1996 Toyota Coaster electrical problems

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Chinookie

SILVER Star
Joined
Dec 31, 2019
Threads
17
Messages
85
Location
Orcas Island, WA
I imported her from Japan earlier this year and she has been wonderful. A very different animal than my Land Cruiser, but I love her just the same.

The history. She has a 1HD-FT with just under 28K km. Before recently, starting and running was great. No real mechanical or electrical problems. I just wanted to sort it out to baseline all items before taking it off down the highway. I recently took it to a body shop to have a dent repaired (caused by another shop putting tires on). The body shop called and said the dent was done but that it wouldn't start. When they jump started it, it ran but died when they removed the cables. I knew that the old batteries were weak so this didn't surprise me too much. I replaced both starting batteries in the parking lot with two new series 27s and it started fine, but the dash was lit up like a Christmas tree (picture below). Oil level and pressure were fine, so I drove it home. After reading some Australian forums, I saw someone who had a similar issue on a Coaster and it was the alternator. I tested charging output when it was running and got only battery voltage, so I thought I knew what the issue was.

When I got home, I tried pulling the alternator fuse, but alas, the 30 year old 100 amp PAL bolt in fuse crumbled. So I replaced all the fuses in the small block.

The Coaster evidently has a slightly larger alternator on the 1HD-FT than that of a similarly equipped Land Cruiser. Replacement was going to be expensive. So, figuring that I had the problem nailed down, I sent it to a great local shop that checked it out and they told me that it was a well done reman, but had a loose connection at the voltage regulator. They put it all back together, tested it (report below) and mailed it back.

I put it in, connected the batteries, started her up and got all the same lights on the dash. Battery voltage was 24.9. No charging. I retested at high idle about 2000 rpm, nothing.

In the image there is turbo, exterior bulbs, timing belt, water in fuel and low oil quantity and charging. The seat belt and parking brake lights are working correctly.

How are all these things connected with a charging issue. Any thoughts on where I should start looking next?

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Does it have fusible links (usually near the battery positive terminal)?

Are all other electrical lights/function working?
 
No fusible links, just these big fuses for the main systems. All electrics work, it just draws from the battery.

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The terminals should be S, L and IG.
IG is the exciter, it should get 12V when the ignition is on, and nothing when the ignition is off.

On my Land Cruiser, IG is a 1.25 mm2 pale yellow wire. L is a 0.5 mm2 wire the same colour, and S is a much thicker white wire. S should be battery voltage with the ignition off and charging voltage (~14.5 V) with the engine running.
 

The terminals should be S, L and IG.
IG is the exciter, it should get 12V when the ignition is on, and nothing when the ignition is off.

On my Land Cruiser, IG is a 1.25 mm2 pale yellow wire. L is a 0.5 mm2 wire the same colour, and S is a much thicker white wire. S should be battery voltage with the ignition off and charging voltage (~14.5 V) with the engine running.
@Eurasiaoverland thank you! Great explanation on the alternators, just what I needed to know. I love learning something new. If I understand correctly, I'm assuming that since I have a 24V system the alternators are similar, just different voltage. The IG wire should read battery voltage (25V+ or so). When my ignition is on, and the engine running the charging light is on so I know the L circuit is working. What I need to do is try and find a small alt-s fuse or something similar to check continuity on that line. Or, it sounds like I could just bypass the S connection back to the positive on the battery. Then it should self excite and start producing current when running. I'll do some testing and see what I can find.
 
Ah sorry, I forgot you are 24 V. But yes, same principles, just double the voltages.

Yes, I believe your understanding is correct, (though I am not an expert by any means). 24V at the IG wire when the ignition is on, and the S wire should be connected directly to the battery. So you can check for battery voltage at the S terminal in the connector with the engine off. As I see it, assuming the IG circuit is correct, if the wire gets good battery voltage then most likely the alternator (or the engine ground) is faulty.
 
First off, what a sick vehicle. I never even heard of it....

I had a similar problem my with old Toyota 1C-T , where the alternator / charging circuit had a fault and it led to another half dozen or so light / circuits having problems.

I may have missed it but what voltage are you showing right at the alternator post? Can you find a wiring diagram anywhere for the charge circuit? If your rebuild shop is confident the alternator is functioning and grounded properly then maybe you have a bad ground / corroded wire somewhere along the line.
 
I pulled a bunch of stuff apart and found the hidden fuse box under a (karaoke system?) cabinet. It had the fuse for the Alt-S 7.5a fuse, which was fine. I crawled underneath and dropped the alternator again. I tested the voltage of the three wires on the plug with the ignition on and off. All wires to the alt check out. Out of nowhere it dawned on me, the main wire didn't have one of those protective rubber boots over it like every other alternator I've ever seen. It had electric tape on it. So, I traced it back to behind the right wheel well and it went into this device. It then had a line that went all the way back to the house batteries. I tried Google translate on it, but I'm still not 100% what this is based on the faded label and translation. I think maybe this is my problem?

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Good progress with the checks. I would guess that is some sort of split charge system to charge the leisure batteries with the alternator, but isolate them when the engine is off, so the starter batteries do not discharge. I would say it's a prime candidate for the problem.
 
the "charge problem light circuit" is surely on. I would temporally disconnect you main alt power with and then connect it with a test cable directly to the battery and see if anything changes. It is possible to have a alternator that works perfectly but lights up the charge light.... you likely also have a "charge" fuse in addition to the alt-s fuse, be sure to check that too.
 
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