JoeLat

I've owned this Lexis for approximately five years now, with just over 100,000 miles on it. Until recently, there has never been a problem.

I started with issues around January 16th, when on a cold morning the vehicle wouldn't start and I had to call AAA to come jump the vehicle. Once it started, I let the vehicle run for probably 40 minutes before shutting the car off. I tried to start the vehicle 30 minutes later and it would not start. A few hours later, a friend jumped the vehicle for me, telling me the battery terminals needed cleaning badly and he thought that was the problem. He then took the vehicle to a local garage where they cleaned the terminals and told me it should be fine.

A few days later, on January 22nd, I was leaving a restaurant and had to have the vehicle jumped again to get it started. I let the vehicle warm up for maybe 10-15 minutes before leaving the parking lot. I only got about 3 or 4 blocks when my headlights started to flicker and then all the lights on my dash went out. I managed to make it to an Advanced Auto Parts where they tested my battery and told me that was fine, but my alternator was shot. I then had the vehicle towed to my garage. My mechanic told me the alternator was fine according to his equipment, but felt the battery terminals needed replacing, so he did that. It was good for about two days.

Then again, on a cold morning, the vehicle wouldn't start. My mechanic came over and jumped the vehicle and told me to let it run, but I didn't get far before the same thing happened again. At that point, he replaced the alternator.

Two weeks later, the same problem again. At this point, we noticed the lights would immediately start to dim if I had my seats on, the heat, radio, defroster or headlights. My mechanic kept the car over night and charged it. He continued to get a good reading for both the battery and alternator. This is when I stopped using the radio, the electric seat warmers or the auto lights. I use the wipers and heater, defrosters only as necessary. And I do not let anything run if the car is not in motion.

For three weeks now I have not had a problem, but have kept it to short trips during day light hours so I would not need to use lights. Yesterday afternoon, I again started with problems. I was in the city and I seemed to hit a red light at very intersection. I did not have any lights, radio, heater or anything else on. I had just left the city and was maybe a mile outside when my dash lights suddenly went out and even though I was pressing on the gas peddle, the vehicle was slowing down and I realized I was in trouble. By the time I pulled out of traffic onto the shoulder, the vehicle was close to shutting itself off. Because of the way it was sputtering, I turned the vehicle off. It, of course, would not restart. I called my son in-law and he came over and jumped the vehicle. He was getting a good reading and only let it run for a couple of minutes before taking the cables off. All seemed to be good, but as soon as he took the cables off, I lost all my power again and the lights on the dash immediately went out. This time he let it run for 15 minutes before taking the cables off. I then started for home, with no more stop lights or anything. This is probably about a 6-7 miles trip. This must have been enough time as once I got home, I turned the car off and it started back up with no problem. This morning it again started with no problem.

Since the car has become so unreliable, we need to either repair it or sell the vehicle as is. Please advise.

Hayk

iTrader: (1)

That sounds incredibly frustrating. I was going to give a simple answer, but it seems like your mechanic has already gone through the basics.

As far as I understand, the alternator is what keeps the electrical system powered on after you start the car. The battery is only there for the initial start. Correct me if I'm wrong.

So I would recommend to triple check everything around the alternator. The output, the cables, the connections, the pulley/belt.

Also, you said that the alternator has been swapped, but the battery stayed. How old is the battery? It could be an internal cell failure that's restricting the flow of electrons.

Go to a different shop for a second opinion.

pdr

There is a fused link at the front of the fuse box in the engine compartment, going to the alternator. I think it's 100Amps, and next to one that is 60 amps. In my car, that connection was loose, and when it lost connection my dash lights would go out. I happened to find the looseness by wiggling the fuse to make a better connection.

Your symptoms would seem to indicate the same thing.

A loose connection is something that is hard for mechanics to find since it doesn't always show up at the testing time.

However, I would get myself a Multimeter and learn how to use it. When the car stops, Check the battery voltage, Check the voltages when the engine is running to see if the alternator is charging. You can check across any connection for resistance. Armed with the knowledge of your tests you can determine the problem, no more guesswork. Or at least less guesswork