and the alternator does it's job well. Batteries can usually rebound from a complete drain if it doesn't happen too frequently.

 

i will give you a hand man...just give me a call.

 

my truck is in portsmouth... i have to go out there, i dont know if you want to travel that far...

 

here is what you do....call and join AAA for like 60 bucks...thats the cost of coverage for a whole year...and yes you can take it with you to CA, then call them up and have it towed to your house....because an average tow bill from that distance is around a 100 bucks, but with AAA you get 5 tows and a bunch of other stuff for a year...just an idea. oh, and you will need the plus membership, comes with 100 mile free towing.

 

im gonna see if its covered under warranty.. lol

 

The alternator isn't as hard as you thinn it might be to take off. I had to completely remove mine to install my alt. Pulley. Like tacomaman said, it's just three bolts and the plug at the back...

 

(A little off topic) but i just realized that the 2gen's are drive by wire. So this means if the battery or alt. dies, then the throttle body valve is no longer controlled. So then are trucks die correct?

 

Obviously any vehicle that loses electrical power will die.. how do you suppose spark plugs work?

 

also for a fact when you are charging a battery on a bench or so
check the volts. its called a 3 min test
you check the volts when you first charge it.
let it not exceed 15.5
then go back and check it 3 mins after it is charging
if it stay around like 14.3 volts or something then your battery is good and should be charge on the bench for about 30mins or so. id let it charge for 45mins or so while you are doing the alternator

 

Hey im tired and wasnt thinking clearly lol.

 

so the dealership isnt covering it...they said that they found water and mud... i mean what do you expect.. i bought an off road vehicle to go off road.. stupid dealership.. they want 800 bucks to fix it.. i got to replace the battery also... bleh...

 

both water (ie heavy rain) and mud (dirt, grime ect...) can be found on many of VA's public roadways

 

thats what im saying