Headlights dimming and other serious questions - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

kimandbrad21 · 02-12-2011, 10:14 PM

alright right to the point... 1991 toyota corolla le, automatic, 4afe bone stock... nothing done to it at all..... alright when i drive at night, the headlights are bright when my foot is on the gas and im going, but lets say im on a dark road and i let off my gas pedal and the car starts to coast, the lights get pretty dim and you can notice, if i tap the gas pedal and the car pushs forward but lets say i do it gas on gas off gas on gas off you can see it clearly its like im semi flashing my headlights........ new bulbs... it was doing that before...... new battery.... its tested good battery.... also, i replaced axles and lower ball joints and upper ball joints and outer tie rods....... about hmm 9 months ago.... when i take a corner i hear a click click click noise.... what the hell is it? ony in turns, and usally under a hard turn.... do i really need to run 10w40 in my rolla, right now im running full sytn. 10w30 i live in northern indiana. thanks

RogueMoog · 02-12-2011, 10:29 PM

I'm thinking it could be the alternator for the headlights-dimming issue. Do the parking brake & battery warning lights come on simultaneously? My wagon has been doing that, possibly since I bought it over a year ago... I discovered a clipped fuse under the hood (charging system fuse), and when I replaced it with a good fuse, those two lights come on pretty much all the time on my dash. I think it means the voltage regulator is going bad... my headlights sometimes do the brighter, dimmer thing. Funny thing is that my alternator was supposedly replaced in the year prior to when I bought my wagon.

1990 alternator issue??

Here are the dash lights telling me that something's up with my alternator:

***plyr503*** · 02-12-2011, 11:12 PM

upper ball joints????? I'm not the most learned guy around here but I don't think there are any, though I could be wrong. As for your lights have you tested your alternator? I'd have to agree with rogue that it may be a charging system issue.

***SCT*** · 02-13-2011, 03:00 AM

There's no upper ball joints. Only lowers.

CV axles could've been faulty new. So you can try to replace it with another one again. Anything more would lead to the differential in the transmission.

Check your alternator. It may not be providing enough power as it should but provide enough not to throw up a fault.

I run 5W30 Mobil1 Fully Synthetic which has been the only oil my sedan ever used. I live in MD. You can run 10W30 no problem.

90 GP · 02-13-2011, 05:33 AM

Both Advance and Autozone do free charging system checks to find out if your alternator is up to specs. Manual calls for 10W30 stick with it. Clicking sound on turns definitely sounds like CV joint. Have you been under car to see if the rubber boots somehow got torn on CV joints on that side since you put them in.?

kimandbrad21 · 02-13-2011, 07:43 AM

sorry i said upper ball joints lol.... ive been replacing so many suspension parts on both of my cars.... i was thinking the same thing with the alternator getting ready to go... so i will replace that along with all the belts at the same time... thanks guys and we'll go from there...

I havnt been under the car sense i replaced the cv axles but i guess its time to get under and check things out... i prolly got faulty ones when i bought them. so i might as well use the warrenty and replace them again and go from there as well...

thanks for everyones input on this!

90 GP · 02-13-2011, 08:16 AM

Before you spring for a new alternator get the charge system checked. Some dimming could be considered normal.

corolliaxe · 02-13-2011, 04:44 PM

Like most have suggested the culprit is most likely the alternator. Before you purchase a new one make sure you also check the major electrical connections on your car as well. Check that the connections to the alternator are not lose or coroded.

Another tip i would give you is to always carry one of those jump start devices if you dont already have one. they always come in handy. i have the JNC 660, which by the way is really overkill, but the neat thing is you can check your charging system with it. its Definitely i time saver when i've left my headlights ect...

RogueMoog · 02-14-2011, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corolliaxe

... when i've left my headlights ect...

For this reason, I rigged up a lights-on reminder for my wagon

I made one for my del Sol before I bought the wagon. You can hear the beeper here:

You Tube

Same annoying, loud sound for the one in my wagon.

kimandbrad21 · 04-20-2011, 09:16 PM

wow its been awhile sense ive been on, I ended up replacing the driverside cv half-shaft just for the fun of it.. it did have some grease leaking already after a few months of driving, but i went ahead and replaced the brake pads and rotors we were getting heavy shaking while breaking and wow it took all the problems away with clicking in corners, the shims that were on the old ones where put on really bad so im guessing with them low on pad life it was just moving around ((scary huh?)

today i put the 3rd battery in the car in the last yr....... tomorrow i am going to at least replace the alt. and maybe the starter. i do have both now....

I have another question......
at some point i will be replacing the exhaust manifold. would it be better to go at the bolts when i get done driving ((hotter then hell)) or just let the car cool down to garage temp. (cool to a touch of holding hand on manifold) ? didnt know if anyone has tryed both? the manifold is cracked