First Battery Light, Now ABS and Brake light only, Battery slowly dying

Stuck relays , Not that many wires to check

 

I had a 05 rav4 wont charge , abs, brake light on fan blower not working . Was the gauge fuse blown . I would if you havnt yet check all fuses with test light or multimeter . Its surprising how 1 fuse connected to different circiut .

 

A long shot, but maybe check the IGN1 No2 Fuse.

https://sparkys-answers.com/2016/09/2010-toyota-tacoma-ig1-2-fuse-blows-battery-goes-dead.html

 

The regulator for the alternator needs power to know when to supply a charge to the battery.
That isn’t the best explanation, but here is a good link to get an understanding of how it works.
Maybe the alternator doesn’t have the signal to charge the battery?


http://wilbo666.pbworks.com/w/page/39441708/Toyota Alternators

 

Great explanation at the link provided! Good post.

 

I'm thinking you're on to something @TnShooter ... I pulled the replacement alternator out during my lunch break, took it back to store and it still tested OK. So the truck isn't necessarily frying Alternators just by the alternator being in place and starting the truck. Maybe it is damaging them later on after extended tests, but since I know this one still tests good at the store, I'm going to very cautious proceeding with next steps.

I'll have to start going through that Toyota Alternators article and I'll probably also try @hemitruk 's suggestion to check all fuses.

Hopefully I can come up with some simple tests from that article to see how to isolate this further. It's a 4-pin connector onto the alternator.

 

Checking fuses about 10 min job ? I always try to eliminate the simple things first . When I was young ,a long time ago lol, I always use to over think things . Got tired making an ass out of my self .
Hope you fix it soon . Know how frustrating it can be .

 

Update:

I had just made a great write up, but it disappeared when I went to try to attached pictures. Doh. Should've copied and pasted. So long story short, problem solved! Checked all fuses, all were good. Started checking wires next... Alternator was bad? yes! Battery was bad? Not necessarily, but definitely sloshing and probably about to fail soon prior to replacing yesterday. Wire running into the base of the fuse box that comes from the alternator lug? ding ding ding! (see photos)

... I should point out problem wasn't as obvious as the white wire poking out from under the box in photo 2... that was after I identified and tugged it down for the photo. There were little to no indications of this being the problem until I went on hunt through the harness after all the fuses checked out.

A few supplies from the local home improvement store and we're back to normal voltages with a new/rebuilt alternator, new battery, and fixed wire lug. Existing wire was too short to reach in with the same crimp end, so I had to make a new one and couple the old wire to the new wire.

Just drove around for about 20 minutes with no dash lights!!! Feeling great! Thanks everyone!

 

That wire entrance for the fuse box appears to be chopped / modified. Was that your work or had the previous owner been tinkering?

 

Just read your post 13 . So you disconnected pos wire at alt and only had 1 volt . If yes there was your glue . Torspd was on it . But hey main thing is you got it fixed with a little more headache then needed be . I made some jobs a lot harder then it needed be too Good job

 

good job!

 

@Jimmyh I noticed that too but didn't think much of it until you've said something. I'm the 2nd owner of the truck, but bought it when there were only 23k on it (it was a dealer trade it), so I really doubt it was the last owner tinkering in there. It was more likely a mechanic somewhere along the line. I've only had a few things replaced on it (2 clutches... I'm at 180k now) then miscellaneous stuff like brakes and wheel bearings... then more recently engine cover gasket. What I'm getting at is there weren't very many opportunities for anyone to hack at it other than dealership mechanics and then this one independent mechanic (or one of his helpers) that I go to every once in awhile. But yeah... decent point... it's possible someone else jacked this up doing something else and tried to hide it. I'm just happy it's Resolved!