Parking and Battery Light On

I have a '90 4Runner 4x4 with 300,000 miles. While on vacation I
parked the truck in a cool and damp location. Each day when the truck
was first started I nitced that both the parking brake and battery
light would come on along with the battery level meter being in the
lower half to quarter of the operationg range. This would indicate the
charging system is not charging the battery. But I am puzzled as to
why the parking brake light was also on. Also, after driving for just
3-7 minutes the charging system would start working again and would
work for the rest of the day.

This continued on for the week until it came time to make the trip
home. That morning the charging failed to kick in until after a couple
of hours. It works fine while at home, since it is stored in a dry
garage.

I suspect there is a bad connection where moisture is condesing and is
opening the circuit. After awhile it dries out and all is well. The
question I have is what areas can the home mechanic check before
taking it in to the shop? Do the parking and battery light being on
point to a speciific component or area?

Thanks in advance,
Mark

On Sun, 24 Sep 2006 12:21:20 -0400, Mark
<mytrash9_NOSPAM@bellsouth.net> wrote:
[color=blue]
>I have a '90 4Runner 4x4 with 300,000 miles. While on vacation I
>parked the truck in a cool and damp location. Each day when the truck
>was first started I nitced that both the parking brake and battery
>light would come on along with the battery level meter being in the
>lower half to quarter of the operationg range. This would indicate the
>charging system is not charging the battery. But I am puzzled as to
>why the parking brake light was also on. Also, after driving for just
>3-7 minutes the charging system would start working again and would
>work for the rest of the day.
>
>This continued on for the week until it came time to make the trip
>home. That morning the charging failed to kick in until after a couple
>of hours. It works fine while at home, since it is stored in a dry
>garage.
>
>I suspect there is a bad connection where moisture is condesing and is
>opening the circuit. After awhile it dries out and all is well. The
>question I have is what areas can the home mechanic check before
>taking it in to the shop? Do the parking and battery light being on
>point to a speciific component or area?[/color]

It's a quirk in the wiring, the lights all come on at once.

More than likely the brushes in the alternator are just worn out,
and for a while they would warm up and just make contact with the
rotor field slip rings - but that only lasts a few days.

Get that alternator rebuilt, or exchange it for a factory rebuild.
If money is tight you can get the parts and do it yourself.

--<< Bruce >>--

"Mark" <mytrash9_NOSPAM@bellsouth.net> wrote in message
news:dqadh21kd9e779ueple4v8vi0nfhtdti9f@4ax.com...
| I have a '90 4Runner 4x4 with 300,000 miles. While on vacation I
| parked the truck in a cool and damp location. Each day when the truck
| was first started I nitced that both the parking brake and battery
| light would come on along with the battery level meter being in the
| lower half to quarter of the operationg range. This would indicate the
| charging system is not charging the battery. But I am puzzled as to
| why the parking brake light was also on. Also, after driving for just
| 3-7 minutes the charging system would start working again and would
| work for the rest of the day.
|
| This continued on for the week until it came time to make the trip
| home. That morning the charging failed to kick in until after a couple
| of hours. It works fine while at home, since it is stored in a dry
| garage.
|
| I suspect there is a bad connection where moisture is condesing and is
| opening the circuit. After awhile it dries out and all is well. The
| question I have is what areas can the home mechanic check before
| taking it in to the shop? Do the parking and battery light being on
| point to a speciific component or area?
|
| Thanks in advance,
| Mark

On my 1987 it turned out to be the alternator. It would charge at a
constant 15 vdc but the two lights stayed on when I replaced them after
buying the truck. I took it to a shop that specializes in
starter/alternator and batteries and he said it checked out okay. ( I
found out later that his bench check did not test the charging light
circuit.) The alternator has a light signal terminal that sends a
voltage to the instrument cluster.

A couple of years later when the voltage increased to almost 16 vdc I
replaced the alternator, put the bulbs back in and the problem was
solved.

In my case it may have been the wrong alternater was installed before I
bought the truck. NAPA showed two different part #s that changed with
the VIN #.

--
Jarhead