My 2014 4Runner isn't charging the battery?

[Theomoji]

Hey so I've upgraded my car's battery with a 765 CCA from Walmart just a year ago.

Left my car undriven for 3 weeks, and yesterday the battery had little to no charge and had to use a jump starter to start the car. Then I went out for groceries for like 3 hours, over 50-60 miles total. That should of charged the battery to full already.

Then this morning the car didn't start. So I had to use a jump starter again.

Is this the alternator not charging?
The battery light indicator isn't lighting up or anything. So I'm really curious if it's the alternator?

P.S.
I do have 2 small off road spot lights that are connected to 24/7 fuse (has power even when the car is off). This might be draining the battery, but I doubt it should drain so much that just the second day it runs out?

UPDATE: Just tested my battery with a multimeter and only showed 10.2. I had to jump start the car, and kept it around 2k RPM and only saw 13.9 and would drop down very quickly to 13.5 or lower if I no longer stepped on the gas. So I'm thinking this is a battery issue?

Update part 2.
My dash cams are hard wired and I only set battery protection till March, so today I went and added battery protection for all months. The cars battery is now sitting at 12 flat (previous revving charged it a little), and can now start on its own. I hope it’s mostly fixed now. I’m heading out tomorrow for a long Highway drive to see if the battery can charge and hold charge. Thanks everyone for commenting.

 

[Seymore Butts]

Your lights and/or some other equipment are draining the battery when the vehicle is parked. Each time the battery is drained, it permanently loses some of its total charge capacity.

50-60 miles of errands is not going to recharge a dead battery, only a charger can do that.

As far as your charging voltage, it should be no less than 13.2 at idle, and between 13.2 - 14.2 when driving.

 

[fourwd1]

With all the electronic ECMs, etc that today's vehicles have, sitting unused for 3 weeks could easily drain a battery enough for it be too weak to start.

Driving 50-60 miles would charge it if 1) it was all highway speed and 2) it was constant. Running errands sounds like a lot of stops and starts, which would drain the battery even more every time you restarted the engine.

The alternator puts out more current at higher RPMs, which is why the voltage dropped when you weren't revving the engine. And that's why a long trip at highway speeds charges faster and better.

A good, charged battery is typically 12.6V engine off, and at least 13.8V when running and charging.

 

[fourwd1]

A good, charged battery is typically 12.6V engine off, and at least 13.8V when running and charging.

And with the newer "smart" charging systems, in operation the alternator is not always "on" and "charging". It's ECM will put the alt in charge mode (~13.8V) when needed and it may just be 12.6V when not needed. If you checked battery voltage when it's not in charge mode you'd only see ~12.6V if it's a good battery.

IDK if your 2014 has this smart charging system or not.

 

[Seymore Butts]

IDK if your 2014 has this smart charging system or not.

It doesn't.

 

[ElectroBoy]

Hey so I've upgraded my car's battery with a 765 CCA from Walmart just a year ago.

Left my car undriven for 3 weeks, and yesterday the battery had little to no charge and had to use a jump starter to start the car. Then I went out for groceries for like 3 hours, over 50-60 miles total. That should of charged the battery to full already.

Then this morning the car didn't start. So I had to use a jump starter again.

Is this the alternator not charging?
The battery light indicator isn't lighting up or anything. So I'm really curious if it's the alternator?

P.S.
I do have 2 small off road spot lights that are connected to 24/7 fuse (has power even when the car is off). This might be draining the battery, but I doubt it should drain so much that just the second day it runs out?

UPDATE: Just tested my battery with a multimeter and only showed 10.2. I had to jump start the car, and kept it around 2k RPM and only saw 13.9 and would drop down very quickly to 13.5 or lower if I no longer stepped on the gas. So I'm thinking this is a battery issue?

Update part 2.
My dash cams are hard wired and I only set battery protection till March, so today I went and added battery protection for all months. The cars battery is now sitting at 12 flat (previous revving charged it a little), and can now start on its own. I hope it’s mostly fixed now. I’m heading out tomorrow for a long Highway drive to see if the battery can charge and hold charge. Thanks everyone for commenting.

Test your standby (parasitic) current when the engine is off. Toyota’s spec for stock is 50 mA or less. I suspect your constant on cameras and other gear are drawing a lot more than that and it’s killing your battery. If you’re not driving it much use a battery maintainer, or re-think your power setup.

 

[USStrongman]

People get offended when I use this old school term. Its a military term that helps soldiers understand that the simplest solution is usually the correct and easiest one - KISS principal:

Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

Go have your battery load tested at any Pep Boys, Auto Zone, etc. to determine if it is or is not a battery issue. If it load tests fine, then work your way backward with any electronics you've installed for parasytic draw.