Alternator going bye bye?

[billyblunk3]

2000 3.4L. Started up this morning just fine. Started driving and the battery light came on, showing 11.4v. Got to the gas station and the light is off showing 14.1v. Continued the drive, on the freeway it would go 14.1v to 12.1v and then come back.

Checked all connections. No corrosion. Everything is tight.


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[Bad Luck]

2000 3.4L. Started up this morning just fine. Started driving and the battery light came on, showing 11.4v. Got to the gas station and the light is off showing 14.1v. Continued the drive, on the freeway it would go 14.1v to 12.1v and then come back.

Checked all connections. No corrosion. Everything is tight.


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Sounds like alternator to me

 

[shadow247]

2000 3.4L. Started up this morning just fine. Started driving and the battery light came on, showing 11.4v. Got to the gas station and the light is off showing 14.1v. Continued the drive, on the freeway it would go 14.1v to 12.1v and then come back.

Checked all connections. No corrosion. Everything is tight.


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If you have time, just remove the alternator and replace the brushes. The Chain Store rebuilds and even new ones are universally known as garbage compared to the OEM Denso.

I believe you can still get a Remanned Denso that's of good quality, but the brushes are the cause of the failure 9/10.

 

[jkoni426]

Autozone tests alternators and batteries for free, that's what I would do.

 

[19963.4lsr5]

Brushes are around 20 dollars at the dealer.


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[gamefreakgc]

Visual inspection of connections are not enough. Ask me how I know. Give the battery terminals and the ground strap from battery to fender a good cleaning.

 

[cahaight]

Try tapping on the back of the alternator,the brushes get binded up,I got the battery light and after doing this off for 2k,I know it's going to need a rebuild soon but it's a Toyota doesn't want to quit...

 

[billyblunk3]

Yeah it’s super weird. It came on for about 6 miles right now. Showing 12.1v and now it’s at 13.8v. Haha


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[Thebeastlives]

Chances are it is 20 years old and it time to be replaced. 5 days ago on a 1000 mile round trip mine started to go on the way back home. 300 miles from home the battery light started flicking...oh crap. Fortunately it was mid day and I got within 50 miles before I needed my lights. I limped it home the last 1.5 miles. Everything on the dash went dead and even though after a 3 hr charge on my battery charger everything seem fine that 25 year old alternator needed to be rebuilt. I took it off and had a local starter / alternator guy who has done this for 30 years build me one in exchange for my old one plus 120.00. If it goes out at night away from home and leaves me stranded it will cost more than 120.00 so replace it if I was you. My ac unit is 26 years old but with my new alternator it hasn't been this ice cold in years..lol I would try to find a local shop that specializes in rebuilds especially if the shop has a very good reputation. Chances are they will last just as long as the original

 

[19963.4lsr5]

Visual inspection of connections are not enough. Ask me how I know. Give the battery terminals and the ground strap from battery to fender a good cleaning.

Yep, these tools should be in everyone’s toolbox along with the battery terminal remover tool if twisting doesn’t remove it.

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[thennen]

If you have time, just remove the alternator and replace the brushes. The Chain Store rebuilds and even new ones are universally known as garbage compared to the OEM Denso.

I believe you can still get a Remanned Denso that's of good quality, but the brushes are the cause of the failure 9/10.

Agreed. If you're anywhere near 200k miles, brushes are worn out. Replacement takes only 10 minutes longer than removing the alternator, which you're gonna do anyway. And brushes are $20 or less. I've had to order them, though, as dealers around here don't carry them.

 

[mtbtim]

Since many members have mentioned worn brushes could be the culprit, here's a video showing how to do it. I'm just not sold on the fact it's worn brushes causing the fluctuations you're seeing with the charging. But, it is a pretty affordable and easy job to do so it's worth a shot.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/71_kBhg6_-A" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[billyblunk3]

I ordered brushes from Toyota. They were 35 bucks after tax. Will be here Friday.

She sat for a while so I cleaned all the connections when I put a battery in it a few months back.

Gave the alternator a few love taps and it’s charging again. Will be replacing brushes this weekend


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[billyblunk3]

Agreed. If you're anywhere near 200k miles, brushes are worn out. Replacement takes only 10 minutes longer than removing the alternator, which you're gonna do anyway. And brushes are $20 or less. I've had to order them, though, as dealers around here don't carry them.

270k [emoji51]


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[thennen]

270k [emoji51]


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Git-r-done!

 

[Kanoe]

I ordered brushes from Toyota. They were 35 bucks after tax. Will be here Friday.

She sat for a while so I cleaned all the connections when I put a battery in it a few months back.

Gave the alternator a few love taps and it’s charging again. Will be replacing brushes this weekend


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I had the same symptoms one time. Put in new brushes and then put another 200,000 km on the corolla. The tap to fix is an indication it’s brushes making intermittent contact as they are now too short in length.

 

[billyblunk3]

I had the same symptoms one time. Put in new brushes and then put another 200,000 km on the corolla. The tap to fix is an indication it’s brushes making intermittent contact as they are now too short in length.

Yeah that’s what I’m going with. They show up tomorrow. Can’t wait.


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[negusm]

Visual inspection of connections are not enough. Ask me how I know. Give the battery terminals and the ground strap from battery to fender a good cleaning.

Not just that, but disconnect the cables and bend them around. Wiggle/bend the ends a bit. They should take some abuse without making crackling noises.

I had a bad time with my negative cable until I cut 12" off from it and soldered on a new section. 12" was just corroded inside but you couldn't see it just by looking at it. I replaced it with the old-school lead terminal. Far superior than what Toyota used. Their terminals will crack over time and it leads to corrosion which starts moving internally up the cable.

Got the brush set...but have 260k on her and the alt still runs ok. Debating whether to do it.

 

[gamefreakgc]

Not just that, but disconnect the cables and bend them around. Wiggle/bend the ends a bit. They should take some abuse without making crackling noises.

I had a bad time with my negative cable until I cut 12" off from it and soldered on a new section. 12" was just corroded inside but you couldn't see it just by looking at it. I replaced it with the old-school lead terminal. Far superior than what Toyota used. Their terminals will crack over time and it leads to corrosion which starts moving internally up the cable.

Got the brush set...but have 260k on her and the alt still runs ok. Debating whether to do it.

At 260K, you don't have much life left. Mine died at 225K. It's an easy repair, just pop out the alt and swap the brushes. Very little work needed to remove it all.

 

[billyblunk3]

And it’s swapped.


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