battery light on - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

REAPER STRAIN · 03-02-2005, 07:47 PM

my battery light came on about a week ago and it hasnt gone off since. It came on while I was installing my new headunit but I have since removed it to see if there was some short but it stills stays on. When i was at firestone, they told me i needed an new altenator. But when i went to autozone they told me that the battery was good (just had a low charge) and the altenator was putting out a good pattern. Dont know what the deal might be. I just upgraded the Big 3 (neg. terninal to chasis, neg. terminal to valve cover, and positive terminal to altenator) and i will see if the battery gets a better charge now. maybe i need another battery but i want to be sure thats it before spend all that $$$ on a yellow top. I also have a 1200 wattt amp but it has never given me problems b4. your suggestions would be appreciated.

oh, and i have already disconnected the battery and cleaned the teminals too.

lucanhookup · 03-02-2005, 08:24 PM

how does the big 3 work for you. i might do that

dna59 · 03-02-2005, 09:18 PM

Yeah it could either be your battery or alt. I would have someone else check it because when I went to a mechanic when I had alt. problems he told me nothing was wrong with my alt. but when I went to thos place that specializes in that they told me that my alt was charging intermitently. For me it was my alt. when my battery light came on.

McTimson · 03-02-2005, 09:31 PM

Check all your fuses as well, sometimes they can mess things up...my alternator wasn't working correctly for a while, turned out the right headlight fuse was burnt out, replaced it and it worked fine.

95camguy · 03-02-2005, 10:27 PM

might want to check out your alternator before you get stuck somewhere. also you may want to check out upgrading your alt if you have to replace it since your running alot of audio equipment. i remember a few months back there was a thread about the toyota highlander alternator bolting right in... and it has more power. it prolly costs more but it may save you more headache later on.

REAPER STRAIN · 03-03-2005, 01:06 AM

Thanks for the responses guys. The big 3 seems to make the engine run better. I swear its in my head but when i started the engine it sounded a lot better in terms idle. It took 15 minutes and I used 10ft of 8ga wire. Couldnt hurt. I will actually go to a shop that rebuilds altenators tomorrow and see if I can pick one up. I have a 5sfe so i cant use the highlander altenator.
McTimson- how did the headlight fuse affect your altenator? Was it burned out or was the fuse acting funny? My headlights are fine so I dont know if the fuse will be a problem. Shed some light.

REAPER STRAIN · 03-03-2005, 08:25 AM

Im calling all the alternator repair shops in town and they are telling me that high output alternators for the camrys cant be done with your stock components. I was thinking that it was as simple as rewounding the coils in the alternator to give a longer but thinner wire but apperantly this is not the case. One guy told me that you simply need more coil than can fit in the original alternator housing. Dont know what to think now. I thought if I was to get a new alternator then I would get the high output ones but at over $200 i am not so sure anymore. Anyone know where i can get it cheap or what I can do to a stock alternator to give it more umfff? Otherwise, Im leaning toward a stock replacement.

chronoti · 03-03-2005, 10:28 AM

i'm guessing you have the i4, if you have the v6 (1mz-fe) there is a higher output option for it, seach the site for the thread on hi output alt and you can see what some people have found

McTimson · 03-03-2005, 11:23 AM

I have no idea how the fuse affected anything, it shouldn't have, but after I replaced that fuse, everything worked fine. You never know what previous owners did to a car, or what could have just gotten old and shorted out somewhere...who knows what the problem was, but the fuse fixed it. The point is, it's better to at least check all the fuses, as it won't take more than 10 minutes, then to go and buy a new alternator and battery and stuff when it turns out it was something as simple as a fuse.

whocares04 · 03-03-2005, 03:34 PM

on your big 3 did u upgrade ground the engine because that's part of it (i'm not sure if i read your post right)...i used 4ga streetwirez and it does help...not in your head

REAPER STRAIN · 03-03-2005, 06:41 PM

And you are right! (ALL OF YOU)
I was with my mechanic friend today and we were trying to figure this thing out. I told him to hold on while I go and get another alternator. He urged me to stay as we began to see what the problem was. About 50 minutes into it I literally stumble onto this fuse in Junction Block No. 2 (the big fuse box in the engine bay) labelled ALT/ST which I think means alternator/starter. It was a 7.5A fuse and it was blown. I used the spare sitting next to it and the battery light went away. I was very happy. The alternator was fine. I am not sure what this fuse is for since neither the alternator nor the starter stopped working as far as I can tell. So going thru the fuses was indeed worth it. I must have blown the fuse when i was installing my head unit but I dont know how.
As for the Big 3, i read somewhere that it would dramatically help with the dimming light problem I get when I have my system on even half way. One thing that i did notice is that I notice the dimming lights only when I am stopped at a red rather than when I am going 80 on the highway now. I wish i had used a thicker gauge wire now but i think a 8 gauge is about as good as its going to get without a bigger capacitor and a yellow top.
Thanks for all your input ppl!
I can sleep easy tonight.

Moral of this tread is:
CHECK ALL YOUR FUSES!