Toyota: 89 Tercel Charging Battery Problem ?

A few weeks ago the battery in my Tercel went dead and I just replaced
it since it was under warranty. Two days later it went dead again so I
figured it was the alternator so I replaced the alternator with one I
had on hand for it. Well, two or three days later I have another dead
battery so I charged it back up and started checking everything with a
multimeter and this is what I have. With the car off and the battery
charged up I'm getting 12.6 volts and the same with the car running.
With all the accesories on and the car running I get 12.4. So I
disconnected the battery while the car was running and it still shows
12.4 at the battery terminal and at the line coming off the Alt. So
i'm thinking that the battery and Alt. are working fine and I drive it
a few more days and the battery goes dead again. I charged it back up
and it works okay for a few days and then the battery is dead again. I
took the old alt. to the auto store and it checked out okay so I put
the old one back on and it did the same thing so I have the new one
checked and it checked out okay also. So now I'm thinking its the new
battery is not holding a charge so I return it and try another and two
days later its dead. I've check all the fuse under the hood and in the
kick panel and the battery terminal wires appear to be in good shape
without any corrosion or lose connections. The alt. belt is tight also
with just a little play in it but not enough to let it slip under
load. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated.
TIA
Mike

On 3 Sep 2003 09:58:53 -0700, someone who calls themselves
net (Mike) wrote:
 
<Snip>

12.6 volts with the engine running at fast idle (above 1500 RPM) and
all accessories off is still pointing to a dead alternator, or
something else wrong in the charging circuit. Get it checked out, or
take the car to a local auto electric rebuilding shop and have them
check the alternator.

It might only be worn out brushes in the alternator - they can have
you in and out inside an hour, and not too expensive. If you are
handy, you can change them yourself.

To charge the battery, you need to get the voltage up to at LEAST
13.5 volts /at the battery terminals/ in cold conditions, and 13.8 to
14.5 volts in normal conditions (60 to 100 degrees F range).

And get the battery charged completely ASAP and stop driving the car
until you get it fixed. Every time you run a conventional lead-acid
car battery down to dead and recharge it, the battery loses roughly 5%
to 10% of it's service life - meaning it will more than likely fail
completely before the battery warranty is up. And usually at the
worst possible time.

--<< Bruce >>--
--
Bruce L. Bergman, POB 394, Woodland Hills CA 91365, USA
Electrician, Westend Electric (#726700) Agoura, CA

WARNING: UCE Spam E-mail is not welcome here. I report violators.
SpamBlock In Use - Remove the "Python" with a "net" to E-Mail.