Here's another thread that references the inner workings of our alternators: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...lternator-woes
Here's another thread that references the inner workings of our alternators: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...lternator-woes
Recently my van wouldnt start. Had it push started, on the short drive home after it was losing all power, i turned off lights and radio. That was enough to get me home. Though all the dash lights were blinking randomly and the radio was blinking on and off very rapidly. I had it tested, the battery and alternator tested fine, but it's not "regulating properly". I have had no time to do anything, ive just been letting it trickle charge so i can drive short distances when i have to. I know my power steering pump leaks but it does seem to be leaking on the alternator from what i can see. I need it fixed very soon to head out of state for work. Is my best bet to just replace the alternator and power steering pump to be sure, or is there another issue that possibly needs checked first or fixed along with those.
Thanks!
There's no shortage of alternator threads here on TVT. Rather than rehash it all again I'd recommend a search (search box is in the upper right corner of each forum page). That should render lots of results. Here's a good one: http://www.toyotavantech.com/forum/s...lternator-woes.
Since the regulator is built into (inside of) the alternator, if the regulator is bad, then technically it's an alternator problem. Based on that I'd say the person testing your alternator might not have understood what he was doing. Based on experience I'd say the chances are very high you have a failed alternator and/or maybe a damaged alternator harness. If the power steering pump is leaking, it would be a very good idea to take care of that while repairing/replacing the alternator (or you'll likely be doing the alternator job again soon). Have fun! Tim
thanks for the quick reply, ive done a bunch of searching and still looking. More curious if there are other problems that could relate to this. Im going to go to a different auto parts store to have it tested again.. i thought her findings sounded odd.......
since i dont see any fluid on or near PS pump, is there another spot to check for leak??
If it's not all slimy from PS fluid then that's great. These alternators are not known for being the most reliable anyhow & being 20 something years old doesn't help. So although a leaky power steering pump is a common cause, it's only one of many things that can kill your alternator (aside from age & miles). Rather than going to an auto parts store, I would seek out an auto electric shop in your area. Most cities & towns have at least one of these and the people there will definitely know how to test/repair your alternator. If you don't wish to do the job yourself, they will likely do it for you & at a reasonable cost.
"Junk" is the word I would use to describe most rebuilt van alternators. If you replace the alternator I'd recommend going with a Denso rebuild (actually rebuilt by Denso). I've listed their part numbers in that other thread (linked to above). I've used Denso rebuilds 2 or 3 times (in different vans) & haven't got one to fail yet. The one featured in that thread is a Denso rebuild & compared to the other rebuilds I've taken apart, it's by far the highest quality. Tim
just got it tested again from a more reliable source, battery good, alternator bad. Thanks for the link about the "Denso" . Found a place to order it from, my last question... im going to go ahead and replace the power steering pump, its pretty cheap and figured i might as well. is there a preffered brand etc for these? also, besides the serp belt, what other things should i be looking for while replacing these two?? and/or other parts etc to replace.
When you have the belts off grab a hold of the fan blades and jerk it from side to side. While doing that watch the front of the pulley. If you're seeing movement here then it's time to replace the water pump.
When I've purchased power steering pumps I just got the cheapest one that www.rockauto.com had to offer. The last one I got looked real nice (pretty black paint), but had a bad control valve o-ring. I've heard others with similar complaints with the cheap aftermarket rebuilds. With mine it only cost a few cents for the 0-ring, but it was annoying to Remove it again to fix. Tim
It seems I never finished the story. The problem with the alternator on my 87 van was due to the cable from the output terminal "hanging loose" because the plastic insulator ferrule that is supposed to be there was missing. I'm guessing, since the alternator was only a year old, that it got damaged when I installed it by the gyrations of trying to worm it into position. Anyway, a new (rebuilt) alternator was installed and, since the cable was looking pretty funky and you can't get the alt. harness anymore, I made my own. That was last summer and I have had no issues since then.
Recently, the alt. light on my 86 work van started coming on intermittently. I wasn't surprise since the alternator has been soaking up power steering fluid for some time now. I removed it to see if maybe I could clean or replace the brushes rather than replace the alternator. I found that the cable connection to the output terminal was fused from corrosion and even after repeated applications of penetrating oil the disconnect was only achieved when the output terminal bolt sheared. I opened up the alternator, found that the brushes looked kind of "burnt" and decided to just replace the whole unit, along with the power steering pump. Since it was going to be a couple of weeks before I had the new parts and time to do the repair, I decided to reinstall the old alternator, since it was still charging some of the time. I made a new cable and connected it to what was left of the output terminal bolt. When I started the van, the alt. light stayed on as it had been doing (it would usually turn off after a few minutes of driving). When I "closed the hood" (i.e. lowered the driver's seat) all the dash lights went out and no accessories would work. I turned the engine off, checked fuses (all ok) and, when I tried to restart the engine, nothing. The headlights and horn still work, the alt. light comes on when I turn the key, but otherwise no juice.
I'm guessing that when I lowered the seat it somehow caused the connector on the new cable to short against the case of the alternator because the plastic insulator on the terminal was gone (I removed it so I could connect the cable to the sheared off bolt) I checked all the fusible links and they are good. My rebuilt PS pump arrived today and the rebuilt alt. should be a be here next week, but I still need to figure out where the power interruption is.
hi guys. last night i was driving home in the AZ heat, and right as i hit the brake to disengage my cruise control, these three lights came on on the dash. brake, charge, and radiator only. no oil, or check lights come on. if i shut the van down, they turn off, but as soon as i hit 10-15mph they come back on.
i searched "christmas dash" without luck. starts fine, holds a charge fine. i don't think it's the alternator.
any help on this is greatly appreciated, or even just help diagnosing problems with dash light combos. there has to be a chart somewhere, no?
cheers,
also, just a general question about checking the error code: if the lights go off after i shut it down, do i need to leave it running to check the code?
This will not set a code as this is a charging system problem not related to EFI . Anytime the Brake Charge and Radiator light come on is because the battery is being discharged. Check the obvious things battery, battery connections that are not corroded, fusible links. It is very likely the alternator wire harness is worn as it likely the original harness at 34 years old. The alternator may be fine but if any of these other items are in disrepair, your alternator is not properly charging the battery and your alternator will not be good for very long. An alternator with a poor connection to the battery can burn up, and these alternators are not that strong to begin with
This could also be caused by overcharging. Check your battery voltage at idle and at the engine speed at which the lights come on to see if they are within spec.
thanks for the replies. its been hard to chase this one down. the lights don't come on until i've been driving for an hour. otherwise the battery reads 14.1. thinking it could be related the inverter i have wired to my battery putting extra load on my battery while i'm driving.
anyone heard of putting in a beefier alternator? the biggest i can find is 70A.
Perhaps you would consider trying the search function?
Perhaps I did. Didn’t find anything about higher amperage alternators. Is there a thread I missed??Originally Posted by Burntboot
Try this one maybe
Thread: Upgrading the alternator
update:
i can drive for a full hour, before the lights come on. definitely heat related. today after the lights came on i pulled over and put a volt meter on the battery and it was at 13.9. short of having someone back there with a volt meter while i'm driving i don't know how to diagnose this. it seems fine when i'm idling. the wires all look good, and the wire harness looks fine, so either battery or alternator right? is there a chance it could just be the battery?
thanks,
First order of business would be to disable the inverter.
Even if it doesn't affect the problem, it will make diagnosing easier.
agreed. not running it again until this gets resolved.
replaced the alternator today. with the walk through in "articles" it was really easy! added 10 more amps which should account for my inverter. it would seem i also have a power steering issue tho. see attached picture:
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