Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 07:23 pm, by: Chris Doolan(Dingaling)
Im in abit of a bind, the celsior is having some major issues.
I was driving along and i noticed the ABS light had come on, it whent off.
later on i noticed my coolant/radiator and low oil light both came on. I quickly pulled over to inspect, oil and coolant levels were fine.
I noticed nearly all my dash lights were on. Sometimes they would go off, then they would come back on.
I pulled over at the shop, came back to drive home, but when i put it into Reverse it did nothing, same with Drive.
I also noticed the radio has been cutting in and out lately.
And another thing i have noticed the car is harder to start as if the battery is nearly flat. Well i just put another battery in (new one) and it seems to start easy now. So perhaps my ALT is on its way out or not working at all (need to find my multimeter)
But this still doesnt explain my dash lights going crazy and not engaging gears all the time.
It really seems like a major electrical fault.
Probably a bad earth.
I dont even know where all the major earthing points are on this car. Dont suppose anyone had a diagram?
Any ideas guys?
im desparate for help as i need to pick my partner up tonight from nightshift.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 07:37 pm, by: Rich O'neil(Kiwiinaus)
Well from all the warning lights coming up it might be the alternator . When the alt goes and the batt is low you get multiple warning lights coming up !! Charge the battery up and then see if it runs fine , if so definitely the alt . You can replace it or get it rebuilt , any well stocked auto electrician should be able to fit new brushes and a new reg/rec while you are at it and of course the bearings as well .
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 07:48 pm, by: Chris Doolan(Dingaling)
OK that's interesting Rich, so when the alt is gone all those warning lights come on? (i thought just the battery light would come on instead off all the waring lights)
because at the moment i have nearly every dash light stuck on. it was going on and off the whole trip home today. If i could just find my multimeter to confirm.
I should mention that when the car is running (just tested) with the headlights on, if i rev the engine the headlights get brighter to indicate the alt is at least sort of working.
Will report back once i can find multimeter and test.
If the Alt is ok, what would you think? bad earth?
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 08:01 pm, by: Chris Doolan(Dingaling)
I think you might of hit the nail on the head there Rich, i found my multimeter.
Measured 12.3volts with engine off, and about 12.8volts with engine on.
So the alt is still producing a tiny tiny amount of electricity which probably explains why the headlights would get a tad brighter when reved, but its far from the 14V it should be putting out.
Guess im in the market for another ALT and PS pump that doesnt leak -
time to hand over all my money to the taxi's for abit
Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 11:07 pm, by: Mike Beck(Gold_40gt)
Yeah sounds like that is the issue. I fixed my PS pump / Alternator for $150.
Got a second hand Toyota 3s-fe Alternator which I made a bracket up for the lower bolt mount so it would be bolted in top and bottom, then rebuilt the pump.
Sorted. Worked fine, but the Alternator was a bit short on amps so the lights/ac would dim when you put the brakes on.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 02:26 pm, by: Aaron Mead(Aaron)
Have you had a look at the alternator yet? If its PS fluid, then the shaft will be farked and it wont be rebuildable.
When mine died, it simply gave up. The powere steering pump is still fine, and it was simply rebuilt for $110 on the day (or wait for ages and $300 and has been good so far (bout 18months now).
When its really on its way out, youll notice the engine stuttering, like an ignition cut feeling. You have about 10km after that before its lights out, literally
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 07:17 pm, by: Chris Doolan(Dingaling)
Well the plot thickens.
Had a look at the alternator from underneath, and it looks to be fine. No PS fluid has been leaking into it, dry as a bone, all wiring looks good (i do have a PS leak, but its from the idle up valve thing, lower down from the alt.) I also discovered the ALT is generating 14V+ volts once the revs get up above 2000rpm (roughly the same rpm where all those dash warning lights go out).
I'm really thinking its a bad ground but i cant for the life of me find where they attach to the body or engine to check.
So my symptoms in order of appearance: *First began showing difficulties starting, hard on first rotations of starter then would take off and start no problems. *Radio started cutting out every 5-10secs or so. *All my warning dash lights light up on dash when under 2000rpm *Failed to engage any gears on a few occasions (too much voltage drop to control solenoids?)
My theory is a bad ground connection, the resistance is overcome somewhat once the engine revs are up and the alternator is pumping out more volts to overcome that resistance from a bad ground connection??
I could be way off as im no whiz when it comes to automotive electrics.
I'm still going to try get another ALT to swap over and see what happens.
But geez id love to know where all the grounding points are on these celsiors.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 08:48 pm, by: Rich O'neil(Kiwiinaus)
Man it's your alternator , think about it , you think ALL your earths all failed at once ? The alt cranks out 130 amps , when your batt gets low all the ECU's go a little bit haywire and that's why you get all those warning lights up ,after all there is about 32 ECU's . I've been through this myself personally and have replaced 3 alternators for others as well and all exactly the same symptoms , at idle you should be showing around 14.8 amps . Sometimes it just needs new brushes , that's why it can go and then not go as the brushes are just barely making contact , but while you have it apart do the bearings and the reg/rec . Every time I've heard someone have multiple warning lights up it's been the alternator .
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 10:03 pm, by: Chris Doolan(Dingaling)
yeah you are probably right, i guess the fact it was still showing 14V charge threw me off it bieng the alternator, but like u guys said it can do strange things when they arnt working properly.
dont spose anybody has a spare working alternator they'd like to sell?
Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 08:56 am, by: Mark Tierney(Mark_t)
Here's a few remanufactured units in the US. Often cheaper than local re-co's - try www.sparkplugs.com - Denso for US$185 + about $50 shipping (part #210-0170 ); or - www.Rockauto.com - Denso for US$180 + shipping DENSO Part # 2100170 More Info {Remanufactured}
Dealt with both shops. All good. Rockauto ships like lightening.
Thursday, March 11, 2010 - 04:00 pm, by: Andrew Ferres(Peewee)
Mike Beck wrote on Tuesday, March 09, 2010 - 11:07 pm:
Got a second hand Toyota 3s-fe Alternator
Err, the stock alternator is 120+A for a reason. The 3S one is probably only 50A.
As for your symptons, yes, its the alternator.
I've now had 2 on me die, any neither appeared to be caused by a leaking power steering pump. (pump is still on the car).
Both of them went from 'working' to dead in no time at all.
The first one I drove to a tyre shop to get new tyres, started the car up and all the dash lights were on. Alt was dead.
The second one I drove to work fine, then drove out for lunch. On the way the radio keep cutting out (only the sound, the display was fine), then the dash lights started coming on. Turned the headlights off and the dash lights went off. Then the power steering pump got very noisy (maybe not the ps pump, but something did when steering). Replaced the alt and all was perfect.
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand SLK 230 Kompressor
Friday, March 12, 2010 - 03:27 pm, by: Dave Rose(Sand_groper)
also when the diodes are on the way out and a load is put on the alternator you get a growling/whineing noise ,sounds a bit like a p/steer pump full of air.
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