2017 Tundra jump start damage

I accidentally placed jump cables wrong polarity when jump starting someone’s truck. It ruined my battery. I bought a new one, but didn’t last. I’m on my 4th battery in less than a year. My truck keeps draining them in about a week. They eventually get ruined and won’t hold a charge anymore. I replaced the alternator, which was damaged, with a new Denso. My truck is out of warranty and the dealership wants $500 just to check it. I’ve tried using a digital meter and removing one by one all fuses under the hood and interior. I can’t find anything that I feel is drawing excessively. At this point I’m even considering trading it for another vehicle. I really like the truck and don’t want to do that. Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Can't help sorry but wow what a bummer!
I do appreciate you sharing.
I WILL be careful when jumping, with any of my vehicles.

 

yeah one of the reason I have those stand alone jumping stations. worth the peace of mind.

 

First thing you should do is buy a battery pack booster that has built in technology to prevent boosting I'm reverse polarity.

Never jump someone else's truck using your battery.

 

Sorry for your trouble, here’s something that may help. Get your hands on a DC clamp meter and place it around the lead coming off the positive terminal of the battery. Start pulling fuses until the reading drops to near zero. Should give you a place to start.

 

My truck runs great and does not seem to have any apparent issues. It’s only the dang parasitic draw. Can it be the ECU that’s ruined? Any way to test it?

 

Read my post. You either do that or pay someone else. Your choice.

 

When kids started driving i told them to NEVER jump start another vehicle. It was not a problem with older vehicles but these days vehicles have high dollar electronics.

 

Did the regulator come with the new alternator?
Have you performed a battery/alt/reg test?
I have had the reg go bad and over charge the new battery frying it. The battery was super hot.
Since you have a meter, YouTube the really simple procedures. hope this helps.

 

Any particular clamp meters you recommend? Thank you

 

I use Fluke, but there are cheaper ones. You can go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and get the cheapest one they have. It should work for your purposes.

 

A problem like this will be tough to troubleshoot.
Especially if the the faulty condition only occurs when the truck is in operation/driving.

What was the defect with the replaced alternator?

 

The problem occurs when the truck is not used for about a week. The alternator got damaged due to reversed polarity. The new one I installed is in working condition. I will be checking the relays next week. I will as also try to utilize a clamp meter to check readings. I’m really trying to avoid the dealership. That would be my last resort.

 

Try to pin down how much drain there is...usually anything under 50mA is "ok". Ideally you want less than 30mA.

pull fuses until you see a large drop in the amp draw.

Youtube has tons of battery drain how to's.

 

Since the problem happens when it has been parked for a week:
With the truck parked, I'd put a milliamp meter in series between the battery positive post and the cable to see what the current draw is.
Need to establish if it has a normal or elevated static current draw.
You'd want to compare the reading to the same year and optioned truck ideally. You have a 2017 but what model?
Then after that, you'd decide what to do next based on normal or elevated draw.

 

I have the SR5 with the 4.6