A little help please

This morning I started my Tundra and noticed none of my gauges worked.

I thought no big deal, I troubleshoot it when I get home( was 5.5 hrs away from home).

After about 2 hours of driving my truck would not accelerate and it started to slow down over a few miles, eventually it stopped and the engine would not turn over, just a few clicking sounds.

The battery is less than 3 years old.

A wrecker towed me to autozone where I purchased an alternator and spent the next three hours cussing like a sailor on weekend shore leave.

Alternator replaced, started the truck after getting a jump.

It idled for 1 to 2 mins and eventually died.

I placed a volt meter across the terminals and had it jumped again.

I watched after the jumper cables were removed the battery slowly fell past 8 vdc and died.

I replaced the battery and started the truck and off to the road I went.

After 1.5 to 2 hours of driving the truck slowly started dropping speed and the truck eventually died, again.

I was pulling a boat and used the cranking battery to get me the rest of the way home.

The gauges still do not work and I am at a loss as to why my alternator would not keep my batteries charged.

Have any of you experienced this phenomenon?

 

The first one was a Walmart brand Everstart, less than three years old.

The second one was an Autozone brand and was less than 3 hours old.

 

While at AutoZone did you happen to have them test the alternator? I'm not sure if they can test the alternator with a dead battery but I think they can. It would be interesting to see what it was reading right after replacement.

Where I would start in a similar situation.
Is there a charging circuit fuse?
Does the alternator connections seem solid?
Do my grounds to the engine/ chassis look good?

 

The battery warning light in your dashboard is also a resistor that is required to make the alternator charge.

You say none of your gauges work....what about the lights?

If your battery light doesn't light up when key turned to 'ON' your alternator will not produce charge, which sounds like is what is happening.

I would start by taking out your dash and checking all the connectors etc.

All you gauges are grounded to the frame under the plastic trim on the right kick panel, which may be worth checking as well.

You should be able to easily check if your alternator is working. With an engine off and a full charged battery you should get about 12.6 volts at the battery. With the engine running you should be getting 13.8-14.2 volts. If you still only get 12ish volts your alternator is not working.

 

Engine running, voltage below 14v and dropping means your alternator isn't charging. Did your dash lights work when you were jump started? Did your dash lights work when you were running with the new Autozone battery? How about with the boat battery?

It wouldn't be unheard of for a replacement alternator to be DOA -- especially a parts store brand re-build.

 

Like others have said, Check your grounds! I had this happen on my last truck (Dodge), found the ground at the engine block corroded. All of my gauges quit working too.

 

Engine controls can be a bit more complicated, but whenever I see something funny happening on a trailer I always suspect the ground. It's funny how often that's the case in a simple electrical system.

 

There is a ground behind the engine block.

 

Top to bottom .....

Key in ignition
Ignition ON
Engine running

Is there a fuse for the instrument panel?
I unplugged the panel and plugged them back in, no success.

Also, the AC motor does not come on either.

 

Yes. There is a 10 amp fuse in the driver side fuse panel near your hood release lever.

If that doesn't do it I strongly suspect its a ground problem. All the instruments ground with black and white wires that connect to a bolt to the body on the passenger side kick panel. To access this you have to remove the carpet trim plate on the floor on that side, and one black plastic nut on the panel itself, which then pops right out.

BTW, the AC control also use that same ground point....and the heater relay uses that 10 amp gauge fuse so both systems have those things in common.

In any case, the lack of that alternator light is why your battery isn't charging so no need to mess with your alternator any more until you can get that working.



Perhaps this will help.

 

Thank you. I will try this tonight when I get home. I'll keep you posted.

 

While I was at the autozone in Paducah, KY, I pulled the 10A fuse and asked the guy behind the counter if I could use their ohm meter to test the fuse.

He said, " Here, give it here, I'll test it for you."

He returned to fuse to me and informed me that it tested good.

As can be seen from the picture, the fuse, when I tested it, upon returning home, tested bad(open).

This was an expensive lesson in trust as it cost me an alternator and battery purchase.

I replaced the fuse and my gauges started working and my alternator is charging my battery, now.

I blame myself and not the guy at autozone.

Lesson learned.

Thanks for all the help.

 

Great analysis @Aerindel

 

@Aerindel, thank you!!!

 

Thank you for following up and staying diligent. Its the norm these days to have to follow up behind people, unfortunately.

 

@Aerindel, where did you get the wiring diagram?

I would like to download the entire manual if possible.

 

You can probably return the battery (but may as well keep the old alternator as a backup.)

I had a ground go bad and I returned the $140 battery once I realized the $6 cable fixed my problem.

 

Glad it was a simple fix. Sorry you had to buy a new alternator and battery first.

 

I know it is done. But I never tested a fuse before. I do a visual check, if it looks open or burnt (like yours) I replaced it. They are design to be inspected via visual check.

 

Hard to tell but that fuse looks bad visually. I usually run a light on the back side and that gives you a good idea if it's broken or not. Granted that only works if it's detached enough to see.

Glad it seemed to work out anyway op. That's the most important part.

 

While a visual check is most often the easiest, I have personally seen fuses that become separated somewhere that my eyes couldn't find.

If you have a DMM you can also use the continuity function. The issue here is that if a tiny sliver is still attached, it will test positive for continuity but will not carry any load.

The only TRUE way to test for a fuse is to turn on whatever is not working. Ground the (-) lead of your DMM and use the positive to touch the leads that protrude through the top. If your DMM shows any difference in voltage between the 2 leads, replace the fuse. Any difference means that there is some form of resistance in the fuse.

This makes it super easy to go through the fuse box and find a blown fuse without having to remove all of them. Ive seen fuses that were removed and slid right back into location that somehow missed the female end which in turn broke the circuit.

 

I scored on some Buss back up fuses in the little old school tin container during a garage clear out a few months back. Some may not realize that the Tundra under the engine hood fuse box has back up fuses along with an OEM fuse puller/installer (white tweezer thing) on the inside cover.

I’ll be taping some spares (lower Amp) on the inside cab cover just in case.