My wifes car has been having problems starting lately. We have had to boost it every morning and then its good for the rest of the day, till next morning. I replaced the battery and put on new terminals, Alternator is putting out 14.68 volts, yet we still have the same problem. Everything else works no problem,. She had the starter replaced about 4 months ago. What am I missing for trouble shooting this problem, This one has got me really stumped.
You need to find out what is draining the battery when ignition is off. If alternator is putting out 14.5 volts with lights on and engine running about
1500 rpm it is probably ok but it still could have a bad diode. Put a current meter between the negative battery cable and the battery negative post and check current draw. If too high you will have to isolate it by pulling fuses, disconnecting alternator, etc. You could have the battery and alternator checked.
Try leaving one cable off the battery tonight. See if it starts in the AM.
Starts: Indicates that something is draining the battery at night. Doesn't start: Indicates either poor charging system, or another defective battery.
Now the challenge, to find what's draining the batery over night.
It does make sense since Toyota sold A LOT more Corollas than GM sold Prisms.
Steve
Why not just give him help on his problem rather than play king of the newsgroup.
The Chevy/Geo Prizm is indeed a Toyota Corolla. Actually, none of the Geo(later blended into Chevy) line was made by General Motors. The Metro and Tracker were rebadged Suzuki, Storm was a Izuzu, and the Prizm was a Toyota. The Chevy Nova from the 1980's was also a Toyota Corolla.
I would head over to "alt.autos.toyota". There are probalby a lot more people over there that have delt with problems on Corollas. Most of the people here deal with GM produced vehicles.
Battery needs to be fully charged and load tested first. 2) Check charging system both cold and warm while under load (all accesories on high.) Voltages under 13.5 volts indicate generator may be breaking down under heavy load. If voltage is weak check for voltage drops on groundside and voltage side of the charging system; Measure these under heavy load also. After all these have checked out, and prob still exists, now would be time to check for the parasitic loads as outlined in a previous entry. Jim
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