My Aurion Neightmare

[croatiaboi]

sighhh.. Well ti all started about 3-4 weeks ago when i went to turn the car on 1 morning and it wouldnt turn on ( battery was flat)i thought ok maybe i left one of the lights on or something . So i thought ok battery died so i went and got a new high performance one from battery world. Then surprise... few days later its dead again. I took the car in to my mates mechanic shop where he tested the alternator and it turns out it was faulty. So i then took the car in to toyota near the regents park area, so they can have a look at it. About mid day they call me and tell me there is nothing wrong with it and just my battery terminals were loose, so i explained to them that only reason the battery terminals were a "bit" loose was because id constantly have to charge one battery with a charger i got at home, drive the car for about 2 days till that one goes flat meanwhile the other is charged sitting in the backseat and then switching them over each tiem the other would go flat.

So anyways yeah i told that to Toyota and the guy says he will check again and call me back. get a call about an hour later saying yeah we checked it again and we are going to replace your alternator. So ok awsome problem fixed .... (so i thought). about another 2 days later battery goes flat again i take it to them and they say to me yeah its because your battery wasnt fully charged when the alternator was put in. So ok might make sense, charged the other battery up and put it in the car. Car ran fine for about 3 days... and then again dead.

So i took the car back to toyota and they added another wire from the alternator to the battery saying it will charge the battery better now.

then again yesturday battery went flat, switched it with the other one once again, and today while driving home from work the car seemed to be really sluggish like it wouldnt pick up and feels like it wants to stall. Half way home it stalls, doesnt turn back on and im sitting there in peak hour traffic with my car not turning on. Finally after about 2 mins or so of trying to turn it on it finally does. Then i get to the next set of sights and while sitting there the car starts to rev really low under 500 rpm and wants to stall. Next set of lights same thing and it does stall. And once more stalls again before i got home.

Thankfully iv got a day off work tomorow so ill be going back to Toyota again. But i meen this is the 4th time im going back there with the same fault with the car that they have had in 3 times before and not been able to fix it properly. Anyone have any ideas what the issue could be? because im sick of toyota constanly macking excuses and saying the car is fixed when it obviously isnt.

[DJKOR]

That really does sound like a nightmare. It's leaving me quite stumped as well. Maybe it could have something to do with the charging regulator or anything to do with that. I'm really not sure. This is something I'd have to look at myself.

[croatiaboi]

That really does sound like a nightmare. It's leaving me quite stumped as well. Maybe it could have something to do with the charging regulator or anything to do with that. I'm really not sure. This is something I'd have to look at myself.

Yeah, im going to take it in to them once more tomorow and if not fixed again ill be escalating the issue with someone higher up in toyota, and if they still can't figure it out then i may need to ask for your expert assistance because if toyota don't know how to fix there own car then i really dont know where else to turn

[DJKOR]

Yeah, im going to take it in to them once more tomorow and if not fixed again ill be escalating the issue with someone higher up in toyota, and if they still can't figure it out then i may need to ask for your expert assistance because if toyota don't know how to fix there own car then i really dont know where else to turn

Oh yeah. I just noticed you are in Brisbane. Well if Toyota can't get anywhere and you get your car back, I'd be willing to try and see what we can find by process of elimination.

[VF-X]

That sounds really bad.. I'd go nuts if I were u, using the day off work ,especially during christmas period. I mean, it's Toyota ffs. 2nd time should be the last chance they got to find out the problems and fix them.

Not many customers could/would return to that Toyota after all of that. Give urself a credit..

It sucks... Hopefully it gets fixed asap..

[boxerboy]

If the regulator was kaput, then you'd be measuring far too many volts at the battery. Have you put a digital voltmeter across the battery when the car is running?

Then again, if it was kaput the batteries would both be useless by now too I guess, being regularly overcharged.

There is a chance you have 2 dud batteries, neither holding charge? New batteries can be duds from day 1.

Ensure those cables are well tight. Where does the earth strap go to on these things?

Maybe an autoelec would be worth a visit?

Edited December 22, 2009 by boxerboy

[Freddo]

weird!!! that would shiite me to tears.

if u had a presara someone from toyota link would call you to tell u your battery is running low :)

[FMAN]

At the risk of stating the obvious, but it sounds like you are not getting enough charge from the alternator. You might be getting enough charge that with no electrical loads switched on, it appears to the Toyota mechanic to be OK. This might be combined with an electrical load not switching off properly.

The alternator might no charge properly for a number of reasons (assuming the actual alternator is OK). There could be a high resistance to ground/battery, the belt might be slipping (or the alternator clutch failing) or the battery warning light on the dash is not supplying enough current (does the light come on?).

You need to take the car to an Auto Electrician as opposed to the mechanic with a volt meter, otherwise you will just pay for guess work.

If you have charged your battery and got the car going again, keep everything unnecessary switched off, especially the Air conditioning.

[DKzr6]

I would say its a bad earth somewhere on the car.

Also check that your glovebox light or boot light isn't stuck on. (the swtich may be faulty). I had this problem with my previous Subaru Outback. Interior light would randomly turn on during the night due to a faulty switch and then flatten the battery.

It would run the battery low and cause havoc with the electronics.

Good luck with it.

[croatiaboi]

If the regulator was kaput, then you'd be measuring far too many volts at the battery. Have you put a digital voltmeter across the battery when the car is running?

Then again, if it was kaput the batteries would both be useless by now too I guess, being regularly overcharged.

There is a chance you have 2 dud batteries, neither holding charge? New batteries can be duds from day 1.

Ensure those cables are well tight. Where does the earth strap go to on these things?

Maybe an autoelec would be worth a visit?

I thought it could be a dodgey 2nd battery aswell so i took the battery back to where i bought it and they tested it a few times and the battery was fine.

[croatiaboi]

Ok well just dropped the car off to Toyota just now and they say they going to have to keep it till sometime next week... sighhh so im without a car now during christmas. Also just now driving to them, the engine warning light and the traction control warning light both came on??

[croatiaboi]

Ok well just dropped the car off to Toyota just now and they say they going to have to keep it till sometime next week... sighhh so im without a car now during christmas. Also just now driving to them, the engine warning light and the traction control warning light both came on??

just an update. After tacking it back to Toyota the problem seems to have been fixed, They say the problem was something to do with the wiring loom on the alternator that one of the wires would randomly pull 20 amps from the battery. They have since fixed that issue and since then the car has been running great again.

[DJKOR]

just an update. After tacking it back to Toyota the problem seems to have been fixed, They say the problem was something to do with the wiring loom on the alternator that one of the wires would randomly pull 20 amps from the battery. They have since fixed that issue and since then the car has been running great again.

Good to hear it is fixed. That's quite a bit of power to be drawn. If our alternator was dissipating that heat, it must have been getting warm even with the engine off then.

[Steven]

Drawing 20amps at once, and without any fuses blowing? It sounds like a seriously potential fire hazard

[DJKOR]

Drawing 20amps at once, and without any fuses blowing? It sounds like a seriously potential fire hazard

Not if it's dumping it into the stator of the alternator. Just wasted heat.

[FMAN]

Glad to hear it is fixed, hopefully you didn't have to pay for the alternator that they put on for a "wiring harness fault".

Edited January 10, 2010 by FMAN

[croatiaboi]

nah i didnt have to pay a cent it was all covered under warranty. Im kind of glad it happened now rather then later though as my warrany runs out in a few months:(