6G Celicas Forums

Okay so it's cold - unseasonably cold here this week. This morning my car kind of turned over "sluggishly" when I came out to start it this morning, but it did start on the first try. 25 minutes later when I arrived to pick up my friend to go to work, as I sat idling the battery light came on so I gassed it because I know that means alternator. Well probably a minute or two later it did it again but the radio and accessories shut off, but went back on again when I gassed it. This continued a few more times for the next 5 minutes, and when I went to drive away it did it one more time while I was driving to the end of the block but hasn't done it again since.

Is this just a cold weather thing wreaking havoc on my battery, or is my alternator going out? I've lived where it's cold before and don't remember this ever happening. I think my battery might be on the older side, although when I had the clutch replaced the battery died so I had it tested and it tested real strong on cold cranking amps. Anyone have any ideas? Should I worry?

This post has been edited by GriffGirl: Dec 17, 2008 - 6:54 PM

check the alternator and the battery.

Do you have a multimeter ?
It's pretty easy to check if the alternator is putting out enough power. There is a rubber cover protecting a bolt/nut on the side of the alt, just peel it off a bit and use the multimeter to see how much volts it's putting out.

Okay, I can do that, I have a multimeter... what do I set the little dial thingie on though? The Fabulous World of Multimeters is still new to me.

switch to the big green V (small 20) red to live, black to chassis...

my woman just said it could be the belt slipping. Does make a noise ? squeal ? anything ? make sure it's no loose baby

Well the ride home last night was kinda sucky, that damn battery light flashing off and on for the duration of my EPIC long commute because half an inch of snow around here brings this city to its knees... anyway so I made my way directly to Autozone to have the battery and the alternator checked and sure as sh1t the thing completely dies in front of Autozone.

Got a jump start and had the battery checked; good cold cranking amps still. Alternator - not so good. "Bad solenoid" is the readout. Sounds like I get to learn how to do my alternator after work today when it's good and snowy and 25º out. Good times!

BTW no, the belt doesn't make any noise. I'll be replacing it anyway though when I do the alt later today and tomorrow. (gotta pull it before getting the new one because my broke ass is NOT paying a core charge!)

Okay - how do I remove the alternator?
1 - loosen belt. Small 10 mm bolt or the larger one surrounding it?
2) loosen 14mm bracket bolt, slide out, remove alternator


Is this right?

yes, its very easy to replace the alternator on the 2.2 celica...! You might have to re-tighten the belt after its all done as it seems its easy to not tighten it enough the first time.

Right, only she has an ST, still easy enough.
Ok, let me see if I can describe this well enough... bear with me please


Standing in front of the car looking at the alternator
- undo the 10mm nut holding the power wire on and tape it up or something, make sure that does not touch anything
- unplug the big harness plug going into the right side of the alternator
- underneath the alternator there should be one of those plastic things that hold the wire harness in place, try to get that out now otherwise you'll go to pull the alternator out and pull on it. it's harder to get out when you're worried about your dangling alternator.
- loosen the big top bolt but don't take it out yet
- underneath the alternator there's a big curved bracket that's bolted to the block with a slot in it. on the right side of that curved bracket you'll feel a small block that's threaded in 2 places for the 2 bolts that adjust the belt tension and hold that adjustment.
this is the best picture I could find to describe what I'm talking about

- first, to loosen the adjustment block you need to loosen the 12mm (or 14mm maybe) bolt that goes into that adjustment block from the left side
- once that's loose you can loosen the bolt that goes straight down into the adjustment block and that should loosen your belt
- now you can take the big top bolt out and you should be able to get the alternator out

Getting it back in, mainly lining up the bolt in the little block with the spot on the alternator it goes into without being able to see anything, is a whole other adventure. I developed a technique but I can't really describe it (I was switching alternators between mine and Dustin's ST and got a new one and had to put Dustin's back, I ended up doing it like 8 times in the dark within 2 or 3 days so i got pretty good at it) but I'm sure you'll figure it out on your own. Good luck, I hope that helps some.

Okay, so on the Autozone web site I found (well, my girlfriend found) photo instructions on how to remove the alternator. As she somewhat smugly came out to inform me of this finding ("why didn't you look it up before you left work?" - I WAS BUSY ) I had figured out that there was that second bolt at the bottom of the alternator. However the autozone site did confirm that Yes, the stupid Relay box is in the damn way, and yes, there's a third bolt down there that actually loosens the belt.

Further: yes, getting that fender-side bolt to line up with the little block on the tensioner bolt thingie was a separate adventure. I am fortunate enough to have the hands of the small Japanese folk who designed our cars. My hands are stupid small. I'm lucky to even have thumbs. In any event, I was able to just reach down with one hand to feel for the hole on the block, and use my left hand to thread the bolt through. And I have a tiny scratch on my knuckle to prove it.

This should be stickied in the maintenance section - it's a thorough write-up.

I don't take the relay box off, I am aware that makes it a lot harder for myself but taking it off is just BS to me for some reason haha
I stand at the passenger fender with both arms wedged between the relay box and the strut tower and kinda curl my right hand down and under.... I'm not even sure how I do it people tell me it looks pretty funny though.

griff, i moved your GREAT how to post out into its own post, and i will link your post back here. good job!

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=64294

It sounds very much like you're executing the same Flying Crane maneuver I use to shift while my cup holder is in use

just disconnect the battery ground first and you dont have to worry about it!