[Mattyj12345]

:bangit:Hey everyone. I'm a TT newbie. Like the site so far so I do apologize for the long post but I really need some help as the dealership is clueless at this point. On Wednesday June 29th I had a Stillen Super Charger removed from my truck. Truck ran fine for 4.5 days. Saturday July 2nd drive to Blue Ridge mountains for a little R&R, truck running fine. Then the following Sunday I was coming back from white water rafting I noticed that the voltage gauge was reading about 12.4 volts. Next morning I started the truck and the voltage read 13+. As soon as I dropped the truck into gear the voltage dropped again to the 12.4. Had the local Advance Auto do a battery / charge test and sure nuff....truck went back up to 13+ volts. Tuesday while driving the gauge would go up and down. Wednesday same thing but this time I was on my way home from the mountains. Stopped and got gas but could not start the truck after filling up. Tried to get a jump from someone but truck wouldn't start. I got a ride to a parts store, put in a new battery and the truck fired right up. Now thinking that the alternator is bad, I decided to drive as far as I could being in the schticks, got about 140 miles away from home and the new battery died (as expected since it wasn't getting recharged). Got a ride and put in yet another new battery just to make it home. Next day put in a new alternator and still, no charge to battery. Go to Autozone and they test the new alternator in the truck and report that the voltage regulator is bad. Head home to take out the new alternator for replacement and decide to stop off at the dealership. They run some tests and say that its a bad alternator and that my extended warranty will cover it. Next day (friday), dealership puts in the new alternator (second one) and still no charge. I get the Autozone alternator from the dealership to bring back and have it tested again while not in the truck, Autozone reports that I put in the day before is working fine outside of the truck. Here it is Tuesday, dealership has had the truck since last thursday and they tell me that they are ordering yet another alternator. Something else has to be going wrong. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Could this be a fuse / fuse link issue? Dealership is telling me that their tests show the charging system is fine (which I don't believe because if it was fine I would think that it would be charging). I know there is a 140 fuse link right on the positive terminal of the battery and a distro block. Could this block or fuse links cause this kind of issue.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. I miss my truck and hate getting in and out of the loaner car the dealership gave me.

 

[Quartz]

Wow. That's a weird one. I'm stumped.

Bump to the top.

 

[Frank N]

Ground wire in charging system with intermittent contact?

 

[VQP0WER]

Sounds like a charging cable problem, especially after two alternators and batteries.

 

[RobKar]

not the fuse, but could be a relay...

 

[GregK]

The "plastic" blocks at the terminals can sometimes crack and be intermittent. I had this on a Sentra I worked on and it drove us all crazy trying to track it down. Wiggle the blocks with the truck running and a voltmeter connected and I bet you find one the blocks cracked.

 

[Mattyj12345]

All I can think of is that the plastic distro block has some sort of crack in it. I verified that the ground cable is in good condition. It had no corrosion, and it was firmly grounded to the chassis and the engine block. Positive cable had a little corrosion at the terminal connected to the battery.

What relay controls the alternator. My thoughts were along the lines that something is flat out not telling the alternator to "wake up".

Thanks again everyone. I am going to make my daily call to the dealership after lunch to see if I can egg them on.

 

[Mattyj12345]

Hey everyone. Here is an update. Dealership called me and said truck was ready to go. I asked what fixed the issue....they said the 4th alternator fixed everything. Why do I feel like this isn't over.

Just for the heck of it, I told them to go ahead and change the fusible link box that bolts to the positive terminal. One less thing to be the possible issue.

 

[bestatchess]

Not sure what year truck you have, but I think 2007+ have a current sensor on the - battery cable that controls the alternator. Not sure what happens if that fails or gets disconnected.

 

[GregK]

The current sensor is the plastic piece we've been talking about.

 

[Pops]

I'd agree with starting with the current sensor but there's also a couple other possibilities here... One is, I haven't read anything about replacing the serpentine belt. The alternator load is not consistant so it can be sometimes harder to turn than others and you won't necessarily always hear anything when it's slipping, 99% of the time you will, but I've had a belt silently slip on a regular basis once before... Another possibility is that current sensor heavily depends on the ECM which goes through the IPDM and alot of our original IPDM's are known to be junk....

 

[bestatchess]

The current sensor is the plastic piece we've been talking about.

The current sensor is not part of the distribution/fusible link block on the positive battery terminal. Rather it is on the negative battery cable.

 

[GregK]

The current sensor is not part of the distribution/fusible link block on the positive battery terminal. Rather it is on the negative battery cable.

Agreed. I was generally talking about both pieces, thanks for clarifying to the OP.

 

[bestatchess]

I'd agree with starting with the current sensor but there's also a couple other possibilities here... One is, I haven't read anything about replacing the serpentine belt. The alternator load is not consistant so it can be sometimes harder to turn than others and you won't necessarily always hear anything when it's slipping, 99% of the time you will, but I've had a belt silently slip on a regular basis once before... Another possibility is that current sensor heavily depends on the ECM which goes through the IPDM and alot of our original IPDM's are known to be junk....

I just replaced the belt on mine and was ready to adjust the tension with a Kricket, until I noticed it uses a spring loaded tension pulley with no adjustment, so I guess if the belt slips, it is time for a new belt and maybe a new belt tensioner. The belt on my wife's Highlander was slipping and it just made a slight chirp on startup and was quiet the rest of the time although it was getting very hot.

Also, what happens if you disconnect the current sensor? Does the alternator charge at maximum rate all the time or does it do something else?

 

[Pops]

Also, what happens if you disconnect the current sensor? Does the alternator charge at maximum rate all the time or does it do something else?

That pic of yours makes it very obvious and I don't recall seeing anything like that in mine so I wonder if it's year specific or something.

 

[TitanBlue]

About 2007+ got that piece. Not certain though.

The OP has a 2006 XE, as do I.

What is a Kricket?

Some Belt Tensioners (I was looking at an International 530 Diesel a few days ago) have an overlapping point if contact. When they can contact, the Tensioner is no good. Some may have marks molded in. Ours may have that from what I have observed recently; but I have magic marker on mine as well, from when I changed belts and PS Pulley years ago. Looks like virtually no belt stretch in 3 or 4 years.

 

[bestatchess]

 

[Mattyj12345]

I guess I should have specified. I have a 2006 Crew XE 4x4. My negative terminal does not have the current sensor on it. It's literally a single cable that is about 2.5 to 3 feet long. The ground cable leaves the negative battery terminal, goes to a grounding point under the battery then to a grounding point on the engine block.

As for the belt, I just had a Stillen super charger removed so we had to put on a new belt as the belt to power the super charger and everything else is a bit longer.

I was supposed to pick up the truck yesterday but got side tracked by beers with friends.....so I will be picking it up on my lunch break.

I still don't have the warm and fuzzy feelings about it being fixed. I think that there is a loose cable somewhere from the pot hole filled roads going to cabin. Only time will tell.

 

[NBhunter80]

That pic of yours makes it very obvious and I don't recall seeing anything like that in mine so I wonder if it's year specific or something.

I don't see one on mine either. I did modify the positive terminal to work with my yellow top D34, but no current sensor where yours is located on the negative wire. Perhaps it is further upstream?

 

[JMSjms]

I have a 2010 Titan with only 20k miles. My dad died 12/2019 and I inherited his truck. It’s had 3-4 new batteries since then. Each new battery works well for several months, and then does, and won’t recharge. Open to any and all suggestions. Thanks