Bad alternator?

Was driving Tuesday, everything was fine, it was driving fine, woke up Wednesday to see the battery light on and the dash reading at 1/4 for the battery gauge. Took a OBD scanner to it and it was reading 11.75 volts and a bad alternator, it said the battery was good, tried charging the battery last night, nothing changed, tried taking it to oreiley's and they couldn't help either.. any idea? Do I really need a new alternator or am I missing something? Also, is it safe to drive on that low of voltage?

Thanks!

 

Any corrosion on the terminals? In the wires? Did the battery take a charge?

 

brand new battery (under a year) and it was very corroded before, but was cleaned and is now clean.
I'll check the wires
yes it started at %32 and watched it rise, as far as holding it, un sure

 

Did you try cleaning the terminals? Try the easiest and least expensive, and in this case the most likely culprit first.

 

I'll go check it out now, ill take a couple pics too thanks

 

You can test output on the alternator pretty easily. I'd start there AFTER you remove and clean terminals.

If you do replace it, make sure you get the Denso brand in 130A flavor. Or if you want a plug-and-play upgrade, get the Denso 150A from the Sequoia in the same year.

Install is easy enough. May as well update the drive/serpentine belt while in there if yours hasn't been done in a couple dozen-K miles. Install is easy, some tips:

• Remove the forward passenger splash apron for easy access to the wiring of the alternator
• Bonus: If you want really easy access, remove the passenger wheel too
• Alt shares a bolt or two with the power steering pump; you'll remove one shared bolt, and need to loosen another to shift the PS pump forward enough to get the alternator out
• Plan for 60-90 minutes work, with about 20 of that probably being you finagling and futzing with the belt ... I posted tips on that around here somewhere....

 

Here are some pics!

 

Definitely some aftermarket cables there. What's under the rubber sleeves ~8" from the terminal?

 

I think electrical tape, my friend replaced my battery and had to cut some wires, unsure why but its had no issues until now

edit: I think he had to cut them because they were very corroded, the previous battery had greenish corrosion everywhere, it was pretty bad, to the point where it was getting everywhere underneath

 

Sounds suspect. I'd be eyeballing the shit out of what's under there, making sure it's clean etc.

And ffs, get some felt washers and dielectric grease on those terminals.

 

also while i have you guys, is it safe to drive like this? currently broke atm but get paid next week, can fix it then, but can i drive it like this until then? Thanks

 

If you're cool with potentially getting stranded, sure, why not?!

Bring jumper cables w/you.

 

Your battery will run dead then you'll be stuck. Jumper cables may start the truck but it'll probably die. You could keep driving if you plug it in to a battery charger every time you're not driving.

 

Also, if it's a connectivity issue, jumper cables won't help.

 

Just since I noticed this, how old is your brake fluid? Looks kind of dark, I'd replace that too. Also, I do believe that the Duralast Gold alternator at Autozone is a rebuilt Denso. Not saying the bearings and bushes are the same quality, but if you keep your old one you may be able to replace your bearings and bushings in it then you have a spare.

 

@shifty` do you have a spot that can get the denso unit? I looked for the tundra and sequoia this morning on Rockauto. They have an 80 or 100 in denso but no 130 or 150 option.

 

Search Results | DENSO Auto Parts

 

Here are the Denso part numbers you'll be hunting for on the 130 and 150. I see the 150 is out of stock at RA and even out of stock at Denso's own website. I see a seller on fleabay "ChasinParts" with a high rating with lots of feedback that has one at a good price, but ... fleabay.

​

 

Also call your local NAPA as they carry the reman Denso units.

 

Shit, I forgot about that. Someone had luck this way recently. It seems like NAPA stock of Denso is hit or miss, but on the stuff they carry, they can get it in within 24-48 hours. Comes at a premium though.

 

You can also consider just replacing the alternator brushes, the primary wear part. About $12 - $15 for the genuine Toyota part. I've done it time and again over the decades and my 1997 T-100 daily driver (on it's 3rd set of brushes) at 280,000 miles still rocks-and-rolls on the original alternator. Toyota doesn't list them as "brushes" but something more like "holder" or something like that (sorry I don't have the exact part description).

Here's what a set of Toyota truck alternator brushes look like:

 

130 out of stock on RA :/

 

Both are out of stock with Denso also. So the reality is, they're short on parts. Call NAPA, see if they have either the part starting in 210 and ending in -1065 or -1066. They may be able to source. Your best luck will be finding someone sitting on warehouse stock. This seems to be happening more frequently with Denso.

Alternative is to order brand new from Toyota. My guess is, Toyota never runs out of stock, partially because Denso ensures Toyota never runs out of stock, they probably have a threshold Toyota won't ever go below, and will deplete all extra stock to make sure they don't

 

Found this on sparks parts... idk how to link Pic on mobile so here's PN

(27060-0F040-84)

 

If I were you, I'd confirm at the EPC-DATA site: https://www.tundras.com/threads/howto-use-the-toyota-parts-system-to-find-order-parts.113808/

They'll give you your exact needs based on VIN. But that said, still, be careful and confirm the part you're ordering is 130A if you're going thru a stealership.

 

Looks like it matches with that link you sent me... doesn't have the "84" at the end but the rest matches. And they're asking 1600 lol

 

"-84" suffix means "reman"

 

Thanks!

 

"Ourisman" claims to have it in stock:

https://toyotaparts.ourismantoyotaofrichmond.com/oem-parts/toyota-alternator-270600f04084