Everything was good and THEN!!!!

[Mr.Baca]

so if anyone can help me on this problem that is tripping me out im sort of a newbee so bear with me please well here it goes i bought my car like 5 monthes ago and i cant drive it due to a suspended license so it is just parked in my driveway well it is the first time it rains since i had the car so i covered the air intake because i didnt want it to get wet. Then the first night of raining passed and it let up so i went to turn on my baby and it turned on like always but then the charge light went on and the cooling fan light too so im worried. so the first thing i did was while it was runnig was unplug the positive wire on the battery and it turned off bad alternator right and i am wondering since my car is parked on a incline facing down when the water goes through the vent on top i think the water sliped in btw the coolant reservoir and the little boarder on top of the reservoire well what i wanted to know is did the rain cause that and whats up with the cooling fan light any help would be appreciated
Thankx

[FWD=LOL]

I cant remember for sure, but when my alternator belt broke, Im fairly sure those were the two CELs that came on. So I would either guess your alternator is dead or your belt might be slipping. Personally Id recomend,
-Charge your battery
-Do the alternator test with a Voltmeter on the battery
-If the Alternator is dead or weak, Make sure the belt is in fact turning
-If it is I would personally take the alternator out and take it to a rebuilder, And buy a new belt.

But thats me

Pat

[Mr.Baca]

my dash voltage meter is at half before i had the problems it would be about three fourths and any advive on why my cooling fan light came on

[FWD=LOL]

usually the CELs will come on to tell you when something is wrong. However sometimes when more than one comes on at a time it is also a code to check. For instance I am fairly sure when the battery and fan come on it means your alternator isnt working. I cant remember where I saw the codes before, try searching CEL codes. But I would follow my steps above to ^

Pat

[muffinman]

sounds like a faulty alternator. let it dry out and check all your connections. you could also get the alt tested but it can be a pita to remove.

check out this thread also
grrrr 3 lights on dash?

[mr2tim]

Check the "Charge" fuse and maybe your fusible link.?

With the engine running your voltage should be 13-15volts, with the high beams and heater fan on you need to test for more than 30 amps.

Once this thing is resolved you'd be best served NOT EVER disconnecting the positive cable when the engine is runnning, this is a Toyota service advisory!!!

[Mr.Baca]

in pandabwheels.com the say it is the voltage regulator thats mess up its supposably in the alternator can i just replace that or i have to buy a new alternader

[muffinman]

just buy a new one or you can have yours rebuilt.

[dirocyn]

Originally Posted by Mr.Baca

in pandabwheels.com the say it is the voltage regulator thats mess up its supposably in the alternator can i just replace that or i have to buy a new alternader

Yes, you can replace just the voltage regulator on most alternators. It requires taking the alternator apart, replacing some of the internals, and putting it back together again. I'm getting ready to do that job with a Delco alternator (GM), I've had the case apart before and it's not a bad job on those. Figure an hour and a half for your first one, after you get it out of the car. Although, honestly, I'm only rebuilding that alternator because the alternator case had to be modified to fit in an MG Midget, and I don't want to have to modify another one.

There are 3 ways alternators commonly fail--Voltage Regulator, Brushes, and bearings. If the bearings fail, the alternator will make noise or lock up--and usually the belt breaks. If the brushes fail, the alternator could become noisy (usually a fairly quiet scritchy noise), or just quit charging.

If the VR fails, one (or more) of 3 things will happen: the alternator will produce too much voltage, which is bad for the battery, the alternator will ground electricity from the battery (mine did this, the alternator case got really hot) and will drain your battery, or the alternator will simply fail to charge.

As of this morning, a voltage regulator is available on Ebay for under $45, a brush set for $10, and bearings not at all. Compared to a reman from Autozone for $102--which will have new bearings, brushes, and VR in it. In my judgment, if a replacement alternator is available for a reasonable price, it's not worth replacing just the VR.

If I had a bad alternator out of the car, and more time than money (as usual), I might crack the case and test the VR with a voltmeter--if it tests good and the alternator spins freely I'd consider replacing the brushes.

[traintech86]

Originally Posted by Mr.Baca

my dash voltage meter is at half before i had the problems it would be about three fourths and any advive on why my cooling fan light came on

i was here, swapped the battery and bought an alt. now i am sitting at 3/4's and the car starts.