Alternator Questions

[buklau111]

Hi, started car 1 week ago after 2 years and today went to start it and it started up but when turned it off and restarted it dident start. It wouldent turn over just make a clicking sound and kept ticking when i turned the key. Luckly mechanic was walking by and he heard it and said its battery/starter motor/alternator. Stuck on jump leads to the car and it started up. When disconnecting a terminal and reconnecting it to the Battery it wouldent start which meant it was the alternator not holding its charge. What can I do now? £200 for alternator is ridiculous and not paying that. Ontop of all this I cant find scrap Toyota Corolla diesel for sale in this model since 193 made in 2001.

What can I do?

- Fix a second hand alternator from 1998-2001 PETROL onto my diesel (is it possible?)

- Go up a model to the new shape after 2001 and take a alternator from that, diesel one, eg 1.4 D4D or 2.0D(will this also fit?)

The car is a Toyota Corolla 2001 D4D 2.0 and there are no spares for it as ive checked.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Wouldn't the same diesel engine (possibly in a different state of tune) have been used in the 1997-2003 Toyota Avensis - the 1CD-FTV.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Anywhere near that reconditions alternators?

[buklau111]

No place here, so the avensies has the same 2.0 engine as the old corolla?

[oldcodger]

. When disconnecting a terminal and reconnecting it to the battery it wouldent start which meant it was the alternator not holding its charge. What can I do now?

Hi,

That does not make sense, the alternator does not hold a charge its the Battery.

Either the Battery is flat and needs charging and/or it may be faulty and not able to hold a charge or the alternator is not producing any charge.

First thing is to get the Battery charged up and / or tested if you have a local garage ( how old is the battery )

Second, with tha car running rev it around 2000 -2500 rpm and using a volt meter measure the voltage across the battery terminals, with those revs it should show about 14.2v dc which means the alternator is charging ok.

[buklau111]

Ok thanks. Battery is Halfords one but fitted 2 and half years ago. I charged the Battery at a mechanics and it worked. Last night I started the car and it worked 1 st time. Then turned it off to check oil and when tried to start it kept making.a ticking sound when turning over. Then jump started car and it worked and started. Then removed the negative terminal and reconnected it wouldn't start and would make the ticking sound. I'm going now to the car. I think it may be that one of the terminals are loose since the ticking sound means power is going thr

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Could be what you said, but also could be the Battery, it may seem to have been charged up fully, but that single start may have almost drained it, so it only has the power to click the relays.

Measure the voltage of the Battery after everything has been switched off for 10mins or more, if its reading 12.4 or less then its likely almost discharged.

Has that Battery been left in the car unused for 2 years ? - If they flatten too much its said to sometimes be impossible to recharge them properly.

[mcorban]

Sounds certainly like the terminals. Give them a good clean, and clean the terminals of the Battery also. Good dollop of grease over them to prevent corrosion. If there is white dust on it it would be a sign of corrosion.

[buklau111]

Hi, sorry for late reply, I was busy. Ive given Battery to charge now for 2 days and tomorrow I shall hopefully fit it in to see if it works now. Here is the sound the car makes when starting. In the video description he says he solved it with a new Battery so I will see if my car will not start then it means i need a new Battery? But when car is jump started it works so it must be battery right?

[oldcodger]

Hi,

That sound seems to be a relay oscillating on and off.

If the sound is in the Cabin its a relay, if its coming from the Engine bay it could be a relay or the starter solenoid, though don't think the solenoid could click that fast.

Why would a relay oscillate like that is difficult to say.

Without having that models wiring diagram and being there it difficult to remotely say what the cause is, I'm not an auto electrician.

What I would suggest is that you get a basic lo cost voltmeter and do those basic tests I suggested eariler to eliminate things one by one.

Also assume you have not been switching relays around ? or have by chance connected the Battery the way round?

Also be aware that you can damage a Battery by overcharging; did the charge you used have a meter or 'floating' option ?

[buklau111]

Sound is coming from engine bay and Im not sure what charging is being used, since mechanics doing it. Im also going to buy one of these volt meters to check it out. Im going later to put in the Battery and will update you guys with what happens.

[buklau111]

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Im really confused now. Battery was fully charged and was showing charge of 12.7V i think, i was watching a video and i remmber him saying that the Battery is fine with the Battery power. I know battery at the start was good. Then I started the car, it started first time, i dident even hear it crank and i started it for exactly 2 hours. At the end of the 2 hours, before I switched it off something happen. Voltmeter reading had dropped to about 10.8 and all dashboard lights appeared, the battery was flat so i turned it off. Tried turning it back on, it cranked then that clicking sound kept happening. Battery was dead. The car was at IDLE for 2 hours. I did regulary (every 5-10 mins) rev the car between 1500-3000 RPM for about 30 seconds. Also when the electrics/fan would turn on (since it 27 degrees outside) the voltage would drop to around 11.7 and then when it turned on, back to 12.7 or what ever reading it was at now since reading was dropping.

This is when first started with battery fully charged. Car is started here.

Heres the reader after 2 hours of the car being started. The readings dropped slowly slowly as car was started for 2 hours. Car is started.

These dashboard lights appeared when the car was started just before I switched it off. Voltage had dropped to about 10.8 by now when the lights appeared.

Here's the reader after all that, when the car wouldent start again. It would make that clicking sound. Car is turned off here.

At the start, battery reader was good as I was looking at a video showing the reading and I remmber myne was good but dont remmber the exact reading.

All help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Well you have some real results there but you have missed one important test or not mentioned it.

Most of your measurments show the readings when the engine is idling , did you measure the voltage when the engine was running at the 1500 -3000 rpm ?

At those revs the alternator should be working fully and you should see around 14.2v on the meter , if not then there is a fault in the alternator / its circuit /fuse

This would mean the Battery is not being charged and will run down; however a good Battery should probably run the car for a bit longer than you have done, assuing you did not have all the fans and lights on.

I would supect your Battery, though appearing to hold a good charge is possibly on the way out; probably as a result of being left unused for 2 years

Would charge up the battery overnight and do that alternator voltage test, that should give you the real culprit as its sounds like all that clicking, non starting was just down to a nearly flat battery.

[buklau111]

Sorry about the late reply. I will jump start car again today and test
the voltage at 1500-3000 RPM. Also, would the belt have anything to do
with it? Its all orange looking like its rusted, but its plastic so it
cant. I could change that since its cheap but if you can tell me if it
would have a difference then i would. Thanks!

[oldcodger]

Hi,

Would just get the engine running at 2000 - 3000rpm and measure the voltage across the Battery before doing anything else.

No point in changing things until you have proven them fautly.

[buklau111]

its showing 9 Amps at revs 1500-3000. As I reved up, the voltage decreased and when I stopped revving it went back up. The batteries dead again so i'll have to charge it again. But when I did the voltage tests 2 days ago, we never got a 14 volt reading, max was 12.9 that day at 1500 approximate rpm

[oldcodger]

its showing 9 Amps at revs 1500-3000. As I reved up, the voltage decreased and when I stopped revving it went back up. The batteries dead again so i'll have to charge it again. But when I did the voltage tests 2 days ago, we never got a 14 volt reading, max was 12.9 that day at 1500 approximate rpm

The 9 amps will most likely be the current flowing Out of the Battery, if the voltage drops as you rev the engine; which demands more current , then its clear the Battery is not getting charged.

When you lower the revs, and so the current demand lessens then the volts rise again.

You do not say how long you were running the car for this time, but it sounds like the Battery let go very soon.. ?

To me it sounds like possibly a duff battery not able to hold a decent charge and no charge coming from the alternator circuit; or a poor battery charger ?

First you need to check the fuses between the alternator and battery, I do not have any details of what and where they are on your model. There may be one or two, they are the biggest in the car at 100+ amps, be very careful when checking, disconnect the battery first .

If thats ok and the alternator belt is clearly driving it around then you need to have the alternator checked, repaired or replaced.

Perhaps your 'mechanic' may know of a good local auto electrician who can test it for you, sometimes it a simple lo cost repair, other times a recon or scrap yard one is a cheaper option.

[buklau111]

Car was started for less than 2 minutes. The longer I start it, the Battery is not charging and you can feel the cars really weak so I thought its a good idea to turn off the car. But when I did the tests with the pictures and the Battery was fully charge, I remember at revs between 1500 and 3000 max reading was 12.9, we never got higher than the 12's. Mechanic says he is 100% sure it is the alternator as when the car was started he showed me this. When the Corolla was started, the engine was heated to what its supposed to be he took off the negitive connection, the car instantly turned off, with a good Battery. Then with our other car, which has good battery, alternator etc he did the same thing and the car stayed running. he says this is because the alternator is still charging and as its charging it will be able to provide some charge for 20 seconds and then the car will turn off too. But Corolla turned off instantly.

Ive found a alternator for £47 and dont mind investing that money into a part. Before prices were £290 solid from euro car parts which made me go mad! A good point you said was the fuses, can someone tell me where the fuses are located for the alternator as I will try that first. Alternator is 120 Amps.

Also if that alternator does not work, the person who I am buying it off said they will take it back. Then I'll check out this battery.

Thanks!

[buklau111]

Hi guys, sorry for the late reply. I replaced the alternator and then did the tests. Battery was at about 12.6 volts which was good before start and then after reving the car at about 1500-3000 RPM the reading was somewhere in the 14's. Drove the car for many hours, through its MOT (passed :D) and other motorway driving and Battery reading was near the same. Problem fixed! I really want to thank you guys for all your help and especially oldcodger who helped diagnose the problem. Thank you.