Electrical Problem with Alternator, IC Regulator, Amp Meter & Batteries

[arcteryx]

Truck is an 12V 1985 BJ70. My amp meter jumps all over the place when I have some sort of load on it. I cannot have my headlights on and the heater fan on low and play the radio at the same time. If I turn the lights off, the radio works. When I use my turn signals, the meter jumps from above the line to below the normal range with no other load being used. When there is no load, my voltage meter is normal, being around 13.5- 14. With the help of this forum and my 3b Engine Manual (thanks Birfield), I have narrowed it down to 1) batteries, 2) alternator or 3) IC regulator (a.k.a. voltage regulator ).

So, I replaced my batteries with 2 new Orbitals (the main was low anyhow). Problem still exists. I then took out my alternator- looked at the brushes and they are within norm. According to the records, the PO replaced the alternator in 2002. I have taken this to two places to have tested- O’Reilly and Auto Zone and they are unable to test this b/c they do not have a female fit for the alternator wire. (All the employees were like "What IS that? " b/c of the vaccum pump attached ). So, now I am in a quandary and looking for advice. How can I test that my alternator is working properly? Do I reinstall the alternator and use an ammeter and voltmeter to test the IC regulator, as outlined on pages CH-9 and CH-10 in the manual? Any help/advice is welcomed.

Thanks in advance......

 

[Greg_B]

Truck is an 12V 1985 BJ70. With the help of this forum and my 3b Engine Manual (thanks Birfield), I have narrowed it down to 1) batteries, 2) alternator or 3) IC regulator (a.k.a. voltage regulator ).

I have taken this to two places to have tested- O’Reilly and Auto Zone and they are unable to test this b/c they do not have a female fit for the alternator wire. (All the employees were like "What IS that? " b/c of the vaccum pump attached ).

Any help/advice is welcomed.

What, the alt shops could not make a pigtail to jump between the bench and the alt? Find an old school rebuild shop in your area...not a counter drone place. As far as I know...an alt, is an alt...to a rebuilder. We are VERY lucky in that we have an old school fella 5 minutes down the road from us. He has not been phased once, and in many cases can cross things over for us.

hth's

gb

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Truck is an 12V 1985 BJ70. My amp meter jumps all over the place when I have some sort of load on it. I cannot have my headlights on and the heater fan on low and play the radio at the same time. If I turn the lights off, the radio works. When I use my turn signals, the meter jumps from above the line to below the normal range with no other load being used. When there is no load, my voltage meter is normal, being around 13.5- 14. With the help of this forum and my 3b Engine Manual (thanks Birfield), I have narrowed it down to 1) batteries, 2) alternator or 3) IC regulator (a.k.a. voltage regulator ).

So, I replaced my batteries with 2 new Orbitals (the main was low anyhow). Problem still exists. I then took out my alternator- looked at the brushes and they are within norm. According to the records, the PO replaced the alternator in 2002. I have taken this to two places to have tested- O’Reilly and Auto Zone and they are unable to test this b/c they do not have a female fit for the alternator wire. (All the employees were like "What IS that? " b/c of the vaccum pump attached ). So, now I am in a quandary and looking for advice. How can I test that my alternator is working properly? Do I reinstall the alternator and use an ammeter and voltmeter to test the IC regulator, as outlined on pages CH-9 and CH-10 in the manual? Any help/advice is welcomed.

Thanks in advance......

sounds like the old voltage regulator problem to me.
I would get the brush-regulator combo, and be likely done with it.
j

 

[Greg_B]

sounds like the old voltage regulator problem to me.
I would get the brush-regulator combo, and be likely done with it.
j

That too

gb

 

[arcteryx]

J- tell me more about the brush-regulator combo. Where can you get it? Price?

Greg, the town I live in does not have any old skool shops. The last one went out of business. I am going to Kansas City this weekend, perhaps someone can do it there if I have not had it tested yet.
thx
j

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

J- tell me more about the brush-regulator combo. Where can you get it? Price?

Greg, the town I live in does not have any old skool shops. The last one went out of business. I am going to Kansas City this weekend, perhaps someone can do it there if I have not had it tested yet.
thx
j

http://store.4wheelauto.com/view_product.php?product=QUIG9JUN29

I am sure other places have this as well.
Jan

 

[wesintl]

You can get the items from toyota as well. I *think* I have the part numbers here somewhere and Molle should be able to get it straight from Cali. Since they have the cdn cruisers in the EPC they should be able to look it up for you too...

 

[NStimac]

-Jason

I am having similar problems too. My guage is starting to intermintaly jump around with and without accessorys running and seems to jump with the turn signals too. I am thinking voltage reg. If you decide to order from 4-wheel PM me so we can order together and split shipping. Looks like I am going to miss the TAC meeting I am stuck out in Russell, KS collecting data through the weekend. http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Geophysics/4Dseismic/index.html

-Noah

 

[arcteryx]

Well, I have tried a couple other places with no luck on getting it tested. I am thinking though that the alternator is OK since the reading is normal with no load. Am I incorrect in thinking this way? Assuming my thinking is correct and the alternator is good, then I will proceed with replacing the regulator. I just don't want to start replacing good parts. If my thinking is incorrect, there are 1-2 places that rebuild alternators that may be able to test it, but they are semi-local (not far and not close).

Noah- sorry to hear you will not be at the meeting on Saturday. I will let you know if I replace the regulator.

Jason

 

[coldtaco]

Don't know if you have read my past post on my alt. problems or not. I have a 86 BJ70, so 24V with the IC regulator. While checking the brushes I did some under the hood welding. So I induced some more problems Anyhow, I ordered a brush assy. and IC regulator and replaced them. I was only getting about 27.7V output from the alt. instead of the 27.9-28.5 its suppose to and had a .2v drop between the alt and battery. So I put a new wire from the alt to battery. This took care of the .2V drop, but was still a little low on output. So I put the old regulator back and the output whent into the range it's suppose to be at. Now when I start the cruiser, I don't get the all the dash lights on until you rev the engine to about 1400rpm when the alt would kick in. The alt appears to come on line right away now and I can tell on the dash volt meter that the intake heater element is in its second cycle for about 10(?) sec, then the volt needle climbs up to where it normally sits. Haven't experienced the other intermittend thing, needle bouncing and relays clicking, but this would usually happen on road trips, so will have to wait and see. So, I think in my case just replacing the brushes did the trick, and fixing my self induced problems. Try the new brushes would be my vote.

 

[arcteryx]

OK, I have replaced the regulator with a new OEM one. Brushes were fine in length, about 17-18 if I remember correctly. I have replaced both batteries and the problem is still occuring. Any other ideas? Have the alternator respun? Take it the the semi-local places to see if it works?

 

[David*BJ70]

charge lamp relay....

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

OK, I have replaced the regulator with a new OEM one. Brushes were fine in length, about 17-18 if I remember correctly. I have replaced both batteries and the problem is still occuring. Any other ideas? Have the alternator respun? Take it the the semi-local places to see if it works?

I doubt that the alternator is the problem. I am sure you can find a shop to test it, do that before tinkering with it-alternator work is expensive. Do you know anyone with the same truck, so you can swap alternators for a few minutes?
I understand the brushes are still not changed, correct? maybe try that anyway.

the charge lamp relay is another possibility, but usually leads to light flickering, not charging problems. it is under the dash, passenger side, and cheap from toyota. I do have a working spare one that I could ship, but as I said, it costs only about 30$ from toyota.
HTH
jan

 

[coldtaco]

Have you checked the voltage off of the output of alt to ground and compare it to the voltage at the battery and ground? Just something else to check and verify.

 

[David*BJ70]

it costs only about 30$ from toyota.

What ? 30$... The dealer tell me about 100$

I will double check !

Any part #

 

[arcteryx]

I will look into those options and let you know. Unfortunately, no one else has an 85 70 that I know nearby. Noah's is an 86(24v) and MoJ just sold his on ebay.

 

[David*BJ70]

but as I said, it costs only about 30$ from toyota.

Well, I visit the toyota dealer today.

And like I said before... the list price is 125.50$ (can$) part # 27790-13010

where did you find your 30$ relay ?

 

[David*BJ70]

https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=42417 POST # 24

.... Standard motor product : KY-379 list price ± 118$ (can) (not so cheap at all !)

 

[Jan-78FJ40]

Well, I visit the toyota dealer today.

And like I said before... the list price is 125.50$ (can$) part # 27790-13010

where did you find your 30$ relay ?

Yes, I was wrong.
Called the parts guys today, and was quoted 90.36 US$.
However, I also dug out the old bill, and I payed 26.70 for it 18 months ago-probably their mistake.
sorry,
Jan

 

[arcteryx]

OK, I have gotten the alt checked and it is fine. While resintalling it, I noticed these two wires- see pic. Can someone a) help me identify these and b) tell me where they go?

The last thing I was going to do was check that the bottom male (horizontal) on the plug is getting juice. Thanks for helpingme work through this. Going slower than expected, but we'll get through!
jason