Hi,

About a year ago (winter) my Interstate battery in my 1998 ES300 was dead. After getting a jump I took my car to a Interstate Battery store and they swapped the battery out with a loaner and tested/charged the battery over night. They said my battery was fine and put it back in my car. They said the alternator was putting out enough power.

Last December (winter colder weather) my battery was dead again. Got it jumped and left my car running for an hour and it was fine for a couple of months. But now my battery is dead again. Went back to the Interstate Battery store and they tested it, checked the acid and said it was a really low charge.

They hooked up a voltage meter to the battery and it was reading anywhere from mid 13's to low 14's. It did read low 13's once when we reatarted the car but went back up. Revving the engine did produce a little more power.

The battery guy said the voltage shouldn't jump around like that and should be a steady reading. Is that true? Is this a sign of a failing alternator?

Also, can alternator issues trigger the ABS/Tracs Off lights to intermittently come on the dash?

I will get my alternator tested. If it is failing what brand is recommended and how much should it cost? What brand is OEM?

Thank you.

 

How many miles? Most auto parts stores have the ability to bench test alternators. The factory 80 amp alternator is inadequate for this car I highly recommend you replace it with a 100 or 130 amp, search this forum for Highlander alternator. The engine will run better and you'll get slightly better gas mileage.

tl;dr: buy a Denso from Rockauto
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...generator,2412

 

Hi,

Car has about 206,000 miles.

What's the difficulty of replacing an alternator?

Thank you.

 

If you're experienced with wrenching very easy job. If you've never done any wrenching, difficult or impossible.

 

I second this. I went this route after I had 3 alternators die on me. Bought a Highlander alternator and hasn't had any battery issues since