Battery not charging while driving... Alternator okay?

This first happened about three weeks ago. I was driving and after 30 minutes or so the battery light came on, then the stereo dies, then the tach does, then eventually the whole truck. Basically the battery is not charging. Alternator right? So fountain tire says the alternator is good and that a wire was messed up and it was shorting things including my starter which was now pooched. So they replace the wire, the starter and some fuses, charge me 700 dollars and I'm on my way. Drive another 30 minutes and the same thing happens... Battery light, then stereo, then tach, speedometer, then everything. Tow it back to Fountain Tire who now say something IS wrong with the alternator and that I need a new one. Get a new one in and she's good to go. And was good to go! I drove all over for another 3 weeks until I'm driving on a logging road and the battery light comes on... Everything eventually dies the same way. Luckily a friend is there with her vehicle so I figure we'll just swap batteries, I'll jump her to get her car going and I'll have a fully charged battery! It works, we start driving south. I don't use lights, stereo, or any other unnecessary electrical. Each time the battery lasts about a 100 kms before dying. (I'm a long ways from home) Then after switching it out probably 3 or 4 time we switch it and I start going... I make it to 100 k and expect it to die but next thing I know I'm at 150, and then 200, 250... it never died! It somehow fixed itself. So basically now I don't know if the truck is fixed or not or when it will next decide to not charge anymore. Is this something as simply (yet frustrating) as a loose wire somewhere? I've been driving on lots of bumpy logging roads.. I've also been camping at some places where there are lots of mice... Maybe a mouse partly chewed through something? Or is this something people have seen before in Tacomas or other vehicles? Any help would be suuuuper appreciated.

 

Sounds like a bad battery terminal on the wire. Likely the ground side and switching them over and over you finally got a good connection.

 

Hey ProForce, Thanks for the reply. When FOuntain Tire first had the truck they replaced all the wire attached to the battery terminals and the battery is new 2 months ago. Could that still be the issue?

 

id take it to a parts store and get both the alternator and batter load tested.

 

Take some pictures of the battery terminals !!

Sounds like a poor connection at the battery that from doing all the battery swaps got either cleaned or tightened enough to make a good connection