electrical gremlin - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

charm · 05-20-2003, 11:33 AM

Just curious if others have had to deal with the following issue and what the culprit ended up being in hopes that I can fix the problem a bit quicker.

In Feb. I had my alternator replaced and the battery was new in Dec. The other day the car died in much the same way that it died when I lost the alternator...the idiot lights came on, stuff started working slowly and then at a stoplight it was off.

There were a few differences between Feb. and the other day. The obvious one is the alternator is now new. According to the mechanic the neutral safety switch is on its way (the only symptom of this is that the 'N' indicator on the dash is always lit along with whatever gear I'm actually in). The heater stopped blowing warm air. And, most importantly, it took me 20 minutes to jump it this time. To drive the last 1/4ish mile home I had to jump the car 3 times all 3 took 15 or 20 minutes.

So, the next day, Sat., I jumped it and took it the local parts store with free electrical system testing and the alternator was putting out between 13.2 and 14.0 volts, a bit low but I wouldn't think that it would have lead to the problems I had had the day before. I had already made an appt for the mechanic for, what is currently, yesterday morning, monday. The mechanic found normal charging and no electrical issues. On my way home last night I got a couple of brief, 2 or 3 second, flashes from the idiot lights and then that was it, it made it home no problem, other then a little added stress.

So, does this sound familiar? What was found on your car?

SKYravefever · 05-20-2003, 12:04 PM

Would the car crank, or what happens what you turn the key?

charm · 05-20-2003, 12:24 PM

well that's a complicated question in this case. When it initially died it carnked just fine and started right back up. When it died 3 times in 1/4 mile it would crank one or twice and then make that dead battery clicking sound. Then I hooked my self contained jumper cable battery pack thing adn let it sit for awhile and then it would start up again. What ever was going on it was draining my battery and bad. Just before this happened on Friday I was using most of my accesories as the windows were fogging up and it was raining very hard.

SKYravefever · 05-20-2003, 12:38 PM

I'm guessing it's a loose connection somewhere in the electrical system since it dies when you're driving. Make sure:

1) Battery terminals are clean, use a wirebrush to clean them
2) The battery clamps are clean and secured
3) The wire to the alternator is secured

One more thing to ask is how does the battery look? Take a look at the little eye and see if the battery needs more distilled water.

charm · 05-20-2003, 01:20 PM

I'll give that stuff a go at lunch here in a few minutes. I won't call it a success until I make it to Seattle from Porltand, OR tomorrow afternoon.

K111er · 05-20-2003, 03:10 PM

Yeah, check to make sure your connections are all secure - loose/intermittent/dirty connections can set up weird shunt drains on your current. Also check your cables for nicks/splits/exposed conductor that may be shunting.

charm · 05-20-2003, 03:18 PM

The battery terminal clamps were pretty gross. I scrubbed 'em good and they're all shiny now. The alternator connection looked good and all the wires I could access appear intact but who knows. Hopefully it was just the nasty terminal clamps but I guess I'll find out. I'm sorta pissed that the mechanic didn't look at that, I'm glad he doesn't charge me to diagnose stuff when he can't diagnose it.

SKYravefever · 05-20-2003, 04:54 PM

Hope all goes well on your trip... May the gremlin fighting force be with you...

Candiman · 05-20-2003, 05:44 PM

u need to make sure the clamp is tight enough, because I had similar problem after I "cleaned" them.... it's just not enough space to hold it. so double check see if its tight enough.

rezzle · 05-20-2003, 06:59 PM

Some models (I am not sure which, but this happened on my dad's pickup with a 22re) do not have a wire from the alternator to the engine and it is assumed the alternator will be grounded. On his truck there was enough grease/dirt/corrosion the alternator although fine (volts measured ok too) was not able to supply enough current to charge the battery.

We added a grounding cable and everything was fine after that.

In short .. (no pun intended heh) ohm check every connection and wire for an open connection both on the positive side and on hte ground side. I would also install/borrow/steal an ampmeter and see what kind of current drain there is because something could be shorted.