Lumby Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Chaps and Chappettes, Not old school I know, but my daily decided to throw its toys this morning with what appear to be a few electrical gremlins. Symptoms are lack of electrical power - ie wipers, windows etc all struggling to operate, and limited lights, ABS warning Light and Battery warning light on... seemed to drive okay but I wasn't going to risk it... It ran fine to work yesterday, but when I started it to drive home, there was a distinct change in tone from the engine bay - a higher pitched whir / whine had set in. A few tests round the block and no warning lights meant I figured it was ok to drive home.. The noise seemed to go quieten right down once everything came up to temperature.. My immediate suspicion was power steering pump - checked fluids etc all seems well.. no leaks and operating as it should. New belt was installed last service - about a month ago. Battery is still under warranty from approx 18 months ago, new VVT installed ~ 3 years ago, new fuel pump ~ 18 months ago. Any suggestions on what the fault would be and best way to test? I'm leaning towards alternator... The less spent the better as I'm still trying to get the funds together to paint my Cortina. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Check alternator is charging properly and check battery voltage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumby Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Ta, not so clued up on testing electrics, whats the best way to check the alternator? As shown below? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Just smash a multimeter (set to volts) across the battery terminals. First with the car off and note voltage (should be 11.something), then check with the car running, should be around 14 Looks like it might have a voltmeter on the dash? could check using that as well 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumby Posted May 1, 2014 Author Share Posted May 1, 2014 Sweet, thanks. was thinking too much. yep voltmeter on the dash, should have checked that - was running late and not thinking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Dunno how accurate the dash one will be but have a look at it anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegreatestben Posted May 1, 2014 Share Posted May 1, 2014 Bit older model but Toyotas are much of a muchness, my JZX81 did that and it was a dud alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seedy Al Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Hmmm. Usually if you're alternator light is on its the best place to start checking. Assuming the drive belt is still attached to the motor haha. Although could be earth problem also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumby Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Usually but battery light is not specific to alternator no? just to a low voltage problem? I have had odd fault codes out of this POS before. Like dirty throttle body triggered O2 sensor fault code etc. so was more curious if anyone had come across similar issues as time is short for diagnostics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 The amount of time it took to write that post you could have checked to see if the alternator is good or not 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumby Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks, except I am at work and had lunch to test for faults so was hoping for guidance in case it was something more sinister... Battery tests fine at 12, raises to 12.8 when running but drops under load to 12.65. So its faulting but not completely ruined.. have to take it out Sunday for repair / replacement next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beaver Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 Sounds like alt or battery is buggered then. It should be 13.5+ when running. Since battery has full charge (12v when car is off) I would say the alternator is buggered. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truenotch Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 ^^ What he said. They should sit around the 14v mark while running. Check that the battery terminals are tight and then look into diagnosing the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjrstar Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 I had a similar bunch of symptoms with my evo running low on electricity, I also had no battery charge light showing as it turns out the dodgy cable for the charging wiring (alternator to fuse box) was toast but the exciter wire (via the bulb) was still in tact so was getting voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumby Posted May 2, 2014 Author Share Posted May 2, 2014 Thanks, battery terminals etc all sweet and couldn't see any issues with cables so looks like alternator is coming out Sunday to be sent off to the local auto sparky for repair / replacement. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim13 Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 not sure about Altezas but some cars have an alternator / charge fuse , worth checking all fuses before you remove the alternator , a bit of a longshot but its a cheap/easy longshot ! good luck and lots of good advice above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mutiny Posted May 2, 2014 Share Posted May 2, 2014 also check tension of alternator belt if its too loose itll explain why its making noise and not charging properly, if its good then yeah itll be alternator, had this problem recently Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lumby Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 Cheers guys, pulled the alternator off and got it to the auto sparky today. he's just informed me that it's completely cooked and not really repairable so needs to be replaced. He was asking if something had happened to the car because it was well toast inside - hopefully it's just wear and tear as I can't think of anything apart from maybe driving it home after I noticed a change in engine tone as mentioned above. Good prompt service from Coast Auto Electrix, would recommend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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