Alternator/computer problems 2017 Trd off road

Does anybody have any experience or advice on alternator problems out of any 3rd gen? My 2017 trd off road started up fine yesterday but was dead at work after being parked for about 20 minutes. Had to get jumpstarted 3 times before I made it to autozone. They tested the battery it came back fine but I'm getting a check charging system message and an engine light. The code came back to be the voltage regulator which is in the alternator. Long story short no parts stores carry the alternator so I took it to a alternator repair shop after the 2 and a half hour process of taking it out but once I got it to the shop they said it tested fine and couldn't find any issues to rebuild so they believe it could be a wiring issue that could even be in the computer. I'm over 36,000 miles so my truck isn't under warranty so I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction of what could be going on and estimated repair cost at the dealership.

 

Anything electrical installed thats aftermarket?

 

Betting on bad battery, even though it tested fine.

 

Yep went through 2 batteries before dealer found an alternator issue.

 

No sir nothing at all

 

What did they say was the actual problem with the alternator? The shop said it tested just fine and everything turned good.

 

Take a good look at your wires under the hood, perhaps a mouse has chewed some of them.

 

Some sort of production issue. They replaced it and it worked after that. One of many trips to service dept that I’ve had the pleasure of making with this truck

 

That sucks. Now I dont know If I should spend the 350 dollars at autozone to get a new one through them or take it to the dealership. Dealership quoted me 880 dollars before labor to replace it

 

Possible crank position sensor issue? Sounds similar to symptoms described there.

 

Truck isn’t under warranty??? I’d try another dealer or keep taking it back in until it’s fixed

 

My warranty went out at 36,000 miles and the dealership wont tell me anything on the phone other than bring it in. The check charging system message is really throwing me off along with the voltage regulator code.

 

If you do need to get a new alternator, speaking from personal experience, do not go with an autozone alternator. Replaced the alternator in my old highlander, and after hearing horror stories of AZ alternators being sh*t fresh out of the box from 3 different people spend the extra money for a OEM Denso alternator...even a remanned unit will be better off. Learned the hard way and went through 2 returns of their alternators before listening to those who knew more than I. Check rockauto...just my anecdotal .02

 

how recently did it go out of warranty? if you're at maybe 37,000 they may still do it under good faith. If you're at 40,000 or 50,000 then not a chance.

 

It's hard to believe to be having this kind of issues out of a truck that isn't even 3 years old and the dealership being completely unhelpful and rude.. not to mention 2 weeks ago the ac motor went out which tons of people are also dealing with

 

Just rolled onto 51,000

 

I bought an extended warranty because of all the issues i been having with this truck but I’m not out of the bumper to bumper just yet. Probably will trade for something different anyway

 

You might try to find an alternator from a junkyard or RockAuto versus AutoZone

 

Charge your battery, bring it to Autozone and they can test it. That rules out your battery! Make sure terminals are clean.
Put your multimeter (if you have one) on your battery and check the charge with out engine running. May read 12 volts. Start your engine and see if the voltage increases at leads then battery terminals. Should be an increase if alternator is charging.

 

Ok so the guy at the rebuild shop says the alternator tested good and showed 150 amps but the replacement alternator I found on rock auto (out of stock) says 130 amps. Does that mean my alternator is pushing too many amps and indicating it is bad? Sorry guys yall bear with me I'm not much of a mechanic I barely get by on simple fixes