help! 2004 Camry died / wont start. i'm stumped!

[toyotaorbust]

Hello group, first time poster, long time reader.
I have had my 2004 camry limited 4cyl for about 4 years now. It has about 73k miles on it. It has been a great car, no problems at all untill recently.

Here is a quick run down of the recent problems I'm having. It started out as a dead battery about every other day. I took the battery to the zone and it tested out ok. Next I had the alternator tested while in the car and it tested bad (I think it was only putting out 11 amps). So I removed it from the car and had it tested again and it tested good.

I went ahead and re-installed the original alternator and replaced the battery thinking it was likely the problem. Everything seemed to be ok for about 4 days, then the battery started dying again. The last time I drove the car it started on it's own (barely) then as I drove away from my house it died and left me stranded. It had never died while driving it before. also, this time the car seemed to lose all power, not even enough power to lock doors or roll down windows. I haven't been able to restart it since (I haven't tried to jump it or charge it yet).

I noticed the last day before it died there was a wierd whining noise coming from under the hood, not sure if thats related to the problem or not. alternator bearings? I have search the net long and hard looking for answers but haven't found much. Could it be a relay or fuse? What would keep the power coming from the alternator from getting to the battery? I checked all my electrical connections for loose wires or corosion and didn't find anything.

I hope someone can help me, I am at a total loss. Thanks in advance to everyone reading my thread.

[workerant]

did u install anything electrical?

[gdanaher]

It's not working because there is no electricity to drive everything. A battery can only do so much if it isn't recharged. One thing. Put the key in the ignition and turn until the idiot lights come on. Does the light for alternator come on at this point?? It's actually important. If that light is burned out then it is presenting an open circuit to the alternator and it won't start charging. Temporary workaround is to each time connect a small wire from the positive battery pole to the positive point on the alternator that must be 'primed'. It may be labeled as 'S'. You will see a small, about 16awg wire, attached to a push connector. If the light is coming on when the ignition key is turned on then this is not the problem. The only thing left is to replace the alternator. It is purely mechanical and electronic at this point, and there is nothing else that could be going wrong. Right now the battery voltage is going to be quite low if you check it with your volt meter. You should recharge from your charger because the alternator was never designed to charge a battery to full capacity.

[AlmightyCamry777]

The alternator tested bad, but then it tested good, now it's acting like it is bad again. My guess is the person who tested it didn't know what they were looking at, or the alternator actually tested marginal so the guy said it was good. What your car is probably telling you is the alternator is indeed bad, so the first diagnosis was probably correct after all.

Ok. I can tell you I have had a couple alternators on different cars go bad and meanwhile that idiot light never even flickered. Then i put a VOM on the battery with the engine running, get a low reading (normal is 14 volts) and so in reality the alt was undercharging the battery. What's more a quick VOM check of voltage is only a cursory test, a bad alternator can still put out a normal 14 volts at idle but be low on amps, or fail to charge the battery enough under load (that's why they do a load test).

I assume after installing the alt you've taken care of belt condition and tension, so that's probably not it either. Sounds like the alternator needs changing after all, that's what i would do.

By the way, the mechanics i work with tell me a battery gets two episodes of being "dead", after that it's a doorstop.

[workerant]

my assumption was a short which kill your battery at night and killing your alternator too.

If it's only alternator than when the battery die it still have enough power to keep the light and stuff going for awhile.

goodluck.

[gdanaher]

The alternator does not produce a regulated power supply as would be needed in an electronics application. You can check the alternator under your shadetree in the following manner, however you do need a couple items. First the battery should be fully charged so that it will take less than .5 amp to keep it happy, and it should show 12.5 volts or a bit better when sitting with no load and no activity. Start the car and with no load--no stereo, no lights, no air conditioning, the voltage should be in the range of 13.7 to 14.5. Any less and the alternator is suspect--any more and the regulator is suspect. Now load it up with a/c, lights, you name it. Check the voltage. It will have dropped some but should be in the upper end of 12 volts to 14 volts. If less, then the alternator is not capable of meeting the amperage draw against it. When the amperage draw increases, the voltage will drop some, and if the load exceeds capacity, voltage will drop a lot. The real concern is to have voltage to charge the battery, and that should be in the range of 12.8 volts or better. The battery actually takes little amperage to maintain itself.

[toyotaorbust]

Thanks for the replies. It sounds like I should replace the alternator and see what happens. Isn't 73k a little premature for an alt to go bad?

"It's not working because there is no electricity to drive everything. A battery can only do so much if it isn't recharged. One thing. Put the key in the ignition and turn until the idiot lights come on. Does the light for alternator come on at this point??"

I just went and tried this and no lights came on. I don't remember ever having a battery so drained it wont even turn on the idiot lights, especially a battery thats only a week old. I am used to dead batteries, the hot Arizona summers reak havoc on car batteries.

I will take all of your advice and tips and see if i can get this thing figured out today. I'll let you know. thanks

[toyotaorbust]

i didn't install anything electrical. just the new battery. i hope it's not a short. they can be a real pain trying to track down. thanks for the reply.

[gdanaher]

Originally Posted by toyotaorbust

I just went and tried this and no lights came on. I don't remember ever having a battery so drained it wont even turn on the idiot lights, especially a battery thats only a week old. I am used to dead batteries, the hot Arizona summers reak havoc on car batteries.

Well, charge the battery first, but what I meant was to have the idiots come on and then see if the alt light is on. It probably should be, but under 'unusual' circumstances, the bulb could burn out. If the other lights are on, and the alternator light is NOT, then replace that one bulb and you are done. If the light comes on then almost certainly the alternator is bad. All this presumes a charged battery. If you don't have anything to charge it with, find a friend, get some jumper cables and hook to another car for awhile, or buy a charger. 10 amp max would be just fine for charging a car battery.

[toyotaorbust]

well, to update the group. i went ahead and replaced the battery and the alternator. Now everything seems to be back to normal and running perfectly, Thanks for everyones help,