I used to be an apprentice auto electrician...and acceptable charging voltage on a VP Commodore, and ANY old corolla is between 13.5 and 14.5. The problem with over charging is that it boils the battery, and it doesn't matter how new the car is, they still have a lead acid battery, which will still boil with over charging.

 

Trev I can't see where anyone said you can't run a car without the alt....when the alt is stuffed and not charging at all, this is exactly what you are doing, and I have done this on many occasions.

it could have just been slipping and I know if your altenator in a dunnydore stops charging the car will turn off...

 

Right there.

 

Oh and i am a certified auto elec.

Edited April 18, 200620 yr by Trev

Being an auto elec you should agree with my voltage range then. My old boss has been an auto elec for 24 years, so he knows his shit :D

Yeah and the HIGHEST safe level is 14.8 volts

It had to happen eventually...Trev and I finally agreed on something hehe

Its not going over that so i wouldnt be worried :D

 

Has your wife driven the car since this happened? has it done anything similar.

it has not been driven since this happened,

I am replacing the seal in the power steer unit and the resevour as well as the two rubber hoses going to it as well as the drive belt I will get her to drive it again and keep an eye out for the alt light, The car was overheating also and when i read my workshop manual the second thing to check on charging problems and overheating issues is the drive belt this leads me to think that maybe the belt has been sliping due to all the power steer fluid every where, i have taken all the earths off the block and body and cleaned them with sand paper (and then put them back LOL) as well as that i cleaned both terminals on the battery

at idle the charge is around 14.3v and then at 2000rpm and above it sticks at 14.78v so I think the alt is fine, I will see how the problem with the power steering goes and see if that fixes it..

No probs mate, Good luck and let us know how you go.

Yes indeed, i don't mean to sound like i have worked everywhere but i did work experience at booval auto electrics and i know how an alternator works AND YOU CAN run a car without the alternator going until the battery dies.

 

A few of the newer EFI cars need the alt to be putting out charge as they can not get enough constant current draw from that battery and as a built in safety system the car shuts down when the alt stops charging.( or so I have been told) I know this to be the case with EFI diesels such as the 3ltr Nissan Patrol and the VW diesel but i can not give an example of this is a petrol EFI car

A few of the newer EFI cars need the alt to be putting out charge as they can not get enough constant current draw from that battery and as a built in safety system the car shuts down when the alt stops charging.( or so I have been told) I know this to be the case with EFI diesels such as the 3ltr Nissan Patrol and the VW diesel but i can not give an example of this is a petrol EFI car

 

 

thanks for the help so far..give me a mechically injected diesel anyday LOL

 

GO THE 2.4 HILUX....

Yes it is correct but we are talking about a 15yo car the battery will keep it going for a little bit, not like you can drive down the road and back but it wont stall straight away.

you could actually.

in my 1ggte ke70 on lpg, (the safety switches need alota power to stay open you know) i drove it on and off for 3 days around the back yard, like few hundred metres at a time with the alternator not charging...ahve a little faith :D

Yes but if you use all lights and so on it will kill it earlier, i should of mentioned it in this post like i did a few posts backs, A bit off topic but the 82 celicas rely on the alternator to turn the auto choke off.

your crank angle sensor is shaged, when it gets hot the motor shuts off, hence the dash lights, when it cools down, away you go again.

its mounted behind the harmonic balancer, next time it shuts down tip water down there, cool it down and keep going, straight home till you get a new one cos it wont last much longer now ($15 from holden trade last time i did one)

when the crank angle sensor goes on a car the car does not just turn off it jerks to a stop, I know this because I have had two go in a car before (bloody suziki Jimny) as i explained before the lights turned off first then the car stoped running, my wife said it was like somebody just turned the key off. thanks for the input thomo I will keep it in mind.