Alternator Blues!

[Tofudude]

Well my charge light and brake light both came on (86 22r). i assumed it was the charge relay getting stuck, because this has happend previous times before and like previous times it would go away with a high RPM and then eventually would stop turning on, but now its been on for about a week and normally it goes away on a drive on the free way. I'm not sure if the alternator is bad or if its something else. Any suggestions?

[junya92toy]

Time for new brushes

[4RunnerChevy]

Like Jerry said, its the alternator.  If its happening intermittent, my guess is brushes or bearings.  If your a do it yourself, then replace the brushes, if not then go get a high quality one. 

[Snowtoy]

Grab your volt meter and test the output of the alternator at the battery.  It should be between 14-15 volts if the alt. is working correctly.  If you don't have a volt meter, run by an auto parts store or sears automotive, they can test the alt on the vehicle, if you don't want to pull it.

Check your area for an electric engine repair shop, my local one charged me less than $80 to completely rebuild my old one w/non chinese electronics.

[junya92toy]

volts not amps

[kneedownnate]

Time for new brushes

Ditto, exactly what my 91 kept doing for a couple months or more.  Got the brushes super cheap through toyota and swapped out the completely used up originals.  Hardest part of the job was pulling the alternator!

[Tofudude]

ALright cool, told my instructor and he said he'll be able to rebuild it for me at his shop. On a side note though, i took my truck over to autozone and when they tested it the alternator came up fine except for the voltage regulator. Would that cause the same symptoms?

[junya92toy]

Dunno, mine keeps testing funky too, never touched it in years, works fine

[Sparkplug]

yes, the alternator you have is internally regulated. The regulator is like 25 bucks, and is stupid simple to replace. I just did this on my 3rd gen

[junya92toy]

I dont notice anything wrong, so why screw with it?

[Snowtoy]

volts not amps

Corrected

[Tofudude]

yes, the alternator you have is internally regulated. The regulator is like 25 bucks, and is stupid simple to replace. I just did this on my 3rd gen

wher did you get it for 25 bucks?! Over at where i work its not even close even with employee discount lol

[kneedownnate]

ALright cool, told my instructor and he said he'll be able to rebuild it for me at his shop. On a side note though, i took my truck over to autozone and when they tested it the alternator came up fine except for the voltage regulator. Would that cause the same symptoms?

Don't trust those clowns.  You've said it comes and goes, so did they test it when it was looking like it wasn't charging or when it seemed fine?  The worn brushes seem to make partial contact at times, then other times they don't.  Dollars to donuts you'll find nearly worn out or completely gone brushes when you pull them.