PortAh

My RX350 suddenly has the battery light on dash today without warning. Then I see some smoke and smell coming out from
the hood near the passenger side of the engine.
I pulled over, pop the hood and i can still see smoke coming out from the vicinity between the dip stick yellow ring
and those belts.
I thought it was burning oil or coolant.
But I dont see any oil dripping from the bottom
and my temp gauge is flat at middle normal as it always has been.
No coolant dripping either.
Then about 15 mins later, the whole car electricity went dead.
No light on dash, cant start, no power, all blank.

Then I think it might be the alternator got fried.
And when it fried, is it common to short out the battery too?
I have it towed back. I measure the battery which has been starting fine few hours ago, now measured only 5V with nothing connected, I used a meter.

Is it likely the alternator fried?
Or is it something else on the electrical?

I had bad alternator before on other vehicles, but never got to
the point it fails so abruptly and with smoke coming out.

I read there is an alternator fuse, I dont think a blown fuse
gives out that much smoke, and fuse is supposed to protect things.

Many Thanks.

NVAKeith

iTrader: (1)

The elctrical symptoms suggest an alternator problem:

Battery light comes on indicating charging system problem, continue driving the until battery dies...

The smoke is unexpected unless your alternator seized and it was the belt smoking on the stopped pulley.

LSBen

Smoke is coming from your belt. Either you're water pump froze or your alternator is bad. I would not drive the car. It is not safe. You would have to take the belt off to diagnose which pulley is bad. Then replace the part and buy a new belt since belt is damaged

NVAKeith

iTrader: (1)

Good point LSBen! Something other than the alternator could be seized preventing the belt from spinning the alternator...

LSBen

My Scion XD with the 1.8 liter engine, same as on the Toyota Corolla had the water pump froze at 110,000 miles. Smoke was billowing from the hood. Had the car towed to a shop. When they tried moving the car, the belt snapped. The pulley was frozen on the water pump. It's common for the water pump to freeze on the 1.8L engines. First time hearing there may be an issue in the RX. My Rx with 205000 miles and my LS430 with 152000 miles still has the original alternator. Water pump replaced at 90 and 188k

PortAh

Thanks for the advice, both of you.

If the smoke is coming from the belt grinding on stopped pulley, that means the belt is moving.
If it is a pulley other than the alternator pulley, since the belt is moving(at reduced rpm because of the added friction), shouldnt the alternator still generate some juice?
I just looked at it, the belt is there, still under tension, but cannot tell if it is damaged, but it could well be though.

Recap of the mishap,
I stop the engine the first time I saw/smell the smoke with battery light ON. Pop the hood, smoke still coming out and the smoke subsided/went
away in about 5 mins.
Then I attempted to drive it home, start the engine, it started ok, battery light still ON, then within minutes, not even out from the parking lot of a shopping center,
smoke coming out again. That's when I pulled over and stop the car again. Then about 5-10 mins later, no more electricity, all blank.

PortAh

I dont know how the belt behaves under a stopped pulley. It can also be that the belt is NOT moving,
only the crankshaft is free-turning/grinding on a stucked belt that gives out the smoke.
In that case, it can be any of the pulleys.
I was just trying to single out which is likely bad.

LSBen

The only way to find out is to remove the belt and find the pulley with resistance by turning it. A shop can easily figure this out if don't you want to try and DIY. It may very well be your alternator pulley which could explain the low voltage

Nuke807

PortAh, any resolution to this issue? I'm having the same symptoms in my 2007 RX350.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but am hoping to hear about a fix.

For two days light smoke coming off and on from passenger side of engine. Can't tell where exactly it is coming from when the hood is popped. Smoke is light in color and quantity. When driving, battery light on dash started coming on and going off. Then battery light stayed on and radio turned off by itself. When I shut the car down to pop the hood, it wouldn't start again due to low battery. I charged the car with a battery charger and started it again a couple hours later and light smoke started again from belt side of engine. I shut the car down and will start investigating again when I get home from work.

This does seem like an alternator problem but the smoke doesn't seem to fit. The belt appears to be spinning fine and there is no sound of a stopped pulley.

What turned out to be the problem? The symptoms sound the same as mine. Thanks for any help you can give.

FloorJack

^^ Seems like an alternator going out.

What does the smoke smell like? (serious question)

Electrical or rubber?

Either way, have it tested.

Also: Be careful driving it like that. I've had to put out a few alternator fires before.

If the fire burns wire harnesses and other plastic components the repairs can be pricey.

Not trying to alarm you but I'd take it to get diagnosed ASAP.

PortAh

Nuke807, in my case, I replaced the alternator and it was not the belt grinding on stucked pulleys.
The battery was drained upon the bad alternator. I am still driving with the same batt since then.

Nuke807

Great advice, FloorJack. I went ahead and got the alternator replaced. $350 for alternator and 3 hours of labor set me back $700 but I got it done before any electrical fires. The smoke didn't smell electrical but smelled more like a hot engine. I guess it was coming from the brushes of the alternator?

Thanks for letting me know PortAh. All that was fixed was the alternator and I am still on same battery too. Good luck to us both!

Now I have to diagnose the AFS OFF light that has been blinking since I got it back from the mechanic.