Driving back from Canberra to Melbourne I saw the brake warning light, air flow/filter light and battery charge warning light all came on simultaneously. This indicates charging issues.
Note: I immediately turned off the aircon, stereo, and driving lights to conserve the battery. I was able to drive 250km/5hrs back home. I could even start the engine afterwards (good to know!!)
Symptoms
- Three warning lights above light up
- Checked and cleaned all battery connectors, no fix
- Checked and cleaned alternator connectors, same issue
Fix:
Most likely this is due to brush being worn out. My prado is 21 yrs old / 330K+ kms. Bought the brush from ebay ($25). It says for Landcruiser 80 series but apparently it's the same.
Take out the Alternator. You need to remove the screw below it, then above. Once all is off simply lift up/wiggle it out of the engine bay
Remove the 3 cover bolts at the back (one connector bolt) and take out the old brush and replace.
You can see compare how worn the old brushes are from 21 years of use. Reassemble and test.
