Real Time-Dishcarge light only, meter charging

MDarius · 02-17-07, 10:35 PM

I searched and found a lot of references to lots of dash lights going off at once, but not my situation. Only the discharge light is on (well, the CEL too, but I have PO401 woes...another story) and the voltmeter shows just above the halfway mark, steady. It does not waver visibly with more revs.

I covered it from head to toe in the mud today. The light came on well after all the mud had dried, about 20 miles, a couple of starts, and several hours after playing in the mud hole. So I took it to the car wash and sprayed out the engine bay, paying close attention to the alternator. Still have the light. While I was scoping this out I noticed that the fuse block cover is missing.

Woops! I NEVER would have gone in that much mud had I known this. So, here are my questions:

-Mud in fuse block=bad...I know. BUT, would that cause the discharge to trigger? If so, what do I do about it?
-Could it be something else? All my electrical seems to work fine, no gremlins, vehicle is charging...according to the dash gauge...so what could it be?
-I also hooked up my trailer this afternoon. The light came on while towing it. No significant load. I know this is probably not even relevant, but in the spirit of full disclosure, I figure I'll throw it in.

Also, CDan, if you happen to lurk this way, what's it cost to get a new fuse block cover? It's positioned directly behind the battery tray. Anybody else have one they might part out?

MDarius · 02-17-07, 11:15 PM

Alright, I guess out of the 93 people checking out the 80 section, and the 9 that have looked, nobody has any suggestions tonight. I'll let it sit over night and see what it is doing in the morning. I appreciate any tech advice I can get on this. Monday should result in some traffic...you know, everybody gets to work, settles in to their mud routine on the employers network for an hour or so. I'll check back. Thanks!

RavenTai · 02-17-07, 11:24 PM

bad alternator after mud injection is common,

it is possible that the light is on from the mud in fuse box. that light lives in between two fuses

get a volt meter and check the voltage at the battery, if 12v or less your alternator is not putting out, get a set of brushes and replace them and clean it out, should fix it.

MDarius · 02-18-07, 12:40 AM

Thanks RavenTai. I took my voltmeter out and checked my fuses to see what was running through them, they looked good, but that box sure was wet. There are a couple LARGE square fuses (don't have the cover so i don't know what they are for.

) and they had condensation in them. Knowing it's going to be cold again tonight I just went out and ran it...took my cell phone in case of break down. After about 15 miles at 75MPH with OD off the light went off and the voltmeter jumped up between center and top. I turned the key off then started it up again. The light came on for a second then shut off. It looks like I was able to evaporate some moisture that was shorting something causing a drain. The battery discharged a little and the alternator appears to be charging. I put the trickle charger on for the night and will watch it closely for a few days. I'll take it to Autozone and have them check the charging system. Hopefully it's all good. I'll have to check around for a new fuse block cover though. That stinks.

The long story is, my wife has a key fob for the LC, I don't. When she locks it the alarm sets. One day she took off in the other car and I unlocked it with the key, setting of the alarm. I was in a hurry and removed the fuse cover to disconnect the horn. I was going to remove the battery cable to reset the system...I didn't know it resets itself. I guess I never put the cover back. I'm sure it's smashed on the road somewhere. Oh well, lesson learned...I guess.

MDarius · 02-18-07, 08:06 PM

Problem not solved. The light came back on this morning. Any other advice?

RavenTai · 02-19-07, 02:38 PM

try the brushes.

MDarius · 02-19-07, 08:18 PM

IH8MUD...but I love this place! I pulled the alternator today...New method not mentioned elsewhere and it's pretty easy. I started down the path to rebuild it but never got the pulley off. But I rinsed it in my sink, cleaned the brushes which were stuck, cleaned everytthing else and reinstalled after it was dry. It's now charging at 14.65 and before there was a draw on the battery with the engine running.

To remove the alternator I removed the power steering reservoir bracket, leaving the hoses attached. Then I removed the electrical connector bracket that's right there by the PS reservoir also. Removed the oil filter...I only lost a tiny bit of oil. Pulled the alternator out backwards through that hole. You still have to remove the battery tray for easy access to all the screws and stuff, but this is far easier...for me...than pulling it through the front, even with the radiator hose gone. I think I flipped it around in place to pull it out ears first.

So, yeah, if you get the no charge signal after playing in the mud, try a good thorough cleaning before you give up on the part. CDan was all ready to order one for me, then his all knowing shamanism keyed him in to the fact I'm trying to save $$ for my basic mods, he sent a little good Ju-Ju my way, and voila!

Thanks Raventai, CDan, and all previous alternator threads!

RavenTai · 02-19-07, 10:10 PM

I did an alternator swap recently after turning two bad alternators into one good one, did not take the battery tray out like I did the first time, like you I unbolted the reservoir and unhooked some wiring that was in the way, but I did not remove the oil filter, saved a good bit of time.

Glad you got it fixed.

Mlachica · 03-15-09, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenTai

it is possible that the light is on from the mud in fuse box. that light lives in between two fuses

get a volt meter and check the voltage at the battery, if 12v or less your alternator is not putting out, get a set of brushes and replace them and clean it out, should fix it.

What two fuses are they?

I finished installing the 150a sequioa alternator (which tested good prior to install) and now I have the battery discharge light on. I had to replace the previous 150a alternator because the regulator was bad - it was jumping from 11.8v to 16v while driving. And my discharge light never came on with that alternator.

It's steady at 13.6-14.2 volts while driving and my batteries are at 12.8 with the engine off.

RavenTai · 03-16-09, 08:54 AM

saw -B- do this the other day lets see if it works for me.

first is specific to the 96 LX450

The second is a general Toyota training document.

Mlachica · 03-16-09, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RavenTai

saw -B- do this the other day lets see if it works for me.

first is specific to the 96 LX450

The second is a general Toyota training document.

Doc's helped. Thanks!

RavenTai · 03-16-09, 10:36 PM

Glad to help