2nd generation not starting

Hello, I'm having a problem with my 2013 tundra. It has a brand new battery and brand new alternator, all fuses are good and grounds cleaned. I've had this problem for a while where it kills the battery like the alternator is bad but it's brand new. The old alternator did the same thing which tells me it's not the alternator. Battery dies with one drive and it's literally brand new, ran it a few miles then it dies..lights on the dash don't come on when this happens. Tried jumping it with cables and as soon as I disconnect the cables the truck dies like it has a bad alternator. Somehow I'm thinking the alternator isn't getting a signal to turn on but can't figure out why...If anyone has any info on how to fix this it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

Have you put a meter on your positive terminal to verify charging voltage? You should be getting roughly 13.5v. You mentioned no dash lights come on, which is odd. If the engine isn’t running, but the key is on, the battery light should be on. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the battery light in the gauge cluster plays a role in the charging system. Something about it being used as a resistor in the charging circuit, so if it blows, the system won’t charge. There’s also the possibility that both your old alternator and the new alternator are bad. It’s rare but I’ve seen it. I would also pull your alternator fuse in the fuse block under the hood and check for continuity. Never assume a fuse is good just by looking at it. I don’t remember what number it is, but be warned it’s ridiculously hard to remove.

 

I've never tried putting a tester on the positive side. I'll try it when I get home. When it throws its little fit no lights come on at all no door ajar or battery light, no dome lights, no dinging sound when door is open..completely powerless. I'll look into the battery light thing also, that sounds like it could be an issue although it does come on when the battery is good and the key is turned on, then it goes off because the battery is good. I've checked continuity on the alternator fuse, it checks out and yes it is a pain to get to, also checked continuity through the wire going from the alternator to the fuse box, that checks out also. There's also a couple of fuses that are associated with the alternator, I've checked those with a tester and they're good. I've seen cases where the new alternator is bad, it is rare but I've checked continuity on that also before I installed it and it's got plenty, more than the old one. I forgot to mention that it threw 22 codes, I was able to delete all but 4 : p2714, p2135, p0113, p0013. Now that it has no power again I'm sure it threw those codes again so I'll check it and let you know what I come up with. I'd take it in to the shop but I feel like it's going to cost me a lot given the nature of the symptoms and the amount of testing and inspecting involved so I'm going to keep plugging along at it.

 

Good morning, P2714 is a transmission code Performance D stuck off... You can dismiss that one for now unless your transmission is starting to slip. If this is the case, search this code and people have figured some fixes with it, including myself but I had a P0894 with it.

The other codes are more specific to the engine, the first thing I would ask is, have you or anyone else done any work on the engine itself? If you have double check all of your harnesses and ensure harnesses are completely seated, if you have stuff unplugged and you turn over your ignition you will get a slew of codes because of things the ECU needs to see and are not there.

If no, I would start by tracing the battery ground wire all the way to where it grounds and inspect for corrosion, damage and replace, if necessary, the 2nd I would trace the camshaft wire harness and check for rodent/fire damage. The red flag I see is the P0013 Camshaft position actuator circuit open which may mean it's probably not grounding properly, sensor has failed, or wiring is making contact with something else. At the same time it brought it's friends with it the TPS and AIT listed below they all talk to the ECM and are exposed to rodent harvesting. I would also check the fuse box underneath where all the wires come through and check for damage.

The P0013 Exhaust “B” Camshaft Position Actuator Circuit/Open (Bank 1)
P2135 throttle position sensor
P0113 Intake Air Temperature

 

Alright so I'm able to get the truck started with a little help from some jumper cables. Truck runs on its own without cables hooked up but when rev'd up to about 3000 rpms the trac, brake, abs and 4hi light blink and if held for a few seconds the entire dash goes.black and truck sounds like its gonna die then everything comes back on again, also the voltage is bouncing ever so slightly when idling. I've read a post about the ground cable between frame and trans rotting away so am gonna check that but if not that I'm still stumped.

 

Battery most likely the culprit of your voltage moving around. Low battery will have you chasing your tail. Checl your ground still

 

The only ground I have left to check is the one between the trans and the frame..going to check that one and if all is good someone had mentioned the voltage regulator. I looked it up and it gave me all the symptoms I'm seeing. It's relatively cheap so I won't feel too bad buying it and not needing to change it...thanks, I will keep you updated

 

Have you checked your main ground? Verify it’s clean and solid?

 

7.5A LH-IG fuse in the interior fuse box… pull it out and replace it even if it looks good.

You can almost bet on it.

Seen this same scenario over 10 times and it always tracks back to that fuse.

 

Tried it, didn't work. Someone told me about the voltage regulator but I don't see that being the problem since it's located in the alternator and I've recently changed the alternator. Also the battery is brand new. I'm running out of options and don't wanna take it to a shop because I have a feeling this fix will be pretty costly. I've gone through all the grounds except for the trans to frame. Gonna check that then I'm out of ideas

 

Did you check for voltage on both sides of that fuse? It is the “enable” signal to the alternator to allow it to charge when the key comes on.

If the fuse is good and has voltage on both sides, time to go take voltage readings at the plug into the back of the alternator