Dead Alternator Already

78-FJ40

78-FJ40

New member
Wondering if any other forum members have experienced the below scenario.

I have a 2017 T4R TRD PRO with approximately 40,000 miles on it. No accessories like a winch. Only mods have been to replace yellow bulbs with LEDs about 2 years ago and about 2 weeks ago I installed the Pedal Commander (highly recommend).

Anyway...2 days ago while driving my entire instrument cluster started flickering, then the speedo went completely dead and the engine just shut off. I coasted to the side of the road and could not get the engine to turn over.

Someone finally pulled over and gave me a jump and I was able to make it another mile or so before the same thing happened. I made it to a local AutoZone and bought a new high crank amp battery for $200. Made my way back to my rig and installed it on the side of the road. Truck started up just fine.

Fast forward to today and the exact same thing happened again so it must be the alternator, right?

My question is has anyone else had their alternator go out so quickly? 40K miles on a 3 yr old truck is and the alternator is already bad? That's ridiculous.

I tried to pull the fuse for the alternator to see if it was blown but I could not get the fuse out. WTF is so hard about the alternator fuse to remove. It's a fuse. Little research shows you have to pull the fuse box apart to get to some screws? Anyone have an idea on how to get the fuse out?

Anyway...if anyone has any insight I would appreciate it. Thanks.
 
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Use a VM to check charging system. Needs over 13.2v to fully charge battery.

7.5A alt-s fuse comes right out with leatherman pliers. It's in the engine compartment fuse box.
 
I suggest you take it somewhere where they can fully check the charging system: battery, alternator output under various loads, etc. I'm surprised you didn't throw a code with those symptoms. Also I believe there is another alternator high amp fuse that bolts in and is in the lower section of the under hood fuse box. BTW, some of those symptoms you described sound computer related (dead speedo, flickering, etc.). I seem to remember a thread about the pedal commander causing odd symptoms that went away when it was disconnected - might be worth researching.
 
Autozone can check your alternator while in the car. It shouldn't go bad but doesn't hurt to check. I suspect you have a short circuit somewhere in the system. If you park outside, check your harness (it may be chewed up by rodents).
 
You don't have a dual battery setup or anything of that nature do you? I had a similar incident - but different outcome. Not sure if any of the following will help, but curious as to what you find out happened with your vehicle, and hopefully it's just a fuse. I'm still trying to troubleshoot/diagnose my problem.

2018 TRD ORP - 50k miles. I just installed a dual battery setup (REDARC DC2DC, AGM aux battery). Also installed a 2 bank NOCO genius battery charger for shore power to each battery when parked.

About 3-4 days after I installed it, I noticed my stereo would reset while driving every now and then. Then, a couple days later, exactly like you described, when I would hit the brakes, the instrument cluster would light up, gauges would die, stereo would blank out, engine would quit and everything would come right back. I chased wires, checked fuses, connections, everything and came up with nothing. A few weeks later - After a 3 hour drive of not one single "stereo reset" or "electrical blip"; as soon as I hit the brakes, it would happen, and more frequently.

Stopped the vehicle, turned everything off, checked for loose wires, etc.... Turned the key and nothing. No lights, no power, no crank, not even one single light illuminated. The battery was toast.

Dropped a new battery in, and everything worked like it was fresh off the lot. Took straight to O'Reillys where they checked new and old battery, alternator, and starter. Everything was fine. I checked charging system with my own multimeter and everything seemed to be charging fine with vehicle running.

What my problem was (I think) was when I plugged into shore power at home, the NOCO would activate the DC2DC charger as the starter battery was being charged, and it would essentially drain the starter battery faster than NOCO could recharge it. The things I still don't understand: How it still had enough juice to start the vehicle - and after driving for 3 plus hours, how the hell could it not be fully charged if alternator was working. I haven't had any "electrical blips" lately as I disconnect the DC2DC charger with a circuit breaker when plugged into shore power.

Anyway - I realize this info probably doesn't help you at all... And I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but had a similar electrical system failure. Hopefully you get your answer/fix sooner than later; and like the people mentioned before, a multimeter told me my alternator was working fine along with any automotive stores free testing equipment. Good luck.
 
flyrv9 said:
I suggest you take it somewhere where they can fully check the charging system: battery, alternator output under various loads, etc. I'm surprised you didn't throw a code with those symptoms. Also I believe there is another alternator high amp fuse that bolts in and is in the lower section of the under hood fuse box. BTW, some of those symptoms you described sound computer related (dead speedo, flickering, etc.). I seem to remember a thread about the pedal commander causing odd symptoms that went away when it was disconnected - might be worth researching.
Click to expand...

Dude I owe you a beer! I did some research on the Pedal Commander and you were right. I found the thread you mentioned then I started researching on YouTube and sure enough I ran across this video. This guy apparantly created a competitive product to Pedal Commander but in the video he goes into a lot of detail in how his is different from Pedal Commander. : NEW PedalMonster Makes Driving FUN Again - YouTube

If you skip to the 6:20 mark where he turns Pedal Commander on his dashboard starts throwing all types of codes as did mine. Mine started with saying my parking brake was on and then the traction control light came on along with some of my off road lights. The throttle dies and I'm sitting on the side of the road.

I will uninstall Pedal Commander tomorrow and see if that will fix anything. I imagine I will have to reset the ECU which I think for our rigs means pulling the negative battery terminal cable off for 15 minutes.

Thank you for mentioning this. It sounds exactly like what I experienced.
 
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78-FJ40 said:
Dude I owe you a beer! I did some research on the Pedal Commander and you were right. I found the thread you mentioned then I started researching on YouTube and sure enough I ran across this video. This guy apparantly created a competitive product to Pedal Commander but in the video he goes into a lot of detail in how his is different from Pedal Commander. : NEW PedalMonster Makes Driving FUN Again - YouTube

If you skip to the 6:20 mark where he turns Pedal Commander on his dashboard starts throwing all types of codes as did mine. Mine started with saying my parking brake was on and then the traction control light came on along with some of my off road lights. The throttle dies and I'm sitting on the side of the road.

I will uninstall Pedal Commander tomorrow and see if that will fix anything. I imagine I will have to reset the ECU which I think for our rigs means pulling the negative battery terminal cable off for 15 minutes.

Thank you for mentioning this. It sounds exactly like what I experienced.
Click to expand...


Following to see how this goes...
 
78-FJ40 - You're welcome. I hope this resolves the issue; however I don't think the pedal commander is causing the alternator issue, and checking out the charging system would be a good idea IMHO. With Winter coming, battery/charging systems will be under more stress and any issues will amplify. Checking for rodent wiring damage (due in part to soy based wire insulation) is a good idea too.

I think pedal commander problems are due to compatibility issues. Some folks have no problems with it; while others experience odd occurrences. If I had to guess I'd say it's a software problem depending on what software is running in any vehicle. Make, model and year all have differences in the software that drives and connects all the computers via the buss system that connects them together. Not sure there is a fix for this, as it would be tough for any eternal maker (like Pedal Commander) to keep up with all these differences and changes.
 
flyrv9 said:
78-FJ40 - You're welcome. I hope this resolves the issue; however I don't think the pedal commander is causing the alternator issue, and checking out the charging system would be a good idea IMHO. With Winter coming, battery/charging systems will be under more stress and any issues will amplify. Checking for rodent wiring damage (due in part to soy based wire insulation) is a good idea too.

I think pedal commander problems are due to compatibility issues. Some folks have no problems with it; while others experience odd occurrences. If I had to guess I'd say it's a software problem depending on what software is running in any vehicle. Make, model and year all have differences in the software that drives and connects all the computers via the buss system that connects them together. Not sure there is a fix for this, as it would be tough for any eternal maker (like Pedal Commander) to keep up with all these differences and changes.
Click to expand...

Update. Definitely a dead alternator and it makes no sense. I had never experienced any issues with my rig until I installed the POS Pedal Commander. I uninstalled it today and replaced the alternator. There is no damage from anything to my wiring and I'm under my rig every 3k miles changing the oil so I frequently inspect it.

Bottom line is the Pedal Commander most definitely did something to the ECU. Not sure if you saw the above post I made where I linked to the video of one of their competitors but that was exactly what was happening. Anyway. It's off now.
 
<<<< said:
Autozone can check your alternator while in the car. It shouldn't go bad but doesn't hurt to check. I suspect you have a short circuit somewhere in the system. If you park outside, check your harness (it may be chewed up by rodents).
Click to expand...

Autozone :lmao:
 
78-FJ40 it would be interesting to see what the problem with the alternator was. Do you know? Usually alternator issues are either the diode assy, worn brushes or a bad bearing that squeals or makes a grinding noise. It used to be pretty easy to fix those problems; but parts are getting hard to find. Glad you resolved the problem.
 
mud has been known to kill 5th gen alternators pretty quickly, do you do a lot of offroading in muddy areas?
 
you could still be under warranty. if you bring it to the dealership, they might replace it for free.

78-FJ40 said:
Update. Definitely a dead alternator and it makes no sense. I had never experienced any issues with my rig until I installed the POS Pedal Commander. I uninstalled it today and replaced the alternator. There is no damage from anything to my wiring and I'm under my rig every 3k miles changing the oil so I frequently inspect it.

Bottom line is the Pedal Commander most definitely did something to the ECU. Not sure if you saw the above post I made where I linked to the video of one of their competitors but that was exactly what was happening. Anyway. It's off now.
Click to expand...
 
78-FJ40 said:
Wondering if any other forum members have experienced the below scenario.

I have a 2017 T4R TRD PRO with approximately 40,000 miles on it. No accessories like a winch. Only mods have been to replace yellow bulbs with LEDs about 2 years ago and about 2 weeks ago I installed the Pedal Commander (highly recommend).

Anyway...2 days ago while driving my entire instrument cluster started flickering, then the speedo went completely dead and the engine just shut off. I coasted to the side of the road and could not get the engine to turn over.

Someone finally pulled over and gave me a jump and I was able to make it another mile or so before the same thing happened. I made it to a local AutoZone and bought a new high crank amp battery for $200. Made my way back to my rig and installed it on the side of the road. Truck started up just fine.

Fast forward to today and the exact same thing happened again so it must be the alternator, right?

My question is has anyone else had their alternator go out so quickly? 40K miles on a 3 yr old truck is and the alternator is already bad? That's ridiculous.

I tried to pull the fuse for the alternator to see if it was blown but I could not get the fuse out. WTF is so hard about the alternator fuse to remove. It's a fuse. Little research shows you have to pull the fuse box apart to get to some screws? Anyone have an idea on how to get the fuse out?

Anyway...if anyone has any insight I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Amazon.com: KONNWEI KW600 12V 100-2000 CCA 220AH Car Battery Load Tester Professional Automotive Alternator Analyzer - Waveform Voltage Test for Car/Boat/Motorcycle: Automotive
 
78-FJ40 said:
Wondering if any other forum members have experienced the below scenario.

I have a 2017 T4R TRD PRO with approximately 40,000 miles on it. No accessories like a winch. Only mods have been to replace yellow bulbs with LEDs about 2 years ago and about 2 weeks ago I installed the Pedal Commander (highly recommend).

Anyway...2 days ago while driving my entire instrument cluster started flickering, then the speedo went completely dead and the engine just shut off. I coasted to the side of the road and could not get the engine to turn over.

Someone finally pulled over and gave me a jump and I was able to make it another mile or so before the same thing happened. I made it to a local AutoZone and bought a new high crank amp battery for $200. Made my way back to my rig and installed it on the side of the road. Truck started up just fine.

Fast forward to today and the exact same thing happened again so it must be the alternator, right?

My question is has anyone else had their alternator go out so quickly? 40K miles on a 3 yr old truck is and the alternator is already bad? That's ridiculous.

I tried to pull the fuse for the alternator to see if it was blown but I could not get the fuse out. WTF is so hard about the alternator fuse to remove. It's a fuse. Little research shows you have to pull the fuse box apart to get to some screws? Anyone have an idea on how to get the fuse out?

Anyway...if anyone has any insight I would appreciate it. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Amazon.com: KONNWEI KW600 12V 100-2000 CCA 220AH Car Battery Load Tester Professional Automotive Alternator Analyzer - Waveform Voltage Test for Car/Boat/Motorcycle: Automotive
 
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