3rd & 4th Generation (19921996 & 19972001)Toyota Camry Discussion for years: 1992-1996 & 1997-2001
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Was driving the wife's car the other night and she was closing her window when I noticed the headlights went dim. Really dim. I asked her to work the window again to replicate what she did. The headlights dim only when she had the window all the way up and closed and still had the window button pressed.
Is this normal ? Is this something to give me a heads up for a new alternator/ battery or both ? Is this just the window motor under load causing this and it's no big deal ? Anyone else encounter this ? Normal ? TIA
When weather permits .... remove, clean, and reinstall the battery terminals .... get a wire battery brush ... clean both cable terminal ends ... pos. and neg.... it might make the difference .... You might also take a look at the alternator output connector, clean with contact cleaner, and snap back together.
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98 Camry LE, 2.2L, automatic
50k miles, drop in K&N A/F recent timing belt, water pump
I have a heated garage I'm going to look at the car more tomorrow night. I'm gonna do a load test on the battery and check alternator output while I'm at it. I'll look at and clean all connections. We'll see if it helps. I was curios if everyone noticed this happening with the windows closing. Thanks for some input on it.
.... Worth a try ... also note that it is advised to have the negative battery cable disconnected before removing or connecting the alternator wires ....There might be a sensitive electronic chip inside.
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98 Camry LE, 2.2L, automatic
50k miles, drop in K&N A/F recent timing belt, water pump
The Camry is a car that I can rip out someone's pride, stab it, beat it, and completely bash their egos, and it's so ridiculous that the person comes back with a hysterical laugh... ROFL They got trainlengthed by a Camry that in their mind, was a 18 sec car.
My headlights dim when I put any of my windows up.. I think it's just normal due to the fact that the alternator is already supplying current to the headlamp/parking/taillight circuit and the load of the windows is causing the lights to dim.
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1993 V6 XLE Camry (196,000 miles) totalled 10-17-08
2006 Pontiac G6 GT (147,000 miles)
-License revoked until March 19th
my headlights as well as my interior lights dim when I roll up windows and hold the button up
Same here. It doesn't dim unless the windows are all the way up/down and I'm still holding the button. It's done this for a long time now even on a fresh battery and/or alternator so I'm not worried. I've chalked it up to the car being older.
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'05 2AZ-FE @ 40K miles | '95 1MZ-FE @ 87K miles moving forward
Both my previous Gen 3.5 and now Gen 4.5 Camrys have both done this, even after new batteries, cleaned connections, etc. I have never had any electrical issues aside from this, so I'm assuming this is probably just a very common occurrence on most Camrys. Only really a problem if you're constantly holding the buttons down though right?
Mine does this as well. I thought it was due to my stereo using so much power, but i recently changed my set up so all my stereo components now go through a capacitor. It still does the same thing. I have noticed that my driver's side window motor is beginning to tire, just as my passenger window did last winter. I seemed to get an improvement after i changed the right passenger window motor, because the lights didn't dim as much. I'm thinking that maybe because the window motors are older, they need to draw more power to move the window? Just a thought...
The power window wiring diagram shows that the driver window down switch has a special design feature, such that if you press firmly on the down switch, the window goes down completely, by itself, and then the motor current automatically turns off when the window reaches bottom. The up direction apparently does not have the same automatic hold and shut-off feature. Consequently, if you completely raise the window and do not let go of the switch, the motor current will continue to flow, draining the battery, and causing the lights to dim. .... Particularly, if the ambient temperature is cold, and your battery and alternator are not supplying as much current as they would under warmer conditions.
If you are just now observing that the headlights dim, and they did not do so previously, you might want to have your battery and alternator checked out by a qualified technician.
The window motors probably have the metal spring and carbon brush construction, which presses on the commutator of the rotor. These motors typically deteriorate by loosing current conductivity at the brush/rotor interface when the copper commutator becomes dirty, and the brush looses contact pressure due to wear. If you could replace the carbon brushes and use emery paper to clean up the commutator surface, you would probably see an improvement in the motor response.
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98 Camry LE, 2.2L, automatic
50k miles, drop in K&N A/F recent timing belt, water pump
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05 Tacoma access cab
recent timing belt, water pump
I'm going to look at the car more tomorrow night. I'm gonna do a load test on the battery and check alternator output while I'm at it. I'll look at and clean all connections. We'll see if it helps. I was curios if everyone noticed this happening with the windows closing. Thanks for some input on it.
Linear Mode
