MNeier

I've been having a problem of whenever I start my car my power steering hasn't been working. Along with this my battery light comes on. After a few seconds it starts to work again and the light goes away. Also, if I start my car with the air conditioner on the air conditioner light flashes. There has only been a problem when I started the car until recently when I was in line at a drive-thru and my power steering wasn't working and the battery light was on. I revved the engine and it was working again. I checked the power steering fluid level and it was fine. I'm leaning towards it being an alternator problem, though because when I break my headlights have been dimming. I'm currently 3 hours away from my car so I cannot test it now, but just wanted an opinion of what it could be. If it was just the alternator that could be causing problems with my power steering pump or both are out or what the problem is.

Thanks for any input,
Mike

MNeier

Also I'm pretty new to the forums so please take a look at my ride and give me some opinions. I somehow was ranked in the top 10 at cardomain and then my ratings got destroyed. My next goal is a Supra TT drilled/slotted rotor brake kit. I think it would look good with the rims. My goal for next summer is some coilovers.

Thanks,
Mike

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

Your power steering pump is leaking into the alternator, or has before, and has killed the alt. this is a very common problem with the SC's and you will find lots of info using the search box up there ^^.

Try and use as little terms as possible when searching for best results. you will find that this problem has been discussed quite a lot and there is tons of good info on it in the forums.

Welcome, and good luck.

additude

If the alternator is bad (No Output) then it's not charging the battery or running the car. In a freak situation, the alternator may not be putting out a high enough voltage/current to fully charge the battery. Say it's only supplying 8-10 volts instead of the average 12.8 volts it normally does.

What my point is, is that if your alternator is not charging your battery, then your battery is soon not going to be able to supply the cranking power to start your car.

You didn't say how long you've been having the problem. If you've been dealing with it for weeks or months then it's hard to believe that the alternator is bad because it appears your battery is being charged.

You can do a simple test to see if it's the problem. Start the car and remove the positive battery terminal. If the alternator is not supplying current to the car it will die.

If it stays running, then if you don't have a voltmeter, get a cheap one from Radio Shack or maybe Walmart.

Before you start the car check the voltage across the battery. It should be 12v or more. Start the car. Remove the positive battery terminal. Now check the voltage across the removed positive battery terminal and the negative battery terminal. It should also be 12v or more.

If it is then I'd say your alternator is working. I'm not sure if these cars have a voltage regulator or if it may be built into the alternator, but if you have voltage discrepencies the voltage regulator might be the problem.

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

The SC alternator will run for as much as a month (in my experience) while failing. it will just slowly lose voltage output. The only other time io experienced similar problems with dimming was when my ground wire had became severly corroded at the block.

miketyler

I have heard that alternators with internal VR's can be damaged by pulling the cable while the motor is running. Something about a diode-trio getting knocked out because there is no load present; perhaps not applicable to the SC?

THE_CEO

i just went through this process..get the alternator rebuilt..should be about $125.00 or less..it will run like new..

CEO

MNeier

I talked to a friend about it and he suggested a crank pulley because I haven't noticed a power steering fluid leak and I just changed the serpentine belt. Either the pulleys not pulling it fast enough or the belt has too much slack in it. This would make sense as to why they both have problems at the same time, but work the rest of the time. This would also be the reason the a/s light blinks when I start the car. Does this make sense to anyone else?

additude

You are looking for common ground in your problem and what you just said is just that.

However I believe the belt has an automatic tensioner.

Make sure you have the correct belt. That's a possibility or maybe the tensioner could be bad.

I doubt a pulley, pullies typically do not slip intermittently.

MNeier

If it was just the alternator, could that be causing problems in my power steering? I played with the car a little last night and did the pos. disconnect test and it died immediately. Also, I never had a problem with the power steering unless the A/C was also on. This has lead me to believe it is the alternator, but I do not really know if just the alternator going out can cause these problems. If it is the tensioner or the pulley, why would the power steering work fine when the A/C was off.

Thanks,
Mike

additude

One thing at a time.

It may possible you have two separate problems.

Something may be causing the belt to slip. Either it's a bad belt, it's not tensioned enough, something is putting a heavy load on it slowing it down.

Slowing that belt down will not allow it to turn the power steering pump pully fast enough causing loss, including the alternator output.

At this point I'd say the alternator is not providing current to the vehicle.

I'd resolve this problem with the alternator, then see if the others exist.

Nick T

MNeier,
When I first read your thread, I thought leaking power steering killing the alt. Common problem on a SC4. However I believe you have a SC3 correct? If so, It's very likely a slipping belt. First step would be to pull the alternator and bring it to your local parts store to have them check it. Since the belt has to come off anyways, might as well replace the belt and retension correctly. If the alt checks out OK and the belt replacement doesn't fix the problem, post back


Regards