So I have a 1996 4Runner Limited and today while driving my battery light came on. Everything still seemed fine, then after a few miles my ABS light came on as well, and the RPM gauge stopped working. Then the airbag light came on too, my headlights and instrument panel became dimmer and dimmer, my wipers and power windows became significantly slower, and the entire car started to feel "sluggish" (acceleration, steering and braking). By the time I neared my house I was barely able to get the vehicle to move at all, limping along at about 2 miles an hour (even pressing the gas pedal down all the way), and there was a loud, irregular popping sound coming from the engine. I turned the headlights off and that instantly fixed the acceleration problem enough to get me the last couple of blocks to my house. I don't know much about mechanical issues, but from what I researched so far it looks like I may have a failing alternator? I'm just hoping to get some advice before taking it into the shop, as I'm on a very VERY tight budget. Thanks!
HELP! Everything seeming to fail at once!
- Thread starter edawgg34
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asahi4runner
New member
Charge the battery up and see if the alternator is charging and I'd not check all relay and fuses.
4runnerAzGuy
New member
yea sounds like alternator died to me. If you have a meter id check ur voltage on the batter. Check it after it sits all night to make sure it holds around 12 volts, if its way lower after sitting a while then ur battery is probably bad. Then start ur truck and check the battery voltage again ur voltage should be like 13.5-14 something if the voltage doesnt go up then it means that the alternator is probably bad and not charging.
quick and easy test i usually use to figure out if its the alt or battery
quick and easy test i usually use to figure out if its the alt or battery
