Battery good, but it goes dead from a faulty alternator!
02-28-16, 06:28 PM
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Battery good, but it goes dead from a faulty alternator!
Hi, All–
So my car's battery has been going dead when I leave it parked for a day or two. I recharge the battery and go to an auto parts store to check it out and it's in good health. Today it happened again and I had the guy check the alternator voltage output and he said it was off and not working correctly.
The only things I had done to the car is have an after market alarm installed by the Lexus dealer where I bough the car, as well as the Blackvue system DR550 (dash cam system) about 2.5 yrs ago.
The Blackvue is Dr550 is setup to a voltage meter so when the battery drops below a certain level, it shuts the system off when parked to prevent the battery from draining. I had the Blackvue installed by the same private company that installed my after market alarm at the Lexus dealership (this was hardwired into the car).
So my questions are: Do you guys think the reason for my battery issues with the alternator is due to these additions to the car? I will schedule an appointment with the dealership to have it checked out. I am worried since these were additions to the car they might site some bull. I payed an arm and leg to have them install the after market alarm so if something like this happened, I could protect myself. As for the Blackvue, I used the same company they used to have it installed (the same guy who installed my after market alarm installed the Blackvue).
Should I remove the Blackvue system before going to the dealership to have the car checked out? I could only remove the cameras (front and back) and the voltage meter below the dashboard for the system since all the wiring is internal.
I know an alternator is an expensive fix, but the car is a 2014 IS with 42,000 miles. It should be under warranty and since I had the lexus dealership do the install of the after market alarm and their people do the Blackvue system, they shouldn't give me bull!
Thanks in advance for any feedback and my apologies for the long post!
2014IS250
So my car's battery has been going dead when I leave it parked for a day or two. I recharge the battery and go to an auto parts store to check it out and it's in good health. Today it happened again and I had the guy check the alternator voltage output and he said it was off and not working correctly.
The only things I had done to the car is have an after market alarm installed by the Lexus dealer where I bough the car, as well as the Blackvue system DR550 (dash cam system) about 2.5 yrs ago.
The Blackvue is Dr550 is setup to a voltage meter so when the battery drops below a certain level, it shuts the system off when parked to prevent the battery from draining. I had the Blackvue installed by the same private company that installed my after market alarm at the Lexus dealership (this was hardwired into the car).
So my questions are: Do you guys think the reason for my battery issues with the alternator is due to these additions to the car? I will schedule an appointment with the dealership to have it checked out. I am worried since these were additions to the car they might site some bull. I payed an arm and leg to have them install the after market alarm so if something like this happened, I could protect myself. As for the Blackvue, I used the same company they used to have it installed (the same guy who installed my after market alarm installed the Blackvue).
Should I remove the Blackvue system before going to the dealership to have the car checked out? I could only remove the cameras (front and back) and the voltage meter below the dashboard for the system since all the wiring is internal.
I know an alternator is an expensive fix, but the car is a 2014 IS with 42,000 miles. It should be under warranty and since I had the lexus dealership do the install of the after market alarm and their people do the Blackvue system, they shouldn't give me bull!
Thanks in advance for any feedback and my apologies for the long post!
2014IS250
02-28-16, 08:47 PM
#2
I think its the alarm causing draw. The lexus dealer i bought my car from dont even offer alarms they said they cause more problems then do good. Nobody has ever posted about bad alternator so i doubt its that
03-10-16, 03:49 PM
#3
With the engine running, remove the battery + terminal. If the engine still running, the alternator is good. If not, the alternator is going south for vacation.
Just DON'T use this method too often.
Normally, most/all Toyota cars, if the alternator has problem, there will be dozen of icons lit up in the gauge cluster.
Just DON'T use this method too often.
Normally, most/all Toyota cars, if the alternator has problem, there will be dozen of icons lit up in the gauge cluster.
03-10-16, 04:51 PM
#4
With the engine running, remove the battery + terminal. If the engine still running, the alternator is good. If not, the alternator is going south for vacation.
Just DON'T use this method too often.
Normally, most/all Toyota cars, if the alternator has problem, there will be dozen of icons lit up in the gauge cluster.
Just DON'T use this method too often.
Normally, most/all Toyota cars, if the alternator has problem, there will be dozen of icons lit up in the gauge cluster.
The battery acts as filter for spikes and smoothes out the rectified A/C voltage generated by an alternator.
Anyway if you want to find the source of the draw when the car is off what you should do is this:
With the car off, disconnect the negative battery cable and connect a volt meter set to DC volts between the negative battery terminal and the negative battery.
You SHOULD get your battery voltage (about 12.8). If you get LESS and by less I mean A LOT less, start pulling fuses ONE at a time, and after each fuse check the battery voltage again, You'll probably find one that causes the battery voltage to go back up to normal, that circuit is whatever is causing your battery to go dead.
03-10-16, 05:16 PM
#5
I'm not sure on the IS, but I lost count of how many time I pull battery terminal on my Supra. I did a few time on the 2011 Sienna, 2004 Matrix, 2000 Accord, 2006 Sienna, and my brother 1992 LS400. Never have any problem with those cars. It's a quick and dirty way for me to check if the alternator is good/bad. Maybe I'm lucky.
I'm not sure there is a side affect of using the method, and that the reason I did state "Don't use the method too often".
I'm not sure there is a side affect of using the method, and that the reason I did state "Don't use the method too often".
03-12-16, 01:25 AM
#6
Racer
iTrader: (3)
Look up battery drain issue on 3IS .
It's common it seems. There's a long thread on here somewhere. Lexus is replacing batteries first and then second gateway ECU under warranty from what people have wrote. It's not a formal technical bulletin but that's what some people getting drain battery are having replaced by Lexus dealership after they diagnose the issue and it seems to be helping those cars
It's common it seems. There's a long thread on here somewhere. Lexus is replacing batteries first and then second gateway ECU under warranty from what people have wrote. It's not a formal technical bulletin but that's what some people getting drain battery are having replaced by Lexus dealership after they diagnose the issue and it seems to be helping those cars
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