Go to Radioshack and grab a multimeter for 15$

Start the car, test voltage should be upper 14.00 range close to 15v

If its in the mid 14's then your fine.

If its low 14's to 13's you need new alternator.

Just to check and see if your getting ripped off by this person.

 

Go to Radioshack and grab a multimeter for 15$

Start the car, test voltage should be upper 14.00 range close to 15v

If its in the mid 14's then your fine.

If its low 14's to 13's you need new alternator.

Just to check and see if your getting ripped off by this person.

I have a multimeter and will check it. The battery light is falshing on and off on a 3 month old battery. I'm going to call her and see if its constantly flashing or just every now and then. I would trade cars with her for a week and work on some of this but my mom can't drive stick and wouldnt want to learn in my STI. :lol:

Thank you for the quick reply.

 

 

hah i see.

Yea no problem.

Also if you test the alternator and your between 14.00 and 15.xx check the terminals 'remove the cables one at a time and wire brush them to make sure there is a good connection'

If you don't get a reading of 14-15 this part is useless.

on the VDC side of the multimeter set it to 20. 'if you don't know how to use one'

 

Is it an aftermarket or OEM alternator. Aftermarkets don't hold up as well as an OEM one. But they don't have the sticker price either. Another thing; some Avalons came with a 100amp alternator and some come with a 80amp alternator. What amp alternator is in there now?

 

I'm honestly not sure if its OEM or what amp it is. If I have time this week I'll go over and check it out.

I have never heard of such a problem on this generation Avalon/Camry. I'm thinking there is an underlying issue. Does your Mother drive the car enough to keep the battery charged? Do you know for sure if the previous alternators were really bad? The doors on my Avalon are a PITA to close. My wife frequently doesn't close her door because she isn't used to the force required. Is your Mother leaving the door ajar with the courtesy light on? Maybe a less obvious battery drain somewhere?

She drives it every day. She also said she's been having to replace the battery yearly.

Let's make sure we're all counting the same way.
Alt #1 came with the new car.

Alt #2 was installed less than a year ago, and appears to be failing, which means it (apparently) now needs Alt #3.

Short, high load trips could wear out the first one after low mileage. Unfortunately, miles isn't really a good measure of how much power an alternator has produced over it's lifetime.

The replacement could be:
- Undersized. As Gary pointed out, there was an 80 amp and a 100 amp used. I can tell you from experience that I could not find the 100 amp in stock locally (Toyota dealers not tried) when I looked a year ago. I have multiple chains and a NAPA warehouse locally. So, the replacement was most likely an 80 amp, regardless of what came in the car.

- A "repaired", not truly remanufactured unit. Many local "renuilders" just fix whatever broke, thereby offering a low cost alternative. Or high profit, depending on ethics of parties involved.

- Simply that one in a hundred (or whatever) that just fails.

If a reputable shop and reputable supplier are involved, it should be covered by 12 month warranty. The part at the very least, even if the labor is a shorter period. And the labor s/b 45 min or less.

Else, I think you have your answer as to the source of problem.

This will be number 4. The service records show the previous owner replacing it. I am helping her choose the shop this time I have no clue who did the work before. She said they were giving her the run around about covering it under warranty.

 

First off let me apologize for my first post being a request for help. I am a 12,000 post member on the Subaru STI forums but not on this site much because I don't own a Toyota. My mother called me last night to tell me that her battery light started flashing on her 99 Avalon and she went to a mechanic. The mechanic said her alternator needed to be replaced. The battery is 3 months old and the alternator is less than a year old. This will be her 3rd alternator. The car has less than 60,000 miles.

I did some searching and saw a few threads about alternators going out but nothing that was similar to this... Is there something that is being overlooked and causing the alternators to fail? Any advice would be appreciated.


Thank you,

-Jared

I have never heard of such a problem on this generation Avalon/Camry. I'm thinking there is an underlying issue. Does your Mother drive the car enough to keep the battery charged? Do you know for sure if the previous alternators were really bad? The doors on my Avalon are a PITA to close. My wife frequently doesn't close her door because she isn't used to the force required. Is your Mother leaving the door ajar with the courtesy light on? Maybe a less obvious battery drain somewhere?

 

Let's make sure we're all counting the same way.
Alt #1 came with the new car.

Alt #2 was installed less than a year ago, and appears to be failing, which means it (apparently) now needs Alt #3.

Short, high load trips could wear out the first one after low mileage. Unfortunately, miles isn't really a good measure of how much power an alternator has produced over it's lifetime.

The replacement could be:
- Undersized. As Gary pointed out, there was an 80 amp and a 100 amp used. I can tell you from experience that I could not find the 100 amp in stock locally (Toyota dealers not tried) when I looked a year ago. I have multiple chains and a NAPA warehouse locally. So, the replacement was most likely an 80 amp, regardless of what came in the car.

- A "repaired", not truly remanufactured unit. Many local "renuilders" just fix whatever broke, thereby offering a low cost alternative. Or high profit, depending on ethics of parties involved.

- Simply that one in a hundred (or whatever) that just fails.

If a reputable shop and reputable supplier are involved, it should be covered by 12 month warranty. The part at the very least, even if the labor is a shorter period. And the labor s/b 45 min or less.

Else, I think you have your answer as to the source of problem.

 

I wanted to thank everyone for their help. This truly seems like a great community. I apologize for my lack of details regarding the issue at hand. I just wanted to make sure that there wasnt some wide spread problem (like Acura TL's and their damn transmissions).

I'll try to find out more and report back. If any of you guys are interested here's my journal thread on my car forum.

http://www.iwsti.com/forums/gd-members-journals/176746-jareds-06-sgm-sti-build-plans-post-1-a.html

 

Nice car! :thumbsup:

 

New battery every year and needing 4th alternator. There is something else going on here, IMHO.

 

This is what I'm thinking. I'm not sure what brand battery she's been using but this kind of damage seems excessive for even cheap batteries.

Nice car! :thumbsup:

Thanks! I need to update the pictures I have my wheels powder-coated gunmetal now.

:welcome:

Hey Jared, just read your build page, sick STI. I also live in Plano on the east side. Pretty cool to meet people who are from my area.

Thanks man. There aren't any STI's the same color as mine so if you see me wave.

 

First off let me apologize for my first post being a request for help. I am a 12,000 post member on the Subaru STI forums but not on this site much because I don't own a Toyota. My mother called me last night to tell me that her battery light started flashing on her 99 Avalon and she went to a mechanic. The mechanic said her alternator needed to be replaced. The battery is 3 months old and the alternator is less than a year old. This will be her 3rd alternator. The car has less than 60,000 miles.

I did some searching and saw a few threads about alternators going out but nothing that was similar to this... Is there something that is being overlooked and causing the alternators to fail? Any advice would be appreciated.


Thank you,

-Jared

:welcome:

Hey Jared, just read your build page, sick STI. I also live in Plano on the east side. Pretty cool to meet people who are from my area.

 

Look for parasitic draw on the battery. Something is draining it. I think the first mechanic just threw a part at it.

 

I have a 1994 Toyota Corolla that I got in 1997. I'm on my 5th alternator since I got it and my battery light is on again (getting the on/off that's typical when I've had to replace the alternator before). Mechanic told me that the battery tested bad (which is the same thing they said before I've had the alternator replaced every time). They just replaced the battery today, and the light came on as soon as I drove it out of the parking lot. Now they are telling me that the alternator is bad. Well, this will be alternator #6 in 13 years of ownership (so replacing about every 2 years). I think it's ridiculous, but I've learned to live with it. I've asked them if there are any underlying issues causing this, and they keep telling me no. I've asked a few mechanics this, but none seem to know. There has to be an underlying issue, but they don't seem to know what it is and I'm not a mechanic. So, looks like I'll be buying alternator #6 and will expect to replace it in 2 years or so. I really don't know what else to do. At least you're not alone!

 

Some questions to consider:

Have you been getting alternators with lifetime or long warranties?
Have you been replacing with the original rated output?
Has anyone opened one up to see what's failing?
Is there any aftermarket electrical equipment added?
Do you drive really short trips at night, or run 120 v equipment off an inverter?

 

I'm with Ted on this issue. Have you taken an alternator which according to your mechanic has "failed" to a place which rebuilds alternators? Have an independent shop confirm the "failed" alternator before just replacing it. Usually the places which rebuild alternators will test the alternator for free, know which parts usually fail or if the manufacturer used any cheap parts, and will rebuild the alternator to a quality unit for about half price of a new one with a decent warranty. Also, they can oftentimes diagnose the failed component and just repair that part instead of buying an entirely new alternator.

 

Guys,
I know they are a lot more money, but I have never heard of anything like this happening wth an OEM one. It doesn't mean it hasn't or can't, but in30 yrs, I haven't seen this in an OEM one.

Time, labor, and inconvenience do add up to something.

Just my opinion based on what I personally have seen. OH by the way, I have worked in CA, FL, and GA, so this is even across the country, so it isn't even geographical.

 

And Denso alternators remanufactured by Denso are available at a reasonable premium over "no name" remans.

 

I'm on my 4th alternator l,
you must put the original alternator back in, but in my opinion there's no such thing, i believe the 80 amp standard model alternator was the original or you can tey the 100 amp, must be OEM certified. I'm on my 4th alternator, my advice get rid of it, I've already put $1,000 into mine and I'm still searching for that 4th alternator, from 1998 to 2013 or 2017 model Toyota forgot to tell us customers that the whole Avalon line sucks. The 1999 model was never supposed to be sold, I've researched this. Note: The Fuel line on your Mom's avalons probably killing her Alternator