IceMan Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 A couple of times now with all electrics on (stereo, air con/heating, headlights) the power's cut out and alarm came on! One time was on my drive but today I flashed full beam in case any cars were coming round a dodgy narrow corner and the car totally died with alarm going off! Is this likely to just be a failing battery or something else? I notice at low revs the rev gauge is slipping lower than usual and the lights dim a bit... Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stt Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Could be an earth strap breaking down as that would cause similar problems,check the strap from the battery to the body work and if there is any other earthing cables from engine or box to the body work too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceMan Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 hmmm... very interesting. A few weeks ago the arm/catch over the battery came loose and started rattling until I screwed it back down. But I did notice a black tubed wire(?) under the battery is forced in a sharp v-shape back on itself... could this be related? Will investigate further soon, or let Toyota have a look as the car's in on Thursday for new shocks. Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceMan Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 I hope I can make it to Toyota! Definitely think it's battery - car revs drop then it turns off at low revs! Switching any electrical system on dims lights and makes power steering heavier. I went out for band practice then the car cut out totally when started... and when it started later after practice the clock had reset... The only problem tomorrow is the traffic jam to the Toyota dealership... I'll have to hold on brake and gently hold accelerator to prevent it stalling! Wish me luck! Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Could be the alternator if it's acting up while driving, as the alternator powers the car electrics while the engine is running -Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Battery or alternator modst likely to be alternator as as bad asyou describe it would be unlikely to start if it was the battery. Your earth connection does not sound too healthy. I would take it to a battery place and get he battery checked for free, before toyota charge you £55/hour to test your battery and tell you its OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceMan Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 Toyota haven't been too bad on me overall, they seem to keep costs down a bit as I visit them regularly heh! Better still are the few small jobs I got them to do but they were too tired to bill me hehe! Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wez Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 I had a similar issue, I would be driving along as normal and then no power then power back again all gauges reseting etc Mine turned out to be a faulty imob, eventually this caused the starter motor to engage while driving which burnt it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 IMO I'd get it checked out as soon as possible. It's unlikely to be the alternator, because it won't actually stop the car from running. The only reason it powers the car when the engine is running is because it puts out more power than the battery. It doesn't physically switch anything to take over, it simply smothers the battery voltage. And, it's unlikely to be the battery, unless it has a really strange fault, as the battery CAN stop the car from running, but if it was that bad, it wouldn't allow you to start the car afterwards. My guess is either loose battery terminals or dodgy earth point/cable. I'd be interested to know either way please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceMan Posted December 2, 2004 Author Share Posted December 2, 2004 Well got into Toyota by left foot braking whilst holding accelerator so revs stayed at 1000rpm or thereabouts, lower than that and it just dies away! Anyway they had the car to replace shocks (all rattles gone!) and boot rubbers (me=lazy!) and when I got the car back they said they tested the battery and alternator and they were fine. He said they had trouble getting the car in the garage but after the engineer revved it hard and took it for a hard drive and after that it didn't stall any more. Same story when I took it home, though the revs are still a little low at 500rpm idling, but crucially just above the stall point! They thought maybe choke wasn't working and revving it cleared it out ... me I'm not so sure so I'm keeping an eye on it! Only things now wrong to resolve are: - "WOOO" sound from enigine at medium revs - need to visit rolling road to identify methinks! - light plastic rattle from rear which I think is black plastic surround on inside of boot lid... though need to confirm that... - rust spots on tiny stone chips (where's the touch-up kit I ordered Toyota!). - driver's side door trim come unclipped, pain to replace apparently... - passenger reading light bulb blown! Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Glad to see the car's running better, even if you don't know what the problem was... Maybe they disconnected the battery, which caused an ECU reset, and tightened up a possible loose terminal [/end straw clutching session] Originally posted by IceMan Only things now wrong to resolve are: - light plastic rattle from rear which I think is black plastic surround on inside of boot lid... though need to confirm that... Almost certainly, although Supra's do seem to have quite a few plastic rattles... - driver's side door trim come unclipped, pain to replace apparently... Where's it come unclipped? - Door cars are really easy to get on and off, and the few plastic clips that are on the inside of the panel are easy to replace once the door card is off. - passenger reading light bulb blown! This ones easy to do as well. Get a small screwdriver under the clear plastic lens, and gently prise off. You'll see the bulbs directly behind... 20 second job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian C Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 Originally posted by IceMan They thought maybe choke wasn't working and revving it cleared it out ... me I'm not so sure so I'm keeping an eye on it! The choke?! Jesus christ. It's a fuel injected engine, like most engines from the last ten years, and like them, it doesn't have a choke... -Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceMan Posted December 3, 2004 Author Share Posted December 3, 2004 Originally posted by Matt Harwood Maybe they disconnected the battery, which caused an ECU reset, and tightened up a possible loose terminal [/end straw clutching session] Almost certainly, although Supra's do seem to have quite a few plastic rattles... Where's it come unclipped? Well I thought maybe when power cut out totally when I turned the key last night it reset the ECU. Clock inside was reset to 0:00 too... that would explain the car not knowing the "stalling point", however I drove it more than 10 miles since then (normally the amount before the engine remembers things accurately!). As for the rattle, how do you remove the black boot lid cover on the inside? I don't know where the clips are and don't want to break it by forcing it! Someone on here must have removed it at some point to get to rear windscreen wiper motor etc. As for the door trim, I don't mean the plastic step inside. I actually mean the black trim underneath the door sill. The front clip has come off and the area fills up with mud, forcing it off more. The clips appear to have a flat plate which is supposed to be slotted through a hold in the body then rotated to lock them in place but I'm not sure how you'd achieve that! Unless the clips can be removed from the trim and twist locked into the body then clipped back into the trim. I mentioned this before as people changing the side skirts will likely have removed this trim, and someone said it's a nightmare to clip it back on ...I actually unscrewed all the screws underneath but the trim still wouldn't move! Any advice/photos/links would be much appreciated! Ta for all the other info too. I should also add that I need to check my derestrictor again as it managed to come back on (I got an Amber Performance(?) derestrictor/km->m convertor) and when I last tried it stopped at 120mph. Having said that it didn't recently at 125mph but I need a clear stretch of road to test further! Ice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredm Posted December 3, 2004 Share Posted December 3, 2004 Main Dealers really piss me off with all their bullshit, sticking choke my arse. I think the problem will be back unfortunately. It sounds to me like an intermittant open circuit in the wiring loom. First off I would check the main chassis earth strap, should be in real good condition, make sure where it attaches to the body is clean (rust free) and tight. Next check the large maxi fuses for a good fit, take them out and make sure the blades are not corroded, clean them up with wet and dry. Next thing is to check the wiring loom for any multiplugs that might have wiggled loose, it's unlikely but maybe if you have had other work done recently it could be that plugs have not been properly snapped back together. Ideally you want to try and replicate the fault with the car on the driveway then you can hunt around with a multimeter. A good way of checking circuit continuity is by checking for "volts drop" on a circuit while it is under load, it's tricky to explain though. In my opinion it would be worth getting a good auto electrician to spend an hour checking your car out, the last thing you need is the car cutting out in busy traffic. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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