sc87yota

Chef, great rig! I love your attention to detail. I injured myself and cant work for a couple months so I have lots of time for research. took me abour six hours to go through this thread, it has tons of great info. looking forward to you suspension work. I can relate to mechanic problems =( I had a 87 22re truck( my very first rig!) w/ loads of after market goodies. Had a local guy ASE mech. pull the engine for complete rebuild =). LCE header, free flow cat., 40 series muff., all new rings, rods, bearings, etc.... the list is endless!! Anyways when I got it back it ran tits for three months and then left me stranded the the mountians w/ major engine faliure. ended up with blown head gasket. Turns out after screaming at the mechanic, he tells the head gasket I had ordered along with a bunch of other parts were not quality parts. WTF! why didnt you say anything about that when i handed them to you! granted that was 10 years ago and I didnt know much about rebuilding engines. Sorry for ranting on but I just wanted to share my experience with my old build after reading your ENTIRE THREAD. I just recently puchased a 91 4runnner. its my first runner but 4th 22re(gotta luv em'). Once my arm is 100% again I will be able to show her some more TLC. untill then Ill watch you build yours! Thanks for sharing

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Thanks alot, SC! I love Santa Cruz, btw! Beautiful mountains all around, and great board breaking breaks off the Boardwalk....snapped a board in some 14' swells, hahaha. Hell, it almost killed me, too, but of course, my first words were "where's my board!??!" hahah. Wow, you're quite a reader, man! I saw you read a couple others, too... I really am flattered that you found it informative and maybe inspirational for when you're back to 100%

I hoped I could just drive it now, issue free, but it appears something new can be added to the list.... I'll post next on what's going on! Grrr! haha.

Thanks again, SC, means a lot man! Hope you get well, very soon! OH, BTW, .....please, get a booster seat if you're gonna drive that 4Runner!<<< hahaha. Seriously though, ....CUTE KID YOU GOT THERE!

Mark

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Ok guys, .....YEP, yet another issue, first day of driving.

Alternator????;

Ok, so, I'm testing it out a bit, driving around, loaded up to take my 100 mile round trip to Santa Clarita, CA,.....I look down and the Charge and Brake Light are staying on. I tried that "wiggle the e-brake handle" trick, check the fluid,....nothing appears wrong, brakes are fine. Then, after running around a bit, locally(had to cancel the trip up the hwy til I get this fixed),.....I realize that it's not a fluke 'freak gauge light issue'...; The charge light is staying on and also, the gauge on the voltage is around 12V on the dot...."NOT GOOD", I know.

Sooooo, got home, put the multi-meter on it, sure enough, it's 12.08 when running, 12.28 when not running with the key to "ON". WTH? I'm assuming that it's one of two things....

1. My alternator's regulator is taking a dump(ANOTHER ITEM FROM NAPA BITES THE DUST AFTER 6 MONHTS!)

2. I have a short somewhere in the wiring to the Alternator that has finally given up the ghost.

Just to get this out of the way... I checked the 80A fuse in the block by the battery.....looks to be in one piece. I did remove the alternator ground wire from the steering brace on the head when pulling it, obviously, lol... but I put it back. I'll check it for a good below "0.01" reading, shortly... and I want to replace it, it's very dry and has a small exposed area, ...but after tugging on it and inspecting the wires at the insulation break... it's all in one piece. Also, the plug in the back is plugged in, but I did push the alternator over right onto the pipe when I pulled the front end apart. Not sure if I yoinked one of the wires out of the back of the connector or what.... I'll pull that and inspect them all, see if any back out the back. Doubt it.

I'd just hate to pull this friggen thing only to find it's not the alternator.... Wanna double check with you guys on some 'make sure' tests to find out. Seeing that I'm loosing voltage on the meter when it's running, but staying at 12.28V once I turn the key off..... How in the HECK is that possible? I can understand that maybe the alternator is pulling power instead of giving it...but how could I read 12.08 when running and 12.28 when not running, RIGHT AFTER TURNING IT OFF?..sorry, info overload...I'm just losing it, quickly! haha.

Please, I have to be DONE with this! lol.

xxxtreme22r

alternaotr is bad, this is how it happens, when running and if the alt is bad (not sure what part causes this but I've seen it before) when the engine is on and the alt is turning it becomes a motor instead of a generator. In a sence the battery is trying to turn the alt making the alt a load on the battery (becoming a motor) thus your voltage drop.

Oh yeah, BTW, your alt is bad.

That reminds me, I got a toyota OEM alt sitting here begging to be torn apart and rebuilt. haha. I have an autozone one in mine. On my second one. But y'all know how I like my mud.

Dang it chef that's twice you reminded me I got extra parts laying around. I think yur breakin all your stuff just to get me to add to my build thread.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Hahaha, HEY, C'MON NOW! hahaha. Thanks, Brandon,... appreciate it. I know that when the regulator goes bad, the charging turns to drawing, instead, lol. But, I'm wondering, could it be a coincidence that right after disconnecting the whole front end and moving it out of the way....it's suddenly, randomly given up the ghost? Not trying to make more work of this than I have to... PROMISE! lol. Just that, well, like I said, I don't want to pull that PITA and take it down, only to put in a new one and find NO, it's not the problem, ...it's ''THIS" OR "THAT" YA KNOW? lol. Could it be possible that something in the connector got disconnected.....or is it more likely I shorted it out during repairs before pulling the ground on the battery, and it's fried the regulator in the alternator? Is there a way, without removing it, to be SURE that it's not the wiring that's supposed to supply a charge, but isn't?

irab88

iTrader: (4)

because if your alternator isn't working at all, there is more of a draw when the engine is running than when it's off (injectors, afm, o2 sensors, fuel pump). none of those (?) draw off the battery until the engine is running, which would indicate (to me, anyway) a bad alternator


time for a one-wire upgrade!!!

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

I do know that i've had an issue with idle dropping and voltage jump, before all this.....and yet, the alternator seemed to always read 14.8V when testing the ECU, etc., all those pages back in my troubleshooting thread, remember?

xxxtreme22r

crazy stupid question again. Have you checked the CHARGE fuse in the fuse box under the hood? Or that you didn't forget to hook up all of the wires to the alt?

irab88

iTrader: (4)

eh, not the way i know how they work. an alternator puts out alternating current, then runs it through a few diodes to give you direct current. if you applied voltage, nothing would happen, because you're trying to turn dc back into ac (not possible without some sort of inverter)

at least, that's what i've been taught

irab88

iTrader: (4)

x2 on that. it might be the simplest thing

xxxtreme22r

Your right, however that doesn't prevent the battery from trying.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Off to cook a feast...... AHHHHHHHH, I just wanna work on my rig! haha. I'll be back, if anyone knows what I'm asking and has an answer....that'd be great. I mean, if I shorted it out, shouldn't it have blown the 80A fuse, first? ..........Is it possible that it's the ground wire is not giving me adequate groundage? lol. That stuff, ...just wondering. Wish I'd gotten it at AutoBone..... they'd help me take it out, lol. Napa?>>>No such luck, and they cost more for EVERYTHING! The whole reason I got it there? ...They use all Denso Inner parts on the Napa ones,...not so with many others.

xxxtreme22r

I think the answer to your question is a blown fuse, but it's not in the engine bay fuse box nor the fuse panel on the kick panel, but a loose or blown fuse behind the steering wheel.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Nope, which fuse is that? I checked as I said the 80A, both others(30A and 40A I believe).... All the other fuses look good in there, too. I never disconnected the alternator, either...... just slid it over out of the way. Only thing for that I disconnected is the ground wire that hooks on the steering brace that bolts to the head.....I've reconnected that, for sure. Like I said, that wire has a small crack in the insulation...but it's still in one piece.

Which fuse, Brandon?

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

WOT? BOY OH BOY! I can't wait! lol. Meaning, my dash has to come out on that side? How could this blow? And why would they put something like that in such a precarious place????

xxxtreme22r

should be like a 7.5 amp fuse in the fuse box in the engine bay on the passenger fenderwell. If the top of your fuse panel is like mine, the fuse says CHARGE.

irab88

iTrader: (4)

yeah, but it also might see it as a small short. the regulator should have reverse-current protection.

mark: try disconnecting the alternator entirely and see what readings you get

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

I'll check and check back here, later. I have a 7.5 amp fuse in amongst those few in there..... I checked earlier and all those looked fine.

Seriously... Steering wheel? What? lol.

xxxtreme22r

The fuse behind the steering wheel usually weakens when it is overworked and too much current is applied too early in life usually due to a lightning strike. When it starts to show it's age and extra work is done by that fuse it can cause it to blow.

ChefYota4x4

iTrader: (5)

Ok guys, .... I'll start investigating tonight, after work. Thanks again... please if you think of anything else, or a check list.... let me know, I'll get out the multi-meter and start poking away! lol.