reed1285
New member
Hey whats up everybody. New guy from TN here. Ive gotten alot of info from the past on the forum and finally decided to join.
First...some specs. I have a 95 sr5 runner with the 3.0 v6 and an auto tranny. It has a 4" lift with 35" mud terrains on it. Im still learning alot about 4 wheel drives as I go, as this is my first one. I converted over from the tuner scene haha. My last ride/project was a 95 240sx with a turboed ka motor. So again, this is my first 4x4 and Im loving it so far.
Now on to the issue im having im hoping someone can help me with. Ive hasd the runner for about 5 months now and when I got it all was well except for some transfer case oil leaks, nothing to big. well after about 3 months I got up one morning and went to start it and nothing happened. the battery was COMPLETELY drained. the interior lights didnt come on, didnt hear and buzzing or anything, nothing. So I went and bought a new battery. Ran great for 2 days then bam, same thing happened. So I automatically think the alternator is bad. Pop it off and take it and have it tested and sure enough its bad. A day later I was scrounging around on craigslist and find a takeoff alternator from a 95 sr5 for 20 bucks in "as is" condition. what the hell for 20 bucks its worth a try. Go pick it up it tests good. Heck yeah...right? Not so. put it on the runner, charge the now 3day old battery to full charge. Starts up and runs great, this time for about 5 days before going dead...again.
So now im starting to think I have a ground issue somewhere. Quite possibly on the alternator. Here is my potentially stupid question. The alternator on a 95 DOES have a dedicated ground wire on the alternator...right? I didnt think twice about it until now because when I pulled the old alternator off, there was no ground wire, just the hot wire and the electrical plug. Maybe the ground burned off? Also, where does the ground wire hook to on the alternator? The only place I can see is a tiny little post on top of it.
Anways, sorry for writing this book of a thread, I just wanted to tell you guys the whole deal and maybe get a better understanding of whats going on. Thanks for any help. I will post picks up of her as soon as I get this issue fixed.
First...some specs. I have a 95 sr5 runner with the 3.0 v6 and an auto tranny. It has a 4" lift with 35" mud terrains on it. Im still learning alot about 4 wheel drives as I go, as this is my first one. I converted over from the tuner scene haha. My last ride/project was a 95 240sx with a turboed ka motor. So again, this is my first 4x4 and Im loving it so far.
Now on to the issue im having im hoping someone can help me with. Ive hasd the runner for about 5 months now and when I got it all was well except for some transfer case oil leaks, nothing to big. well after about 3 months I got up one morning and went to start it and nothing happened. the battery was COMPLETELY drained. the interior lights didnt come on, didnt hear and buzzing or anything, nothing. So I went and bought a new battery. Ran great for 2 days then bam, same thing happened. So I automatically think the alternator is bad. Pop it off and take it and have it tested and sure enough its bad. A day later I was scrounging around on craigslist and find a takeoff alternator from a 95 sr5 for 20 bucks in "as is" condition. what the hell for 20 bucks its worth a try. Go pick it up it tests good. Heck yeah...right? Not so. put it on the runner, charge the now 3day old battery to full charge. Starts up and runs great, this time for about 5 days before going dead...again.
So now im starting to think I have a ground issue somewhere. Quite possibly on the alternator. Here is my potentially stupid question. The alternator on a 95 DOES have a dedicated ground wire on the alternator...right? I didnt think twice about it until now because when I pulled the old alternator off, there was no ground wire, just the hot wire and the electrical plug. Maybe the ground burned off? Also, where does the ground wire hook to on the alternator? The only place I can see is a tiny little post on top of it.
Anways, sorry for writing this book of a thread, I just wanted to tell you guys the whole deal and maybe get a better understanding of whats going on. Thanks for any help. I will post picks up of her as soon as I get this issue fixed.
