Celica Forums General Discussion General PROBLEMS STARTING MY CAR...

ok, the past week or so i noticed my car having difficulties with a slightly slow start. then i was sick for a few days but when i went to the store last night the car engine BARELY turned over until i was at another store. all i got was the *click-click-click*. so, i was "stuck like chuck" and had to walk a few blocks home.

well, this morning i walked to my car, carried the battery to a nearby autozone and they said the battery was discharged. i opted to get a new duralast battery and when i got it installed the car did nothing: no lights, no clock, NOTHING. luckily i was able to jumpstart my car and it seemed ok for a few minutes but then on the way home the radio cut on and off and RIGHT when i pull into my carport the car died completely. no turning over. nothing. no check engine light or radio or ANYTHING. again.

i don't have a volt meter and even if i did i don't know how to use one. something like this happened to my old car and i thought it was the alternator. so, after a day of planning on buying a new alternator i discovered the battery just need a "break in period" because the day of waiting allowed my car to start fine. actually don't know what happened but it worked fine after that waiting period. *sigh* lost and confused... in other words: HELP!!!!

UPDATE: well, i got the car jumpstarted again but i noticed a whirring sound when the radio is on. and, even though i kept the engine running i noticed the gauges dim a bit when i pressed the accelerator. once i turned the headlights on the car died. now nothing electrical works at all (no dome light, no gauges, etc...) fawk! does that sound like the alternator to anyone? i'm at a loss. why is everything dead now and only a jumpstart gets all the status lights to go on and starts the car????

My guess is you need an alternator.

alternator

check if you have loose grounds too

thanks everyone. how hard is it to change an alternator on the celica because i've done it on old cars with basic tools (and i didn't have a torqhe wrench before but i hope i don't need an impact wrench or special tool)?

Its pretty easy. You need a big wrench, about 18mm to slack off the belt tensioner so you can slip the belt off the alternator. Disconnect your battery & use a 12mm to take the wire off the alternator & then unplug it from the wiring harness. You will need a 14mm socket probably to remove the two bolts holding the alternator on. Should take about 15 minutes to swap them.

No special tools though. Its pretty straight forward.

Does anyone have a pulley diagram for the serpentine belt? My Celi is the first car I have ever seen that doesn't have a sticker under the hood to show how to put it on.

yea the alternator is at fault. Youre lucky its easy access unlike some hondas that ware wayyy in there!