Re: car troubles

On Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:58:13 -0800, suzo wrote:
[color=blue]
> Something is wrong with my car (1988 Toyota Camry) and I thought this
> sounded like a group that would know what the problem is. I'd like to
> have some idea of what the problem could be before I take it into the
> garage.
>
> When my car stops at an intersection and is idling, or I am just
> driving very slow, the headlights dim, the windshield wipers slow down
> and the radio stops working, when I speed up again, the headlights get
> brighter and the radio comes back on and the wipers speed up. It has
> also become a little sluggish starting up.
>
> Also, (and I don't know if this is connected or not, but it happened
> before the problem stated above) the dashboard light (that says I have
> a malfunctioning back light) is lit up, but when I took it to the
> garage, they said all my back lights were working.
>
> Any ideas?[/color]


Hmmm...usually a bad alternator trigger the MIL (Check Engine) and brake
lights, but yours is newer than I am used to dealing with!

Same symptoms on an '85 Corolla in 1992. I pulled the alternator, cracked
it open and found the brushes were less than nubs. $3.50 at the harware
store and a few minutes with a soldering iron and we were good to go again.

But you're probably luckier. When I did my '85 Celica 3 years ago, the
brushes had screw contacts. Unscrew the old ones, and screw in the new
ones.

The hardest part is getting the damn thing back together. You have to hold
the brushes in place with one hand, hold one half of the alternator with
the other hand, and slide the other half on with your other hand... ;)

Get some bearings from Toyota while you're at it. Three years ago the
bearings in the alternator finally wore out, and I can't get the damn
thing off the car now! (Wish I had known about anti-seize back then...I
would have gooped up the bolt holding the alternator on REAL GOOD...)

On Thu, 23 Nov 2006 06:49:32 +0000, Bruce L. Bergman wrote:
[color=blue][color=green]
>>The hardest part is getting the damn thing back together. You have to hold
>>the brushes in place with one hand, hold one half of the alternator with
>>the other hand, and slide the other half on with your other hand... ;)[/color]
>
> Hachi! You missed the trick! For shame, for shame... ;-P
>
> There's a strategically placed hole in the back shell of the
> alternator - you push the new brushes back in the holders and stick a
> bent paperclip or a toothpick into the hole to hold the brushes in the
> retracted position, tape it to the back cover. After you get the
> alternator all assembled and bolted together you pull the paperclip
> out, and the brushes pop down into operating position on the rotor
> slip rings just like magic.
>
> And you only need the two hands you were originally issued.[/color]

LOL! Thanks! If I ever get the alternator off my Corolla, I will certainly
remember this!

See, this group IS useful after all! ;)