Pushed to its limits and she gave up

[othompson824]

Hey guys i got a question about what exactly happened to my 4R

So today we launched my grammas boat with it. It weighs close to 5000lbs and I got the V6 model so I was very much using every piece of strength that truck has. Anyways, we drove around a half hour to the lake, launched it, then my parents drove the trailer a half hour back, and then one more half hour back home. After exiting the freeway, about 10 minutes from my house (this is what my parents said happened, I was not with them) the battery light turned on, then the e-brake and abs, and all sorts of others. The headlights also turned off and the rear windshield wiper was turning on and off. Eventually the car was going super slow, RPMs going up and super far down over and over till it died. My dad also said could smell something in the engine bay, not exactly sure what. After it died it seemed like the battery was pretty low, enough for dim lights but not to turn over.

We had to pull it back with my buddies truck. Im wondering what could've happened? Maybe the alternator went out which caused the battery to die? Those 220k miles are starting to show. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

btw battery is slightly over a year old

 

[AuSeeker]

Did you check and see if the serpentine belt broke?

If the belt is fine then I would say the alternator went out and the battery died.

If the alternator did go bad it also could have damaged the battery, first I would charge the battery then check the voltage it should be around 12.5ish volts and if it will crank and seem to run OK, then check the voltage again while running it should be around 14.5ish volt, if the voltage is not 14.5ish replace the alternator.

The rear wiper coming on and back off by itself is a common sign of a low battery on T4Rs.

220,000 miles is only around 1/2 to 2/3 of the life of the engine, the rest of the parts in the engine bay are maintenance items and do need to be replaced at some point!

 

[JBR14]

Did you check and see if the serpentine belt broke?

If the belt is fine then I would say the alternator went out and the battery died.

If the alternator did go bad it also could have damaged the battery, first I would charge the battery then check the voltage it should be around 12.5ish volts and if it will crank and seem to run OK, then check the voltage again while running it should be around 14.5ish volt, if the voltage is not 14.5ish replace the alternator.

The rear wiper coming on and back off by itself is a common sign of a low battery on T4Rs.

220,000 miles is only around 1/2 to 2/3 of the life of the engine, the rest of the parts in the engine bay are maintenance items and do need to be replaced at some point!

Ditto. Sounds like it was running off straight battery for a bit. Like he said, belt or alternator.

 

[Rice400]

Good luck!

 

[Rocko9999]

Any updates?

 

[AuSeeker]

Any updates?

The OP hasn't been on the forum since he posted this topic, he hasn't seen any of the replies, maybe he'll stop in and update the topic!

 

[othompson824]

Any updates?

Good news! So i checked the alternator with a volt meter and by taking the positive connection off while it was running to see if it would die or keep running. Both tests showed the alternator was faulty so I took it to a shop to get it replaced. They did some deeper testing and confirmed my hypothesis. I got a new alternator now and the car runs like new! Thanks for all the input!

 

[Ecidemon]

Thanks for all the input!

I'm so sorry.. but that's what your battery said