2.7 Tacoma Charging issues Alt and Battery

I am having a time with my truck lately. The battery light has been blinking for a year, it finally started staying on.

At first, I just replaced the alternator. It was fine for about 20 miles then it died. I put a battery in it next because the other was 10 years old and all was good for about 60 miles then it died again.

I put a different alternator in again last night and all seems fine for about 40 miles so far.

The only weird thing I have noticed, is that the battery light came on first thing this morning when I started it for like 10 seconds then it went off, no more light and everything seems to be charging like it should.

Anyone have any ideas? All fuses are good

 

I too was havin' trouble similar to yours. put a new alternator on it and new battery and it went dead in 2 days. bought another new alternator and put it on, and haven't had a light since. maybe make sure the plug on alt is snug? not sure why the light would come on if everything is working properly.

 

Thanks man, it has not came back on I have driven it about 60 miles so we will see. Fingers crossed, this thing is finally giving me trouble at 330k miles!

 

Okay, free thinking here for simple things to do so going to be a bit of a ramble (well, more than usual lol).

Double check all connections are clean and tight. This includes at the battery and also where the battery connects to the body/frame etc.

Double check your charge wire from the alternator. Having to remember back, but believe on mine it goes over to the fuse box under hood.

If all connections are clean and tight then take the truck to an Autozone or similar. Most big chain stores will test your charging system for faults for free. Please keep in mind I said system. They hook to the battery and do a test. If battery good then you start the engine and they test the charge rate to see if it is good.

If the battery is low then you need to find what is happening in the system that is not allowing it to charge or is drawing power from the battery.

If the battery is all okay, but the alternator shows it isn't charging then don't automatically assume it is the alternator. Could very well be wiring issues as mentioned above.

Alternators can also be tested for free on the parts store test bench if you want the piece of mind there.

Another thought is that you have some sort of current draw/short that is pulling power from the battery with everything off. Get this idea from the battery light being on when you started it and then going off after a bit. Make sure everything is off and test for a current draw on the system.

Best of luck with it. Be sure to post what you find as may help someone else down the road having the same sort of issue.

Cheers

 

Blinking light for a year meant the alt was doing double duty,, and just barely keeping things in check with the slowly dying battery. Light comes on steady,,battery has puked and the alt just couldn't take it anymore.

You replaced the alternator onto your dead,,or dying battery. Kaboom, the new rebuild?? was fully tested for 20 miles right off the bat, no time to break in or warm up. Hypothetically.

Light goes off now?,,good,,that's charging with now good volts.

Sounds like you got a new/bad alternator or ?

More and more, I see lifetime warrantee and can't help but think we are screwed. A buyer used to feel good about that.

Harbor Freight sells a higher priced Amp Clamp that is accurate when it is in stock,,or you can get a Fluke brand. It will tell you almost all you'll need to know about rates and draw and such. Just a bit of research will get you on your way.

Captain Obvious says,,Blinking alt or batt light is trying to tell you something.

 

Well the second alternator I put on has done well, no issues. I think the battery killed the alternator over time as you stated. I appreciate all of the advice, thanks

 

A bad battery can kill a new alternator and a bad alternator can kill a healthy battery. Bad connections or corrosion can cause a lot of intermittent problems.

 

Yup, it swings either way on who did what.

Alt guts might have been fine and a end bearing in it went away or was going causing a harder load pull,,although that usually sounds like a hungry alley cat fight and then nothing when the belt cooks thru and the wires burn.

It's good to know that your new battery will make it 60ish miles. But I wouldn't want to test that theory to often. OP, what battery did you end up buying?.

 

I broke down near a sams club, so I bought a Duracell from Sams because I had no choice if I wanted it to run. Seems great so far I have put about 400 miles on it now

 

It's a AGM battery with a Duracell sticker. They're top end ones are good,,but the low bucks are just that,,short life disposables.

Did you happen to get the EHP or the Powersports maint free Duracell?.