ChairmanMeow7

Greg , would the pics and instructions ONLY apply to a V-6 ? Or would the wiring 22-RE be the same ?

I thought the small blue wire to the center post of the old mechanical isolator WAS the ignition wire (on mine it's white) ? From what I am reading , you say you needed to tap into the ignition wire. So what is the 3rd wire that went to the old mechanical isolator , and if I do opt for the 4 post solid state one , I assume this wire will not be used or taped off ?

Greg , that definately looks like my (old) setup , right down to the gold battery post ! But I currently only have 2 wires connected to the positive post. The one from the 80 amp fuse and the starter cable. The new isolator I installed under the hood is NOT hooked up (and I guess is useless anyway seeing it's a 3 post isolator). And there was only 3 wires hooked to the poitive terminal when I got it (including the isolator wire). I see you have a 4th wire hooked to the positive post. What is this wire , and what does it do ?

Greg , I see you still feel the 4 post solid state isolator is the way to go. I'm still a bit confused (sorry). There are only 2 wires currently connected to the positive post of the battery. It IS charging. There is one heavy gauge wire to the starter , and one (a 8-12 gauge ??) wire that come out of the fuse box under the hood. It appears as though this wire is leading from an 80 amp fuse in the fuse box. This MUST b3e supplying the charge , correct ? Now , would I unhook that wire and hook it to the alternator post of the 4 post isolator ? If not , I guess I would need to find where the charging wire leads INTO the fuse box and tap into that and hook it to the charging post of the isolator ? If that's the case , what would prevent the (starting) battery from receiving a charge from the EXISTING wire that is charging it now ? I mean it seems like I would then have TWO wires supplying a charge to the (starting) battery , unless I need find and cut the alternator wire leading INTO the fuse box and route that to the charging post of the isolator). But then , would I still need to leave the wire coming out of the fusebox (80 amp) hooked up to the positive post of the battery and what does this wire do ? Sorry for all the questions , but this is a little confusing to me. And as I said , I attempted to have a mechanic and a RV reapair place hook this up without much success.

Although there is some concern about connecting to non alike batteries , as Greg mentioned , I think I am going to give this one a try. Especially seeing I am not exactly sure how to wire the 4 post solid state isolator , and no one I had look at it seems too sure either. This one seems pretty straight forward as far as wiring As I mentioned , even the guy at the RV repair shop was trying to hook up my 3 post solid state islolator , even though I mentioned to him that this vehicle may indeed need a 4 post isolator. He seemed oblivious to this , and it still cost me over $100 for labor and the isolator didn't even get hooked up (he just told me alternator was not charging) ! I should have just got one of these for what I paid him in labor and it would be hooked up !! I see the Cole-Hersee has 5 wires connected to it. One to each battery , a ground , a monitor (led) and boost switch. If I do get this , can I NOT hook up the led indicator and boost switch (at least for the time being) and will it still work properly ? I'm just a little concerned as to exactly where I should drill a hole trhough the firewall to bring the boost and indicator wires into the cab. I tried looking on the Cole-Hersee site , but could not find this part #. Do you know where it is on the site ?

So Greg... You seem pretty knowledgeable on this subject of isolators and batteries. What do you think of the Blue Sea automatic charge relays ? I am thinking about one of these , as I went to an RV repair place and the repair guy was attempting to hook up my 3 post solid state isolator I installed under the hood (but it is not hooked up). He seemed oblivious to the fact that some vehicles require a 3 post and some (as from my understanding , our Toyota's) require the 4 post. He was the 2nd place that told me my alternator was bad , and thus didn't finnish hooking up the isolator. I'm wondering if the Blue Sea is a good alternative ? It appears as though it only has TWO posts (unless I am missing something) and thus should be pretty straight forward as far as wiring. I was just wondering about IT'S plusses and minusses ?

What happens when you truck battery goes dead ? Does it combine batteries so you can start ? Also , if it does combine batteries to start , how would you know your truck battery is bad ?

I went back to a stock one. After reading this I am wondering if I should have hunted around for another HD one. But , as far as the coach battery goes , I have been told that a marine battery is designed to discharge slowly , but also designed to charge slowly as well. It would not like a big high amperage current going to it , trying to charge it up quickly. And hopefully the 15-20 amps left over for charging (at night) will be sufficient to keep both batteries charged. Has anyone had a problem with a stock alternator keeping their batteries charged ?

Alternator is in. Now Im just hope I can keep the belt tight. I am also a little concerned reading the post about amperage draw and not going with a HD high output (100+ amp) alternator. I guess time will tell. Now if I can just get the isolator hooked up. Greag , can you tell me why Toyotas , specifically need the 4 post solid state isolator ? I hate to buy another one if this 3 post model can be made to work. But the guy at the RV repair shop didn't seem to know about whether I needed the 4 post or 3 post model. Actually he didn't seem to be all that concerned whether I had a 3 post or 4 post. I would think , or at least hope , that since they do RV repairs he would have seen both types and realized some vehicles need 1 type and other vehicles the other. What would happen if the 3 post model was hooked up , with a charging wire from the alternator going to the center charging post of the isolator ? Would it blow up the battery or cause some other sort of serious harm ? Or would it just not charge ??? And why do some vehicles use the 3 post and others a 4 post ? This is a bit confusing.

Man , not to be a complainer but this is quickly turning into the alternator jon from #e!! . I could not get the pulley off the one they sold me yesterday. It had a different pully , and was told to do a pulley swap. I said no problem. WRONG ! I took it home and realized the pulley on the new 70 amp alternator had the retaining nut recessed much lower than the original. After fighting with it , breaking my strap wrench I gave up for the evening. I did find and old tool in my tool box that belonged to my Dad. It was a 15/16 offset box wrench and had it ONLY been a 23MM I would have been all set as I could grip both the large retaining nut and the small hex head on top of the shaft to prevent the shaft from spinning. Anywho , I call Advance and ask if I can borrow or even buy an 23 MM offset. No got. Told to bring in. 1st guy fought with it to remove it with an impact wrench. No luck. 2nd guy was able to get both nuts off with an impact wrench and a rag to hold the pulley. He swapped out the pulleys and I am thinking fine , now I am in bussiness ! WRONG !!! He decides to test it before I leave. I say "great idea". He tests it and says it has a bad diode. HMMMmmmmm A rebuild off the shelf. Bad. OK.... So he substitutes another of the same part #. It tests GOOD ! Do pulley swap. After pulley swap he says "you are not going to beleive this" I say oh yeah ? "Just try me"... This was the same part # they sold me the day before. He points out how the mounting holes are different than the one I brought in off the camper. He checks part #. Says there is no corresponding part # to fit my engine. This was off an '86 Celica.... Finally looks up my engine again and says he only has one 60 amp re-build in stock. I said give it to me. We both agree test may not be bad idea. It tests bad (bad diode) just as 3 of the 4 re-builds we tried did , and the only good one did not fit my vehicle Now I inform that I had the one out of my vehicle tested at a different Advance store and they said it was GOOD. I said let's test it and if it's good , it's going back in. NOPE !!! Tests bad dioide...... At this point both store employees inform me "I am driving them to drink". I asked the "think of how I feel" ??? I been trying to get this isolator hooked up since last fall. I finally agree with folks on here to break down and bring it in. My mechanic says he is not that good with the isolators , so bring it to RV repair place. But , before I leave (the mechanic) he informs me alternator tests bad. I go to RV repair place. Guy spends an hour checking wires , does not hook up isolator , but also tests and says alternator is bad , it is only pushing 9 amps. Charges me $110 . Now , all these supposed "bad" alternators DID show to be putting out 15 volts or so on the bench tests. But they all show a bad diode. I got a note with the old alternator stating "test plug looks the same as others but performs differently. If wrong test plug is used , it will test bad , even though it is good". NO ONE I have showed this to at multiple auto parts stores seems to be able to get what they are talking about. They say all I can do is punch in the vehicle , and it gives me a test plug #. Also , ALL the auto parts stores told me they had no way of checking the amperage....... Now I am really beginning to wonder if my old one was really bad , because why would 3 out of 4 re-builds on the shelf test bad diode as well ??? But why does my mechanic AND the guy at the RV repair place who tested in vehicle say it's bad (maybe bad ground ??). And 1 of the off the shelfs re-build did not show a bad diode , but IT was the wrong alternator. Anywho , he let me take the 1 alternator that was re-built and fit my engine without paying (just leaving my AAA card). I told him I was heading over to Auto Zone as they were open till 10 . But I guess they closed early tonight , either because of Sunday , Holiday or both. I want to take both my old one , the new one and 1 or more off of Auto Zone's shelf if neccessary and have them tested BEFORE I install it. I feel like dinking , screaming , screaming , drinking not neccessarily in that order ! I know one thing , IF (and when) this does get straightened out , I am certainly going to TREAT myself to a MUCH-DESERVED vacation !!!!!!!!

OK , here's where I am at now. I went to differant Advance store. They tested alternator on what appears to be a newer machine. Said it was testing at 15 volts , but diode was bad. I bought a 70 amp HD alternator from them and I am going to install it now. Kinda funny but I bought this at a store about 20 miles from where I had the 1st one tested and they wanted like $114 and I only paid $89 for this one (a $25 differance). But it seemed like they really wanted to keep the core of the old one , even though I told them I will just pay the core charge and have it re-built , or the diode replaced (as it may be ?). Guy kept insisting it would cost just as much to have the old one rebuilt , but seemed like he really wanted the trade in (I wonder why ???). Anyhow I decided to hang onto the old core to have it tested at an alternator re-build shop. Besides , I really didn't want to give up that beefed up core. It looks like a good thing , as the pulley on the new one is not the same (so I guess I made a good call in not taking the $35 for the core). After I get this on , maybe I can finally get the isolator hooked up.....

I think maybe posting a few pics on here will DEFINATELY help ! 1st off , I don't beleive my isolator is shot , just not connected ! My old mechanical (3 post) went so I added a Vanner 50-140 solid state one. I seemd to be getting varying opinions no matter who I talked to as to whether my 22-RE motor should be using the 3 post or 4 post model. I got different answers on here , from Toyota (no help was told to call Toyota or place I got alternator) , from Vanner (actually they seemed to be of very little help at all) , and from the guy I bought the HD alternator on E-Bay from. The guy I bought the alternater from seemed CERTAIN I needed the 3 post model , but again , I followed HIS instructions (I beleive) and hooked the solid state one up just as the old mechanical one was hooked up. I added a bigger "loop" to the small white wire that went to the center post of the old isolator (I think this is an ignition wire and doesn't seem to be large enough to charge the battery). Shortly after this and driving for about 10 minutes , I smelled smoke coming from the coach. Smelled like burned wood (not a plastic smell as in wiring frying). Also , I beleive my GF tossed a butt and we think it may have flown back into the coach !! I told her NEVER , EVER throw a butt out the window !!!! Not only is it littering , but dangerous as it could "fly" back into the coach and from a legal standpoint. I am certain that the cops in some States or Cities would just love to give a ticket to an out-of-stater for littering !! We never did find the source of the smoke , although it seemed to be a bit more concentrated in the cabinet above the sink. Anywho.... After describing this "condition" on here last fall , I was told to "bring it in" as there was only so much that could be done online. So I did.... My mechanic said he was not all that certain about wiring the isolator and I should bring it to an RV repair place. I did , and the guy spent like an hour (kind of long , wouldn't you say ?) trying to find the wire to hook up to the isolator. He was chaecking voltages at various places and finally checked the alternator and said it was bad. Now why is it he couldn't spot the isolator being unhooked (I even told him it was un-hooked anf that is WHY I was there). He said I need a new alternator as this one was only pushing 9 amps. He still insists it's bad , even after I told him that some of you said it would NOT push out full amps with a fully charged battery. Not to mention the isolator is not even hooked up !!! So this is my dilema .... I have been TRYING (VERY unsuccessfully) since last fall to get this darn isolator hooked up. Right now , as it stands , there are 3 wires hooked o the positve post of the battery. One is like a 12 gauge wire that was hooked to the old isolator and is now hooked to the post labled "Battery 1" on the new isolator. The other is (like) an 8 gauge or so wire that goes under the engine block (to the starter ?) and the last one is like a 12 gauge wire that come OUT of the fuse box and to the positive battery post. Now doesn't it sound like the wire coming out of the fuse box MUST be the charging wire ??? I tried unhooking the one to the isolator and (of course) it had no affect and it starts just fine. I tried unhooking the one that leads under the engine block (starter ???) and it will not turn over or even make a sound. When I unhook just the one from the fuse box , I beleive I was getting like a clicking sound when I turned the key. I can understand why it won't start and it makes no sound when I disconnect the wire that leads under the engine block. This MUST be the starter wire , and I WILL confirm this. So , that would leave the wire coming FROM the fuse box as the ONLY POSSIBLE charging wire , that must end up being connected to the center post of my isolator , correct ???? Another FUNNY thing here. I drove this quite a bit last year with the NO wire connected to the center post of the isolator and had NO problems (other than the obvious , my coach battery NOT being charged as I drive) , so the truck battery has to be getting a charge !!! Sorry for the long posts and ALL the questions , but this thing is driving me nuts , and it doesn't evn seem as if I can count on a mechanic or an RV repairman to get this darn thing hooked up PROPERLY !!! Also , seeing the alternator bench tested at 15 volts or so , do you think it is safe to re-install ? I'd hate to install it and have to remove it again. But I certainly don't want to downgrade to a lower capacity alternator (and trade in this HD core) if this is still good........ Will pics help ?????

I got half of the running lights installed so far. How much did those Bargman LED tail lights run you , Greg ? I am thinking about a set of those as well.

OK , here's where I am at... 1st mechanic said it wasn't charging. 2nd guy at RV store (and repair) told me it wasn't up to specs (and pushing only 9 amps). I took it out last night. Napa said they couldn't test it , and Auto Zone said they couldn't test it (lack of test plugs). I was able to get it tested at Advance , but all he was able to tell me it was in the "green" as far as voltage output. I asked about checking the amps and he said he had no way to check that. I beleive he also said it would only be putting out full (or higher) amperage under load. Also , I stopped in and talked to the guy who checked it out at the RV store. I said to him I heard that it would only be pushing full amperage if the battery was discharged or it was under load. He disagreed saying he checked it right at the alternator and it should have been pushing what it was rated for. We then got into a discussion about the INTERNAL voltage regulator. He claimed that it was the voltage regulator that would tell the alternator to stop charging if the battery was fully charged (also bear in mind my isolator is NOT hooked up , only the positive wires to each battery , but NOT the wire to the center post from the alternator). And I said , YES , is that why it may have read 9 amps , because the battery was fully charged ? He still insisted it should be reading the full output (amperage wise). HMMmmmm... Anywho he did know my main concern was keeping the coach battery charged because of the power drain from the small electric fridge I want to "test" in there (before deciding if I should permanently mount it in there). He said there was really NO need for a high amperage alternator , as the coach battery (being a marine deep cycle) likes to discharge slowly , but ALSO be charged slowly , so a high output alternator would not really come into play. Does this sound right ? Now I am beginning to wonder if the alternator is indeed good and the battery bad ??? (I am having the battery tested tommorrow). I mean it tested in the "green" at about 15 volts or so on the bench test at Advance. Now of it is reading 15 volts or so , it doesn't sound like it could be bad now does it ? And again , I went back and showed EVERYONE about the bulletin that came with the alternator saying it has a similar looking plug that acts differently that some that look exactly the same. I asked my mechanic and the RV store guy if this could have gave the bad reading. They didn't beleive so. I wonder what is up here ? Can it be test at 15 volts and still be bad (not pushing enough amps) ? If so I am running out of places to have it tested..... Napa , Advance and Auto Zone are 3 of the big ones , but I guess I could try Pep Boys or something. I probably need to have it (bench) tested at a place that can check the amperage (like maybe a custom alternator re-build shop) ???

Bodybagger , you are the best and thanks for all the help with my recent posts and "problems" !! I certainly owe you a case of your favorite sudsy beverage , and if we ever meet up at like a Toy rally (which I'd like to attend one day) , I will see to it you get it ! Or maybe if I am passing through "your neck of the woods" we could meet up sometime ? Im in CT . and I took a trip to Atlanta last fall when my GF's niece got married. Boy , the little Toy sure came in handy ! I could have swung by then as I think we drove through WV on that trip. Does I-95 go through WV ? I would like to take another trip down South , hopefully this year. Me and my GF also have plans to head out West before gas prices get too high again ! As far as the stock alternator , I think I will take your advice here , as I think the place I bought my old one from on E-Bay either mis-stated it's capacity or it was just not a good quality re-build as it doesn't (APPEAR) to be working after a little less than 2 years and about 10k on the odometer. Wish I knew this about the alternator only pushing 9 amps as you have mentioned (as maybe the battery was close to being fully charged ?? ) , before I went through the trouble of REMOVING the old alternator last night. My mechanic who worked on my tranny seals (and fitting) as they were leaking , told me last week it was not charging. After the tranny was fixed , I took it to an RV shop to have them hook up the new solid state isolator I hooked up for a little while last year. My old (3 post) mechanical isolator stopped working , so I bought a new Vanner 3 post model (model 50-140 , which is supposed to handle the 160 amps ??). I was having some problems installing this last year. I had some people (both on here , Toyota , Vanner etc) telling me I needed the 4 post solid state model , while others (even the guy who supplied the re-built alternator) INSISTED I needed the 3 post solid state model. Well I finally said I am going to hook it up just as the old one was. With the front and back large posts (labled battery) hooked up to each battery. I took the old , small white wire (ignition wire ????) and put a bigger loop on it so I could connect it to the center post. Well shortly after hooking it up this way and driving , I smelled smoke coming from the coach (which I beleive was unrelated , and caused by a cigarette) but I immediately unhooked the isolator and this was last year. The battery did seemed to be staying charged on numerous trips. I posted on here and folks told me there was only so much could be done online , and I should probably bring it in if I am not certain what I am doing as far as hooking up the isolator. I brought it to an RV place and the guy was playing around for a good hour and still didn't get it hooked up. He tightened the belt on the alternator , but still seemed to be having trouble finding the wire from the alternator that goes to the center post of the Vanner battery isolator. He tested the alternator and he is the one who tested it and said it was not to specs (that it was only pushing 9 amps). My other mechanic said it was not charging properly either. Well I did remove it yesterday , so I guess the next step is to have it tested again. I did see a note on the quote I got from Advance stating "a blown fuse in the ignition circuit may cause a no charge condition. Veri-voltage is present at the ignition terminal of the alternator plug , see tech tip 572 , Test Chart Page # ND" Also , I found the paperwork that came with the alternator and it included a "technical bulletin". It says "CAUTION -Note to store: "This alternator has a plug which is identical to other plugs which perform differently". "When bench testing , be sure you have selected the correct test plug harness for this regulator type. If the wrong test harness is selected , the alternator will test as bad , even though it is good " So I guess the next step would be to bring the alternator to one (or preferably 2 or more) auto parts stores ALONG with the "technical bulletin". Maybe it is not bad after all (if so , I just wished I had found the bulletin BEFORE removing the alternator) !! Sorry for the rambling post. I will try to keep it as short and to the point as possible. But , I am also a FIRM beleiver that when having something "diagnosed" , such as an auto repair or even in a Dr's office that the more information you provide , the better the diagnosis. My current Dr. just loves when I write him a detailed note describibing my "condition" (honestly) !!