Possible ECU Issue After Battery Replacement
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
Likes: 5
From: MI
Possible ECU Issue After Battery Replacement
I recently replaced my battery and prior to doing so the power steering was locking up, screen would flash on and off and all sorts of faulty battery esque things. I have now replaced it and am still seeing these issues. The car did seem to be running fine the first week prior to it doing this and then on my way back home from the store the power steering went out again. I think it may be the ECU not adjusting to the new voltage of the battery however I am fairly novice when it comes to car repairs. I pulled the two fuses to reset the ECU as I saw on another thread but it did not seem to help anything. The car was so low last night it would not even respond to my key unlocking it with the fob. It does respond to a jump start but clearly is responding weird with the battery issues. I most likely will take it to the dealer tomorrow however I was wondering if there is any troubleshooting I can do myself as far as the car re learning the battery power or if anyone knows a direct fix?
Thank you for your time
-Nathan
Thank you for your time
-Nathan
I recently replaced my battery and prior to doing so the power steering was locking up, screen would flash on and off and all sorts of faulty battery esque things. I have now replaced it and am still seeing these issues. The car did seem to be running fine the first week prior to it doing this and then on my way back home from the store the power steering went out again. I think it may be the ECU not adjusting to the new voltage of the battery however I am fairly novice when it comes to car repairs. I pulled the two fuses to reset the ECU as I saw on another thread but it did not seem to help anything. The car was so low last night it would not even respond to my key unlocking it with the fob. It does respond to a jump start but clearly is responding weird with the battery issues. I most likely will take it to the dealer tomorrow however I was wondering if there is any troubleshooting I can do myself as far as the car re learning the battery power or if anyone knows a direct fix?
Thank you for your time
-Nathan
Thank you for your time
-Nathan
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,487
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From: California
I was going to say the same thing, it is probably the alternator. If you changed your battery and it is not keeping charged, that would be one of the first suspects. There are multiple threads just on this issue and alternator turned out to be the problem
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
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From: MI
So I took my car to Lexus and they said they could not charge my battery and that it was bad (not sure if thats there way of saying dead but of course its dead). Anyways I had to take it to AutoZone to get a charge just so they can test the alternator. Seems like they could have done that themselves especially for the $200 fee they charge just to look at the vehicle. This is very frustrating as everyone here on this thread has said its the alternator, along with my intuition, my father, and the people at Autozone. If you care at all I will update you all when the battery is back to Lexus but it seems at this point to be just putting off the alternator fix by a day becauseI am sure when I take it back they won't be able to get to it today.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 19,487
Likes: 3,672
From: California
So I took my car to Lexus and they said they could not charge my battery and that it was bad (not sure if thats there way of saying dead but of course its dead). Anyways I had to take it to AutoZone to get a charge just so they can test the alternator. Seems like they could have done that themselves especially for the $200 fee they charge just to look at the vehicle. This is very frustrating as everyone here on this thread has said its the alternator, along with my intuition, my father, and the people at Autozone. If you care at all I will update you all when the battery is back to Lexus but it seems at this point to be just putting off the alternator fix by a day becauseI am sure when I take it back they won't be able to get to it today.
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Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
Likes: 5
From: MI
No because I just took the battery in, the car is almost not driveable at Lexus with no power steering. They said they would test the alternator but I figured Lexus would be smart enough to just do it and get it done. Guess not...
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Pit Crew
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From: IL
Please, just go to walmart/farm&fleet/wherever and buy a cheap basic Voltmeter/multimeter. Go on youtube and look at how to test if your alternator is putting out the proper voltage (should be around 14V idling/reving). You have spent far too much money and time trying to have others diagnose this.
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
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From: MI
I appreciate your help and I would but I think sadly since Lexus has the car they're gonna charge that $200 fee just for "checking the car out" In the future I will use this knowledge and save money but I just thought the "professionals" would handle this better and know its likely my alternator.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Oct 2019
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From: California
I totally agree with @Bylan , but since your car is already at the Lexus dealership I would talk to a service manager and not pay a dime for whatever they have done. All they needed to do was take a Voltmeter/Multimeter and 10 seconds later tell you the alternator is good/bad. They are wasting your valuable time and money. The alternator and or battery diagnosis literally takes a few minutes
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
Likes: 5
From: MI
Yes very true and now I know. The $200 goes toward the repair if it needs repair which puts my mind at ease a bit. but if they dont find an issue I believe its just for checking it. Luckily for me I am almost sure its an alternator issue and if they try to tell me nothing is wrong after a battery charge I am most definitely talking to someone and getting that figured out because $200 for that is absurd
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
Likes: 5
From: MI
Please, just go to walmart/farm&fleet/wherever and buy a cheap basic Voltmeter/multimeter. Go on youtube and look at how to test if your alternator is putting out the proper voltage (should be around 14V idling/reving). You have spent far too much money and time trying to have others diagnose this.
Personally I would take my car and run not walk away from that stealership. $200 for nothing and $600 for an obvious Alternator issue. Take the battery and unhook it from the car and put a multi-meter on it. if it says 12v or something close, your battery is not the problem.
I had my brand new (8 months old) 250amp high output alternator go out yesterday. Had to replace it with a re manufactured one from auto zone till the replacement comes in. pretty much everything you describers happened to me because it went out. replaced it myself this morning and made it to work by noon.
I used the thread on this site to walk me thought replacement and I got it done in about 2 hours total.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...r-removal.html
I had my brand new (8 months old) 250amp high output alternator go out yesterday. Had to replace it with a re manufactured one from auto zone till the replacement comes in. pretty much everything you describers happened to me because it went out. replaced it myself this morning and made it to work by noon.
I used the thread on this site to walk me thought replacement and I got it done in about 2 hours total.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...r-removal.html
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jul 2020
Posts: 12
Likes: 5
From: MI
I am not the most mechanically savvy guy in the world but doy ou think I could still do it? At this point I want to do it myself I just need a concise answer that I cant get with the car sitting at the dealership so I need to try to get it back and avoid that $200 charge if possible.