Alternator or dead battery?

[camry_98_owner]

all

new member to the list.

i have a 98 camry LE, and 2 days ago the battery died. and my wife told me that the battery died slowly over the week. she could feel the battery strength decreasing over the week.

after that i jump started the car and drove it around a bit. the next morning again it did not start (if i turn the key, it just makes some clicking sound).

then i surfed on the internet for troubleshooting techniques, and carried out one of the following:

1) jump started the car. removed the jumper cables. let it run for 5 minutes. then removed the negative terminal from the battery and isolated it. then kept the car running for a while. the website said that the car should die within a couple of minutes. my camry kept running for 4+ minutes and then by mistake the negative wire touch the negative terminal of the battery. the car instantly died. and then would not start again. i had to jump start it again.

2) after jump starting the car, i let it run for 5 mins. then checked the voltage across the battery terminals and it was about 13.2 volts. then i switched on the AC, headlights, defoggers, etc. and then voltage dropped to about 12.2 volts.

if i am right, both the above tests suggest that the alternator may be the culprit. can anybody confirm this from the simple tests?

any input would be helpful.

thanks.

[Gary_602Z]

Tells me that the alternator is not putting out. Not that it is bad. Could be a wiring problem also.

Gary

[atobe]

yeah if your alternator was good it should put out about 14v even underload...sign of the alternator dying BTW alternator is very easy to change on a camry about 5-10 min job

[camry_98_owner]

Thanks for a quick response.

Can somebody suggest an online resource which I can refer to for instructions on changing the alternator on Camry 98 LE.

Thanks.

[crah]

You might want to bring it to an autoparts store like autozone to check for you. I had the same problem this morning and I brought it to autozone. They tested the alternator and the batter and found out it was the battery. I have the same year as your car.

[Maxemily]

It is likely just the battery.

Easier and cheaper to remove the battery and have it tested if you don't trust the entire car will make it.

Alterantors rarely fail on these cars.

If that is your original battery then I would say there is a 95% chance it is no good.

[RiZLA]

check the aleternater and see if its charging, if it is, its he battery.

[Eye8Pussies]

I'd say its more the battery than the alternator

the fact that there's higher voltage when hte car is running shows that the alternator is still functional....though it should put out more voltage, though I'm not sure about the 4banger alternators....

did you try testing the voltage at above idle throttle?

[Tercel GTS]

Both are bad.