High Voltage (1 Viewer)

[jcmatl]

Hi all,

I purchased an LJ73 listed on Mud a few months ago.
It's been running well other than some random stuff from sitting before I bought it.
I took it on its first trip of any length last weekend, which included about 100 miles total on the interstate and about 3 hours on some trails around quail fields. It did great.
A few days ago the the radio started going on and off and I noticed the battery gauge was almost maxed out. I turned the fan on high and the headlights on, which reduced the voltage, and drove home. I checked the repair manual I have and saw that I could adjust voltage by bending the regulator adjusting arm. I did that yesterday and the voltage did indeed drop. I went for a drive and it was fine for about 15 minute but then rose again. I turned everything on to drop the voltage and drove home.

Amy thoughts on a cause? I'm trying to determine if I just need a new regulator or if the alternator is going bad. If it is just the regulator, any idea of a good place to find one?

Thanks!

 

[morganism]

Do you have all speeds on the heater fan ? Could be blower resistor going?

Order a diode for the alt first. I don't know if those have an external one.
Wire out from alt is always a good one to upgrade.

Also check connections going into fuse box, those connectors fail easily from metal fatigue.

 

[george_tlc]

An electronic regulator (vs the old points/contact scheme) would be a GREAT upgrade. Not sure on the toyo, but on my old nissan (1980) there's an off the shelf electronic regulator that is plug and play at the connector level. Voltage is now spot on 14.4 for charging.

It's worth verifying that the brushes are still good, and that the diodes are all good.

Don't run the vehicle if you are seeing 15V or higher at the battery or you can damage electronics in the vehicle (e.g. the radio etc). I've seen too many radios that have 16V rated capacitors as input filtering on radios (daft!). I'd verify voltage with a decent meter vs trusting the gauge for accurate readings.

cheers,
george.

 

[JuanJ]

Hello,

You might have a grounding problem. Checking the ground points is a good start.

Then a look into the harness to find (and eliminate) non-factory wiring and ground connections. The FSM is your friend.

Poor quality electrical work from POs is quite frequent.





Juan

 

[jcmatl]

Thanks guys! The grounding issue is definitely where I will start. There is some corrosion in the engine bay so that is a good possibility.

I have a manual I found online that is titled "Toyota L, 2L, 2L-T Engine Repair Manual". It is a few years older than my engine but I do see similarities in it. Does anyone have a digital copy of a better one?

 

[ozcrusier]

The only manual I have on adjusting the regulator is on a early diesel h engine. If your battery is dropping a cell the reg will sent the alternator into max charge rate to keep up.