Battery Light

[cfarrell]

Can I ask you guys for some advice please?

 

I have a 2007 Lexus IS250, which I've owned since new and it has been pretty faultless. It's got 207,000km to date.

 

This morning while stopped in traffic, I noticed the Battery light on the panel, illuminated. After about 5 minutes it went off, and stayed off.

 

During the day I had to drive to a meeting. On starting the car, the Battery light stayed on an unusually long time...maybe 10 seconds after starting and then went off, and stayed off for the rest of the trip.

 

When leaving the meeting to return to the office, I had the same thing. The light stayed on for 10-15 seconds then went off and stayed off for the rest of the trip.

 

Then this evening coming home, the Battery light came on after starting and stayed on for the whole journey. It occasionally blinked off, if the revs got very high 6-7K rpm, but was pretty much on the whole time.

 

Some other information that might help diagnose:

About two weeks ago, I had a problem with the engine running rough for a minute or two, and then back to normal. (By rough I mean it was like it wasn't firing on one cylinder). The problem seemed to solve itself, but I had the spark plugs replaced just in case, as they were overdue for replacement. €270....ouch! There were no warning lights on the dash.

 

Around the same time this started, I noticed an unusual 'whirling' sound from the engine that happened at low revs. It tracked the engine RPM, and peaked about 2000rpm, after which the engine noise took over and I could no longer hear it. It wasn't solved by changing the spark plugs (unsurprisingly!) but in the past few days I've noticed it has got quieter, to the point that I probably wouldn't have noticed it anymore.

 

The Battery was replaced about two years ago when the car got hard to start (but no warning lights at the time).

 

It took me about 40 minutes to drive home this evening (traffic) and I kept all optional electrics off, and didn't experience any other warning lights or ill effects.

 

My guess is that the alternator is gone/going. But I'm not very mechanical aware, and have nothing much to base this on other than the whirling noise, the fact that high RPM can make the light go out temporarily and the Battery replaced 2 years ago.

 

Question:

Am I on the right track? Is it most likely the Alternator?

Is there any way to prove this before replacing the alternator? A quick google suggest buying the alternator online will cost about €800-900! So I don’t want to have to just replace it to see if that solves the problem.

Is there somewhere you guys could recommend to buy it at a better price and I could find a local mechanic to fit it for me? (I need it posted to Dublin not the UK, and obviously don't want to be waiting too long on it, so buying from the far east and waiting a few months for delivery isn’t really an option!).

 

Thanks

Colm

 

Ps. Some extra info. I've just put a multimeter across the Battery, with the engine off, approx. 1 hour after driving home with the light on all the way home. It measures 12.6V. No idea if that's good or bad!

 

[bobmc]

My tech knowledge is not as good as some LOC members, but seeing as no-one else has chipped in - here's my thoughts.

Given the Battery is fairly new, and that you don't have any issues starting the car and you've got 12v at the Battery terminal, then the most likely explanation is that there is a problem with the charging system.

The alternator may not be bad, more likely the belt is loose or worn, that needs to be checked before spending big cash.

There's some useful info here to get you started

http://www.askthemechanic.co.uk/electrical/charging-system

 

[Verbout]

Are the Battery terminals loose? Check belts as per above.

Let's start with the easy fix possible issues first before we start buying parts.

Look on YouTube for an instructional video on checking the charging system, Chris Fix is quite good.

[juicestop]

Definitely alternator on the way out.

[Verbout]

17 minutes ago, juicestop said:

Definitely alternator on the way out.

You may be right, but how can you 100% diagnose a car over the Internet?

[juicestop]

Because the same symptoms happened to me. BTW, eBay sell new for £212 + delivery.

[cfarrell]

Thanks guys!

 

I looked at the Chris Fix videos. This morning my Battery was showing 12.4V. I started the car and it then dropped to 12.2V. According to the Chris Fix video it should have gone up to 14.2V after starting the car. So I concluded that it must be the alternator.

 

Some googling last night indicated that replacing the alternator wasn't the only option! Apparently it's possible to get them refurbished. I don't mean to buy a refurbished one, but to get my own one refurbished. There were two places I found in Dublin who claimed to do them the same day.

 

So I called one this morning and he said it would be about €150-€200, depending on how difficult it was to access the alternator. When he say the engine bay, he said "Damn, that's going to be hard to get at!". So he told me it would be about €250, and he'd do it there and then. It took about 3 hours.

 

Turns out that all regulator elements had blown in my alternator. He said that he'd only ever see that in a car that had been jumpstarted with the cables the wrong way around (mine has never been jumpstarted). He replaced that, and also the pulley which he said was showing signs of wear, and some other bits that I've forgotten. Seem to have done a very good job, and for €250, my problem is solved. A lot cheaper than any new alternator, and included the removal and fitting.

 

I'm a much happier man than I was yesterday evening thinking I was facing a four digit repair bill!

 

For anyone else in Dublin facing the same issue, these were the guys I used and I'd recommend them.

http://www.airportautoelectrics.com/Starter-motor-Alternator-replacement.php

 

I don't know how common it is to be able to find someone to refurbish alternators, but I am very happy with their work.

 

Thanks for the advice and assistance! Much appreciated!

 

Colm

[Verbout]

Alternator and starter motor refurb companies are common, I've nearly always gone for refurb. They're usually a third of the price of a new one, I've usually taken the old one off, taken it the the shop and they do you a swap.

Thats seems a very decent price.

[juicestop]

Glad you got it sorted

[EOL703]

Exact same thing happened to me last week. It was a bad alternator. $550.00 at a local european car repair shop.

 

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk