91 Corolla ebrake/battery lights

Alternator - alternator brushes. It is the battery light that indicates insufficient charging. Most common cause: alternator brushes worn to the point of intermittent contact. Fix the charging problem and the brake light will also go out.

contact.

Why would the brake light come on in the first place though?

Get ready to buy an alternator

My 89 did that shortly after I got it. Alternator died about a week later. A new alternator'll cost ya around $120 (at least that's the best price I could find around central Ohio).

Easy to replace, just loosen the bolts, disconnect the terminals, remove the serpentine belt, and go. Installation of the new one is simply the reverse.

You might want to consult a Chilton or Haynes Manual before-hand if you're not mechanically inclined.

Hope this helps.

Jason

Andrew Harvey wrote:

Just Toyota's method of signaling that the problem is in the alternator.

If you are handy with a screwdriver, this is an easy repair. You can get the brushes at Toyota, an aftermarket parts store, or even a good hardware store!

Remove the cover and undo some nuts, and the alternator housing comes undone. You'll see the brushes. On some models you have to solder them in, on others they merely screw in.

While your at it, you may want to replace the bearings. My alternator brushes went at 101,000, and I replaced the brushes, but when I checked the bearings they were ok, so I installed the brushes, degreased the armature and reassembled the whole mess. Total cost? (um, 1991) $26 and change, and two hours of my time. Didn't even need the bearings.

The repair only lasted 150,000 miles! Now the bearings are shot, but I have two brand-new ones in the origianl packaging. So' I'll do the brushes again while I'm in there...