paraphernalia

tested the battery yesterday, it was fine both off and running. well she died tonight while i was out running errands. when i left the house my lights were not dimming at idle nor brightening when revving so i thought it was ok. after driving on the freeway for 7 miles i get off on my exit and notice i can't even see my headlights, are they even on? yeah they were on just very dim. car started hesitating when i took off so i knew i was in trouble. i knew i had to get home before it died and i end up paying too much money to have towed so i turned around.. about this time my radio turns off. yup, i'm in trouble.. as i start to accelerate back on to the freeway it cuts out completely. flashbacks of 6 months ago! ha! son of a... no juice at all and i know a jumpstart won't work cuz i tried that last time (scroll up).. hopefully i didnt kill my battery or alternator. i will have it towed home tomorrow where it will sit in front of house until someone can give me some real answers. i wont waste my money replacing parts just to be doing this again in the spring. luckily i have a ride into work tonight and hopefully someone will give me a ride back home in morning or.. a ride to the toyota dealership where i shall inquire about purchasing a new Scion. i can't have my project car being my only mode of transportation. especially with winter approaching and no garage as of yet to work on it in. (michigan/ohio winters, yes, i prefer having feeling in my hands). so... could it be the voltage regulator?? that seems like the only decent opinion i've gotten so far that seems logical or.. something seemingly miniscule and minor that you wouldnt think would cause big problems.. like with chevy's and such (ex: mass airflow sensor) :hmm: funny i have all 4 new struts and an Eibach pro-kit set of springs sitting in my living room waiting to be put on but its been raining for four days straight so ihavent been able to get out to work on it. irony.. i guess i should just return those parts, keep damaging my rims, and spend money on a complete electrical system diagnostics test at some place that deals with imports only since nobody else seems to know dick about this annoying and costly problem i did come across this interesting article but i need to read it slower so i can understand, lol. does this sound helpful to anyone? http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_...905/ai_n8827808

my belt is good then, all connections are secure and continuous. i do recall a couple months back i had a belt squeal but it didnt last long. it was a cold damp day and hasnt done since. is it possible some oil or lubricant could make it slip but not cause a squeal? i had someone tell me to check the voltage regulator. i could have sworn my voltage regulator was in the alternator whereas you have to open it up as if you were going to replace wire brushes, to replace it. i was under the assumption this would have came with the new alternator or does my model have an external? Hanes/Chilton seems to focus more on 84-87's. =[ if it is external where should i look for it at? and its taking more attempts to turn over now.. more often than not although lights arent always dimming at idle. i don't want to slowly ruin another alternator =S

ok so i cleaned the battery terminals and connecters really well.. i checked my belt, it looks brand new and tension seems good.. i had the guys down at the auto parts store check my battery.. its perfectly fine (of course i work nights and didnt drive at all today except 2 blocks there).. i guess i'm just crazy now aye?? :hmm: pfft.. tomorrow i'll check all visible wiring connecters around the alternator or.. maybe my ECU has a virus :)

i bought my '90 corolla DX about 3 years ago w/130,000 miles on it, now i've got over 205,000... about 2 years ago i had an alternator go bad on me.. i didnt realize i was running off the battery until, yes it died with not even enough power to light up gauges. simple problem, hell alternators don't last forever so i didnt think anything about it. i didnt have any other problems until one really humid hot day this past summer. i was running errands with the AC on the whole time until i had the same problem as before. this time i blamed the heat because i also blew a couple fuses, the AC and oddly, my brake light fuse. this time i had to buy a new battery since it wouldnt hold a charge, i could jumpstart it but as soon as i tried to accelerate it would die. i hadnt replaced this battery since i owned the vehicle so nothing seemed wrong. shortly after having it towed and put through diagnostics, replacing the battery and alternator it would have difficulty starting at random times, one turn.. *click*.. the next it would fire up. its been doing this every few weeks but now seems to be every other day or at least it is more frequent. i'm worried i'm going to have another problem since my lights are dimming at idle and brightening when i rev the engine, but what the hell i just had a new battery and alternator 6 months ago. my experience isnt with imports so i'm thinking maybe i've lost tension in the alternator belt so its not putting out a good charge to the battery. it wouldnt hurt to replace that and maybe i should have put off this post until after doing so w/problem not resolved, but maybe there is something i havent read about yet with these ae92's.. maybe a relay or sensor or something you wouldnt think to check or replace that you all might know about and be able to help me with. any help would be much appreciated. i don't want this charging issue to take away the pride i have in my car and toyota since owning, especially with gas prices and unreliability of american cars. i have many plans for this lil beauty and will post my progress once i get a new rental with a garage so i can do mods this winter. thanks