[Dick Foster]

Mine does. Not full power but still enough to maintain charge with the headlights, heater etc. on and it is a direct bolt in fit.

BTW No alternator that I've ever seen puts out full power at idle.

You might also want to consider upgrading to a gm 140 amp alternator rather the Boyle. It's almost a bolt in swap. Upgraded alternator for the 5vz-fe ('02 Tacoma) - Expedition Portal)

My Boyle Toyota alternator doesn't put out enough juice at idle to charge the battery, much less run the winch.

 

[gregers05]

You might also want to consider upgrading to a gm 140 amp alternator rather the Boyle. It's almost a bolt in swap. Upgraded alternator for the 5vz-fe ('02 Tacoma) - Expedition Portal)

My Boyle Toyota alternator doesn't put out enough juice at idle to charge the battery, much less run the winch.

thanks, ill look into it. If its cheaper, I may go this route.

Mine does. Not full power but still enough to maintain charge with the headlights, heater etc. on and it is a direct bolt in fit.

BTW No alternator that I've ever seen puts out full power at idle.

Yeah they never put out anything close to full power at idle.

 

[gregers05]

Ironically, I let my truck sit in the driveway for a week without the charger on it, and went to go start it fully expecting the battery to be dead (because it usually is dead after a week), but it started right up. It had just under 12V with the truck turned off.

Apparently my winching and blown alternator fuse escapade fixed my battery drain issues somehow. Any ideas? I didnt change anything but the fuse.

All the more reason to not fix stuff right away. Leave it sitting there broken for a little bit and it may fix itself!

 

[Dick Foster]

I didnt change anything but the fuse.

All the more reason to not fix stuff right away. Leave it sitting there broken for a little bit and it may fix itself!

I'm sure that's a famous last word somewhere. I suppose the tooth fairy still visits you too. LOL

 

[gregers05]

I'm sure that's a famous last word somewhere. I suppose the tooth fairy still visits you too. LOL

Actually it does visit me, but it just makes my money disappear instead of giving me some. On a positive note, it lets me keep my teeth

 

[Dick Foster]

Actually it does visit me, but it just makes my money disappear instead of giving me some. On a positive note, it lets me keep my teeth

For now maybe. Just wait a few years and he'll likely get around to that too. WTF does he do with all those teeth anyway?

 

[TacoDell]

just need to bump the rpm's up a little
so the alternator can produce more power.

bicycle parts gets it done

depending on your alt. winding/idle output
900 - 1500 rpm would be an reasonable goal

The Boyle rewind is wound so the peak idle output
begans nearer 900 - 1100 rpm If I remember.



even have a video... but not :driving: it

https://youtu.be/VrDpAhVujdM

I can use ^ this as a crusie/throttle control too
^ risky function for the stupid tho'

 

[Dick Foster]

Interesting I have something like that under the hood that I use for welding. I have cruise control so don't need anything in the cab. Not too sure I'd use it on the road either. My tractor has a hand throttle but it tops out at 13-14 MPH in high high and full throttle.

 

[gregers05]

I have thought about the hand throttle, but really dont think I would use it enough to warrant putting the work in for one.


Unfortunately, my battery not holding a charge issue has returned. Oh well.

 

[gregers05]

so traced my power draw down to the OBD fuse. draw was at .130 and when I pulled the fuse it dropped down to .03ish. What is normal draw?

Culprit looks like the scan gage. I plugged the fuse back in, jumped up to .130 again, then I unplugged the scan gage and went down to .03. Really strange that the scan gage is doing that. The display isnt on or anything when the truck is off. May need to shoot an email to scan gage.

 

[yotancycles29]

Disconnect the battery see if it goes dead? IDK how to check current draw without an ammeter as you've described. This is cheesy but the spark created at the terminal when disconnecting my indicate if you have a small or large draw of power..

The optima on my truck gets drained when j don't use it so I keep it unplugged until I use it

 

[gregers05]

yeah, that is definitely an option, but its annoying when you have to reset everything every time you go to drive it. Optima wouldnt hold a charge uplugged anyways. I will never own another optima. Just had the 3rd one go bad in 3 years. Warranty is expired now and I am not paying $250 for a POS yellow top again. Going to give the AGM Diehard a try from sears for half the price of an optima.

 

[gregers05]

So my power woes continue. Sent the scan gauge back for repair, they replaced the computer board and the LCD screen. It is still drawing 100mA with the truck off. So need to email them back again about sending it back a second time.

I have also found that the 'Dome' fuse is also drawing ~100mA. I assumed this fuse was just the dome light. Unfortuneately it is not. It appears to control all the buzzers and dings in addition to the radio. So the short for that could be in anything. Whats the best way to track it down after I have found what fuse the short is in?

 

[TRoss]

Sheesh.. I'm gonna say radio. I know it's a pain but disconnect it and see if the drain goes away... ??? You have to isolate each circuit somehow to figure it out.

 

[TacoDell]

pull the fuse ?

re-fresh all your grounds ?

 

[gregers05]

Sheesh.. I'm gonna say radio. I know it's a pain but disconnect it and see if the drain goes away... ??? You have to isolate each circuit somehow to figure it out.

yeah, that doesn't excite me the least bit.

pull the fuse ?

re-fresh all your grounds ?

fuses are pulled for now. Isn't there only one main ground that goes to the engine block?

 

[TacoDell]

I'm not familiar with all of the grounds
and would need refer to the FSM for further clarification.

It is likely not the same, dependant on installed engine.

My 3.4L engine block is ground to the firewall
and is the primary engine block ground.

Tho' the battery's negative also needs be properly grounded
in order for the body to be utilized as a ground source.

Besides checking for the ground wire's continuity...
The ground surface - tab needs be clean
and be making an sufficient contact (ground).

Faulty wires, corrosion, looseness or even some paint reapplied
can hamper - reduce those grounding capabilities.

Got the FSM for the electronics of your particular vehicle ?

I trickle charge my trucks Optima(s) every other week
because my truck sits idle alot of the time.

But I really don't see much discharge when sitting idle.
So might assume I have little residual discharge occurring
besides maybe the clock.

My reasoning for the trickle charge...
is because I don't drive it often enough
that the alternator has an insufficient amount of time
to charge the battery(s) fully during the short drives
that usually see the AC and radio running.

I use the cheap butt harbor freight trickle chargers.
and they seem to work for me.
However... I have had to repair (re-solder)
the connections to the alligator clips.

 

[gregers05]

I will have to find the FSM, thought i had it at one point, but havent used it in so long, idk if I still have it.


I did have mine on a trickle charger while the battery was draining, but since I pulled the fuses that have the shorts in them, it started right up after sitting for about 3 weeks.

I'm not familiar with all of the grounds
and would need refer to the FSM for further clarification.

It is likely not the same, dependant on installed engine.

My 3.4L engine block is ground to the firewall
and is the primary engine block ground.

Tho' the battery's negative also needs be properly grounded
in order for the body to be utilized as a ground source.

Besides checking for the ground wire's continuity...
The ground surface - tab needs be clean
and be making an sufficient contact (ground).

Faulty wires, corrosion, looseness or even some paint reapplied
can hamper - reduce those grounding capabilities.

Got the FSM for the electronics of your particular vehicle ?

I trickle charge my trucks Optima(s) every other week
because my truck sits idle alot of the time.

But I really don't see much discharge when sitting idle.
So might assume I have little residual discharge occurring
besides maybe the clock.

My reasoning for the trickle charge...
is because I don't drive it often enough
that the alternator has an insufficient amount of time
to charge the battery(s) fully during the short drives
that usually see the AC and radio running.

I use the cheap butt harbor freight trickle chargers.
and they seem to work for me.
However... I have had to repair (re-solder)
the connections to the alligator clips.

 

[TacoDell]

I did have mine on a trickle charger while the battery was draining, but since I pulled the fuses that have the shorts in them, it started right up after sitting for about 3 weeks.

gotcha... so the correction is finding/repairing shorts - fault.

yeah I hate trying to decipher/correct electrical problems.
mostly 'cause I'm not good at it. Lol

but at least you've narrowed that down a little.