Battery light Indicator?

UPDATE:
I checked the voltage of my battery this morning with the truck off and it read 12.18, then I checked the battery with the truck running and it read 11.86
so basically its a bad alternator.... Is replacing the alternator a tough job? or should this be something a certified mechanic should be performing?

 

If there is an electrical shop in your area, I'd have them rebuild yours.

I've found this typcially costs around the same or a little less than buying a reman unit, and they do the R&R.

It's not hard. But since you've apparently not done one before, it would be helpful to have an experienced friend looking over your shoulder should you want to totally DIY.

 

Thanks for all the input. I took my battery to the auto store for them to test it, which the battery failed. After putting in the new battery and testing the voltage as the truck was running, it read 12.54. There are not many shops around here that will rebuilt my alternator so looks like I'm stuck purchasing a new one. Any suggestions? Is Duralast a good brand?

 

Well the reason he suggested to get an alternator shop rebuild it is because the OEM one is Denso and is the best. When you get an aftermarket one you give up your Denso alternator as a core and get a cheap one. I would 100% try and find an alternator shop first but if you don't have any luck you can get a re manufactured Denso alternator from Rockauto.

DENSO 2100434

Price: $115.79
Core: $34.00
Total: $149.79

You can always send your core to them get the 34 bucks back but at least you know it is a quality product. Honestly even 150 bucks for an OEM Denso Re-man is pretty good.

 

thanks for the input on that! I will start making some calls today when the shops open up to see if they can rebuild. If not, ill purchase the one off RockAuto. By any chances is there a video on how to replace an alternator just so I can get familiarize myself with what I need to do?

 

You need to check the voltage at 2000 rpm, not at idle--it should be 13.2 to 14.8 V. 12.5 at idle is a bit lower than I would like, but check it at 2000 rpm to do it right.

Here is the charging system inspection procedure from the FSM (see item 7, Inspect Charging Circuit Without Load, ignore the ammeter stuff):




But before throwing a generator at the problem check the charging a ground cables for faulty/overheated crimp connector--make sure the ground chassis and block ground cable are tightly connected, and observe the crimped charging cable connector in the main fuse box (circled below), it is not uncommon for years of vibration to take its toll on that that crimped terminal:


You can also perform voltage-drop tests on the wiring as described in this post to make certain it is not a wiring problem...

 

if you can tap the alternator with something and the voltage goes up...its the brushes.......about a 20 dollar part that you can easily replace if you know how to use a screwdriver.......

 

I meant to ask earlier, we know you have a 2000 MY V6, but how many miles on it?

 

its quite easy job if you dont run into any problems like broken leads or connectors, bolts, etc.

 

All, after all it WAS a bad alternator. Had a buddy of mine replace it for me last night and now its running like a CHAMP! He had a pretty good discount on an ultima brand alternator so we ran with it. Thanks all for the input on this thread.