2006 Toyota camry electrical fault

[beejay65]

I bought my son who is at college a 2006 Camry V6 engine thinking it would be a reliable car .It has an intermittent electrical fault which my local Toyota dealer service dept can't get to the bottom of . Every 4/5 weeks as it has turned out he be driving along then the warning lights will start coming on one by one first ABS then all the others ,the windscreen wipers will slow right down ,the radio will fade in and out the car loses power steering and stalls dangerous if half way through an intersection then nothing like dead battery (battery first thing we replaced is brand new) . He calls the roadside assist and heres the killer by the time they get there the car starts again and runs fine could be like that for anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks then the same thing will happen again .Anyone shed any light on a problem like this .?The car runs like brand new in between faults so frustrating .

[somick]

With the car running check the voltage at the terminals. At idle it suppose to be somewhere about 13.8 volts or so. If you rev the engine the voltage should go up to probably 14,8 or so. This will be your alternator test.

Check the same voltage at the starter positive contact. You suppose to get the same readings. Wiggle the wires. Do you get the same readings?

Also visually inspect wires and terminals. They suppose to be free of corrosion. Sometimes corrosion gets inside under the insulation and it is hard to see.

I hope this helps,
Sam

[beejay65]

Originally Posted by somick

With the car running check the voltage at the terminals. At idle it suppose to be somewhere about 13.8 volts or so. If you rev the engine the voltage should go up to probably 14,8 or so. This will be your alternator test.

Check the same voltage at the starter positive contact. You suppose to get the same readings. Wiggle the wires. Do you get the same readings?

Also visually inspect wires and terminals. They suppose to be free of corrosion. Sometimes corrosion gets inside under the insulation and it is hard to see.

I hope this helps,
Sam

Thanks for that mate i'll give it a try another thing which I didn't mention the car had trailer brakes indicator fitted to it non factory I had the indicator removed as the car isn't towing anything and it caused an annoying rattle inside the wiring is still there going to investigate that thinking the first light to come on always is the ABS very hard tracing problems like this appreciate your help thankyou .

[Crvett69]

you can also buy a cheap voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette lighter so you can see what the voltage is while car is running and when the fault occurs

[beejay65]

Looks like it is the alternator had an independent mechanic other than the local Toyota dealer service dept look at it .They (local Toyota dealer where the car was purchased) told me the alternator was fine when it first happened looking like they didn't want to honour the warranty which has now run out .But it makes sense happened both times in peak hour capital city (Melbourne) traffic with heater every accessorie going constant stopping and starting explains why you wouldn't know there was anything wrong on the open highway .Thanks for the help guys .