Topic: alternator, battery or regulator???

[rsty1]

i have an 88 toyota pickup and for some reason when i try driving anywhere my battery dies within the first km. ive started the truck with the battery out to check the alternator and the truck still ran. i took the battery out and charged it fully and let it sit to see if it lost its charge on its own for some reason and it seems to be fine a 12.5 volts. ive recently installed a 600w amp and a sub and i thought maybe this was the root of the problem but when i disconnected it completely it still wasnt working. when the battery was out i boosted the truck and it ran, i turned on my stereo(with tthe amp hooked up) and it still didnt die, i then turned the wipers on and then the headlights. when the headlights turned on the truck started to die by then it was running for about 15 mins. Also whenever the base hit from my sub the lights on my dash would dim. could this just be a bad alternator?
thanks.

[jimbo74]

just because it ran without a battery doesnt mean the alt is good


if it isnt putting out 14.6 volts while running, there is a problem, and thus why your battery is dieing

[Rocksurfer]

There may be a short in the battery, if a piece of a plate breaks free and periodically wedges between other plates it will short it out. Take it to Walmart and have them check the battery, they do it for free. The machine they use is dee, dee, dee proof. I'm thinking you'll find either a dead cell or a short in the battery.

[rsty1 [OP]]

alright thanks for the advice