Battery bar

[truthnexile]

My mom came by the other morn and said her '03 Corolla had started smoking and died at the stoplight, and she was barely able to drive home. Opening the hood, it didn't take long to find the problem.

Turns out the retainer bar had somehow come loose and contacted the + terminal, as evidenced by the obvious. I'd never seen 1 melt down like this. Anyhow, I got rid of the retainer bar and secured the battery by other, less precarious means.

[devinsdad]

WOW!!! After looking at that I went outside and cranked mine down some more. Any other damage to the vehicle?

[truthnexile]

Thankfully, no other damage was evident and I got her going with a new battery and new + terminal. My first thoughts were that the alternator hypercharged the battery causing the meltdown, but logically she would have seen the battery light come on or a fusible link would have blown to protect the circuit. This is one time when the simplest explanation turned out to be correct, and I'm glad I didn't have to change the alternator. It looked like a special tool is needed for the belt tensioner, and I don't have it.

[bennor]

Originally Posted by truthnexile

... and I'm glad I didn't have to change the alternator. It looked like a special tool is needed for the belt tensioner, and I don't have it.

No special tools needed for the belt tensioner. It just takes a 19 mm Socket and a breaker bar or long socket wrench. In the "read me" at the top of the 9th gen page there is a DIY thread for replacing/removing the serpentine belt.

[truthnexile]

Great to know- Thanks!
It seems that most repairs on these cars turn out to be far less of a PITA than initially expected, which is certainly a nice change after working on a mitsubishi and the like.
Great forum and a wealth of info.

[Raddman04]

This might help!