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How can I tell which one it is? The interior lighting is dim all the time if I'm not stepping on the gas. Horn sounds weak. Door locks and windows respond slowly unless I'm in motion or idiling at high rpm's. My friend said she thinks someone left the light on in my car over night but no one can say for sure. The car also doesn't turn on as quick as it always has, especially in the hot sun. Which is it in your opinion? The last time my alternator went out the car was just dead one morning. Bought a new battery and it was dead by the next day. The last time the battery went out was in a parking lot. The car drove fine there and just wouldn't turn back on after being off for about 45 minutes. Should I be looking for any warning lights to come on? Right now there is nothing. Thanks.
Sounds like the alternator since there seems to be a problem re-charging the battery. And as far as I know, there is no warning light for an alternator but there might be a battery light in your camry. The 3rd gen camry had a battery light, not sure of the 4th gen. Good luck!
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How can I tell which one it is? The interior lighting is dim all the time if I'm not stepping on the gas. Horn sounds weak. Door locks and windows respond slowly unless I'm in motion or idiling at high rpm's. My friend said she thinks someone left the light on in my car over night but no one can say for sure. The car also doesn't turn on as quick as it always has, especially in the hot sun. Which is it in your opinion? The last time my alternator went out the car was just dead one morning. Bought a new battery and it was dead by the next day. The last time the battery went out was in a parking lot. The car drove fine there and just wouldn't turn back on after being off for about 45 minutes. Should I be looking for any warning lights to come on? Right now there is nothing. Thanks.
From the sounds of it, it is pointing to your alternator or voltage regulator. The main purpose of your battery is to start the car, once the car has started the alternator takes over. The alternator should have enough current to do everything: charge battery, run all the accessories, etc. When the battery is fully charged, the voltage regulator detects that and stops charging the battery.
Did you try driving your car for a few hours just to make sure the battery is fully charged. Do that first and if you still have a problem, it is likely the voltage regulator, alternator, or alternator brushes.
How old is your battery?
The battery is about 2 years old. I can't remember if I bought a 24 or 36 month battery. The alternator was changed about 4 or 5 years ago. I called the location where I bought the alternator, as it came with a life time gurantee and as luck would have it they can find no information. I can't believe that.
And yes, I was able to confirm that the morning my car started acting this my mother noticed that the light had been left on since the previous afternoon. Almost 24 hours. It looks like that was the start of all this. It's been like this for almost a month now.
Oh yes, I should also mention that last week my husband left the light on in the car for about 12 hours. Things haven't been worse or better.
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Last edited by camrydriver7609; 06-15-2006 at 12:05 AM.
if you have a voltmeter... check the voltage of the battery it should be around 12.6 with the engine off and around 14 if the engine on... rev the car and check if the voltage if it goes up.. if it goes up higher than 14 your regulator in the alternator might be broken and overcharging the battery and killing it
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Leaving the interior light on overnight can lead to premature battery death. The discharged battery never fully recovers and can soon die.
If you have a voltmeter, you can go to the links below and read about testing your alternator and battery. You can pick up a voltmeter for under $10 if you look. They are great to have around.
Some auto parts stores will test your battery and alternator (off the car) at no cost.
If you want to keep abreast of your electrical system, install a car voltmeter and learn how to read it. This can save being stuck somewhere with a dead battery. It will give you a heads up and time to drive somewhere before your run out of juice.
Well I don't have a voltmeter but I might buy one tomorrow after reading this. I turned on my car and my brother disconnected the battery. The car kept on running. Even sounded better than before. The A/C and interior lights were looking better too. We drove down to Checkers/Kragen and had some guy come out and test the battery. He said the voltage was at 10.7 before the car was on and started falling after I turned it on. He said the low voltage wouldn't allow him to get a proper reading (?) and that he was pretty sure it was the alternator. When all was said and done the voltage meter he had gave him a reading of 9.5. He also told my brother that the "unplugging the battery" trick wasn't acurate for newer import cars like it was for 70's something domestics. I'm going to take it to another place and have them check out both the alternator and battery this time. For those of you who did have your alternator and or battery die on you, did you get a warning light come on your dash? I do have a light for the battery but it hasn't come on.
The battery's probably on the way out, 2 times at the most you can kill it and recharge and then its a bookend.
When you change the battery, check your clamps too, they need to be (fairly) tight. In other words, if you try to twist them, they should NOT move with moderate effort. If they are loose, you can shim them with a thin piece of metal like a eletrical connector.
The voltage regulator does not "turn off" the alternator when the battery is charged. The voltage regulator varies the voltage output of the alternator depending on the RPM the engine is spinning at. Without one, the faster you spin the engine, the more electricity is generated from the alternator (that would be bad).
Because you state that the lights brighten when the engine is revved, the voltage regulator is not doing its job. I would replace that.
As for pulling the positive cable off of the battery to test, that is generally frowned upon because you loose the capacitance of the circuit that the battery provides. Alternators are not an exact science, the voltage they put out goes all over the place. The battery keeps that voltage more stable. Removing the battery can cause large enough fluctuations in voltage to damage the ECU. I've seen it done before, and most of the time, it does work. Its just not something I'm going to risk or recommend.
In the mean time, I would try to charge your battery overnight using a bench charger. It should give you a few days of normal operation until you get the voltage regulator fixed.
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Is that the little blue thing where the fuses are? The guy who tested my batter took it out and looked at it and said it was fine. I don't know though.
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Originally Posted by hooRAH
Sounds like the voltage regulator to me.
The voltage regulator does not "turn off" the alternator when the battery is charged. The voltage regulator varies the voltage output of the alternator depending on the RPM the engine is spinning at. Without one, the faster you spin the engine, the more electricity is generated from the alternator (that would be bad).
Because you state that the lights brighten when the engine is revved, the voltage regulator is not doing its job. I would replace that.
As for pulling the positive cable off of the battery to test, that is generally frowned upon because you loose the capacitance of the circuit that the battery provides. Alternators are not an exact science, the voltage they put out goes all over the place. The battery keeps that voltage more stable. Removing the battery can cause large enough fluctuations in voltage to damage the ECU. I've seen it done before, and most of the time, it does work. Its just not something I'm going to risk or recommend.
In the mean time, I would try to charge your battery overnight using a bench charger. It should give you a few days of normal operation until you get the voltage regulator fixed.
No. The voltage regulator is built into the alternator. It should be covered under the lifetime warranty of the alternator itself. If you can't get the warranty, its only like $35.
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Well I don't have a voltmeter but I might buy one tomorrow after reading this. I turned on my car and my brother disconnected the battery. The car kept on running. Even sounded better than before. The A/C and interior lights were looking better too. We drove down to Checkers/Kragen and had some guy come out and test the battery. He said the voltage was at 10.7 before the car was on and started falling after I turned it on. He said the low voltage wouldn't allow him to get a proper reading (?) and that he was pretty sure it was the alternator. When all was said and done the voltage meter he had gave him a reading of 9.5. He also told my brother that the "unplugging the battery" trick wasn't acurate for newer import cars like it was for 70's something domestics. I'm going to take it to another place and have them check out both the alternator and battery this time. For those of you who did have your alternator and or battery die on you, did you get a warning light come on your dash? I do have a light for the battery but it hasn't come on.
Thanks for the replies and keep them coming!
unplugging the battery when the engine isn't the smartest thing to do . It can cause shorts, fires and a whole bunch of other problems.
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The ASE tutorial recommends quick alt/battery check:
Before starting the engine, measure voltage on the battery terminals
Start the engine. Run it at 2000 rpm, measure voltage again
With accesories off it must be not higher then result of step 1 plus 2 volts
While keeping the same rpm, turn the accesories on and measure voltage, it must be no less the step 1 plus 1 volt.
Measure voltage between neg. battery post and shassis ground with high beams on, engine running at idle. The result must be less then .2 V. If it is more, clean ground cable connections and re-test.
Do the same test with B+ terminal of the alternator and positive battery post. Again, if the result is greater then .2 to .3 volts, check the connectors. With digital meter polarity is not critical, just select DC volts.
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Dying battery or alternator?
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