skperformance

iTrader: (6)

Hey just thought this may help some one ,like the guy in Australia who needs a new alternator and maybe a battery( but should still check his attery connections at the alternator starter and battery first). There is a big problem with the ES or camry v6 alternators as the 7 es owners i know in toronto all have the same problem.
1
battery dieing alot in winter( i know first thought is a bad battery , but we all have had multiple battery changes)
2
lights real dim until engine gets going (which is normal for most cars ,but more noticable in ours ) this includes the dash gauges which brightness depending on the charge of the battery before start ( this part really make no sense to me but i tested it)
3
my car if left at idle with light + fogs or any other high drain thing left on will cause the battery to not maintain a charge ,so if i shut the car down while letting the stereo + lights on at idle then shut it down it will not restart with out a boost since i did not drive the car
4
the best reason is i tested it with a meter at idle and it only is giving 10-12.5 volt not 14.4 which it should. and the battery will hold a charge easily and for a good 2 weeks
so if you had any queries before about dimming lights or failed starts

oh just for a thought when you boost a battery with a donor car ( the one providing the boost) there car does not have to be runing and you don't need to rev the engine ( unless you have really small gauge (thckness of the boost cable wire)

the reason is if your battery can start your car than why can't it start another car just as easily
the only problem is the cables not being strong enough to trans mit enough power so in that case let teh donor car idle for a few minutes to bring the other battery up to charge slowly

es3windom

thanks for the info skperformance..
my mechanic figured that it was my alternator.. it's totally stuff..
so i got rebuilt.. so i waiting a responce from my mechanic.

thanks for that again!

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

well here is a an update of sort
i was going to get my alternator replaced today as it was only pushing 11-12 volts at idle( was looking at anywhere from $120 -260 Canadian)
so i took it of the car and out went to a rebuild shop and they tested it but when they inspected it they also cleaned it up ,all looked ok and all the diodes worked fine
so they bech tested it ( put it on a machine ) and it worked great
so i t seems that the alternator just need the inside terminals cleaned
i wont say this will help everyone but so far it did for me and cost me nothing as most shops do a free test
now just to see if it happens after a heat soak
( when the engine is hot and heats up the internals of the alternator)

Luc

Another part to check is the alternator belt. If it is wearing out, there might be too much slack and is not rotating the pulley properly. Full regulation of 14.4V will never be reached when the car is idling, 13.8V at best, with all the radio, climate, lights, etc. off. But if the voltmeter is showing the same voltage for when the car isn't running and idling, then the alternator is the culprit. There's nothing scarier than driving the car while it's dying, as the battery just doesn't have enough reserve left.

Luc