electrical issue please help soon

96runner

New member
ok im at a loss here
the symptoms: charging light flickers then the abs light comes on and stays on if the cabin blower is on it kicks up. then this morning it happens and my headlights go dim then out so i flipped the brights on and they did the same. now the headlights dont work and the running lights as well.
before you ask: yes i have led bulbs in one set of my lights the rear turns and yes i have pulled my alternator off and had it bench tested it passed three times.

So where soes this leave me besides without a ride to school and work until i fix it.

ANY help is greatly appreciated guys

Jeremy
 
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also my 3rd brakelight is out
could a combo of that and the rear led turns be causing a problem

if so why the hell are my headlights and running lights still not working

could it have fried the headlight relay
im confused for sure now
 
Your situation is very strange. I would replace your 3rd brake light to start with. Did you have a regular bulb in here to start with?

Are you saying you have LED tail lights or have you put LED bulbs into just the turn signals?
 
the third brake bulb was fried it melted
so ill replace it and do away with the led turn bulbs

i still dont see a corelation between this issue and my headlights and parking lights failing

i checked for shorted wires and bench tested the alt. im still without a ride and ive got a baby due tomorrow
 
i replaced my led turn bulbs with 7440's and replaced my 3rd brake bulb today. i also tried the new headlight relay to no avail it turns out the old one was good.

my headlights still arent working or my running lights either
i noticed the white wire is corroded that leads to the fuse panel under the hood
will low voltage cause bulbs to burn out the relay didnt fix it so i have to assume that the bulbs are burned out
 
ok i checked the headlight and running light bulbs they are blown
they have zero continuity. also i hooked up tje volt meter to the batt and watched as i revved the engine heres what happened:

just after start up as i watched the abs and charging light come on the voltage jumped to 17.35 at idle. it also seemed to drop the idle a little too maybe 25-50 rpm. then as i revved it got up around 19.9 volts so i let it idle again then it wntt down to 14.4 volts as it did the idle seemed to bump back up by 25-50 rpm. the lights of course stayed on in the dash as expected so i let idle and come up to temp.

after reching operating temp i revved again for 5-8 mins and nothing happened so i revved again for 4 mins then the volts all of a sudden jumped up again to around 20. so it is much harder to replicate after the engine is warm.

heres what i think you tell me if im wrong:
1. overcharging caused the bulbs to burn out.
2. the alternater is going bad more specifically the regulator.
3. im gonna have to buy a new alternator and $40 worth of bulbs

if there could be anything else that would cause this thing to overcharge let me know b4 i blow this $200
 
how are your terminals on your batt? maybe a weak connection and spikes and drops at times, do you ever have problems starting the car? or is it a slow crank?
 
quit buying generic auto parts store alternators, and either get a real toyota one, new or used, either is better than the junk sold at those generic stores, or find a starter alternator place, and have them replace the regulator, its not at all hard to do on the toyota alts.
 
i tested the battery and it sits around 12.37 all the time when its not being charged by the alt. i didnt buy an alt yet this is the stock alt with 215000 miles on it so thats pretty impressive in itsself
 
if thats the case then just find a rebuild shop, and have them sell you a regulator, they should be able to change it while you wait, or you can do it yourself rather easily as well. should only run around $40 and you get to keep the original toyota alternator as well.
 
i got the bulbs 2nite so ill keep you posted i should have it done 2morrow i hope like hell this fixes my problem if this isnt it im calling an exorcist
 
I had trouble like this once on an old Ford I had. Turns out the motor wasn't grounded right. I had a starter put in and they disconnected a strap that isu supposed to be attached to the frame. Anyway, my lights were acting strange similar to this. I replaced the voltage regulator and all sorts of parts. Finally a friend figured it out for me.
 
appreciate the help
hope this helps someone in the future
but it will only work if they know how to use the search button
 

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