Which One Is It --the Alternator Or -- The Battery?

[sheab]

ummm guys need help middel of driving the car shut off by it self .. while on break however .. all the light were blingking while it shut off . so i got a boster and restart the car 1st it seem runing normal after 2 min drive all lights blink and the car shut off so had to leave the car and take train home .. so im wondering is it the Alternator or is it the battery problem ? --- the car start if i use boster .. but eachtime i do that it shut off after 1 min drive umm . so now tell me the problem and the sloution .. if is the altanator .. any link of tutorials of the tutorials with picture .. thanks guys ! by the way can anyone tell me what was the reason for the alternator to die like this on me ... if it was the alternator

[larryp]

Hard to say for sure without having both tested, but my guess would be the alternator since it died while running and since you are able to jump it off. You could take the battery out, have it tested and if it's good, charge it fully and you may be able to get the car home running on the battery only if it's not too far (or have it towed ;) ).

[Threadcutter]

ummm guys need help middel of driving the car shut off by it self .. while on break however .. all the light were blingking while it shut off . so i got a boster and restart the car 1st it seem runing normal after 2 min drive all lights blink and the car shut off so had to leave the car and take train home .. so im wondering is it the Alternator or is it the battery problem ? --- the car start if i use boster .. but eachtime i do that it shut off after 1 min drive umm . so now tell me the problem and the sloution .. if is the altanator .. any link of tutorials of the tutorials with picture .. thanks guys ! by the way can anyone tell me what was the reason for the alternator to die like this on me ... if it was the alternator

Does your Power Steering pump leak? Do you get white puffs of smoke out the exhaust when you start the car in the morning?

If so, your alternator is probably dead.

[sheab]

umm i dont know if power steering pump leaking cus fluid level is same but i think my Steering Rack is leaking but the dealer said its not that bad yet .. told me to take my time to change it ..however there is very lil white puff of smoke at the starting of the car ... so what is the total fix? i mean how can i solve the problem once and for all how do i check if the power steering is leaking ? and can anyone put a link to tutorial of alternator and power stering pump thanks in advance !

[Threadcutter]

umm i dont know if power steering pump leaking cus fluid level is same but i think my Steering Rack is leaking but the dealer said its not that bad yet .. told me to take my time to change it ..however there is very lil white puff of smoke at the starting of the car ... so what is the total fix? i mean how can i solve the problem once and for all how do i check if the power steering is leaking ? and can anyone put a link to tutorial of alternator and power stering pump thanks in advance !

Start Here:

Power Steering

[sheab]

the problem is solved..... i neded to replace the battery due to ..not holding the charge cost was 100 thanks

[VIPIMP]

i have the same problem but mine is the altenator due to power steering leak.

but when it happened i thought it must of been the battery not holding charge

so i went out and brought a new one. lasted 3 weeks then started doing it again

[sheab]

i have the same problem but mine is the altenator due to power steering leak.

but when it happened i thought it must of been the battery not holding charge

so i went out and brought a new one. lasted 3 weeks then started doing it again

ummmmmmmmm now you are makeing me scared ummm ... autozone tesed it ... and found that its not taking the charge .. umm so i guess have to wait 3-4 week to find out rite? however . my power steering looks new ummm i could see leak from outside ... so can u tell me how you know urs was leaking and can see see urs from outside view ? thanks alot !

[Threadcutter]

i have the same problem but mine is the altenator due to power steering leak.

but when it happened i thought it must of been the battery not holding charge

so i went out and brought a new one. lasted 3 weeks then started doing it again

ummmmmmmmm now you are makeing me scared ummm ... autozone tesed it ... and found that its not taking the charge .. umm so i guess have to wait 3-4 week to find out rite? however . my power steering looks new ummm i could see leak from outside ... so can u tell me how you know urs was leaking and can see see urs from outside view ? thanks alot !

Guys:

You need to slow down a bit here!

1st rule of thumb when replacing a battery;

You should never just go out and throw a new battery into your car and call it good. At least 75% of the time, the alternator is dead, which has caused your engine to drain the battery. The engine will run off of the alternator (some will argue that the engine runs off of the battery and the alternator constantly charges the battery......OK fine, no argument) when things are normal, but if the alternator is dead, the engine will run off of the battery only, until it has drained the battery, then the engine dies. It dies because there is no longer enough electrical power (from the battery) to keep the ignition system, fuel system and the ECU running properly.

As I said in a previous post, you probably have a bad power steering pump, which is/has been leaking P/S fluid onto the alternator and has damaged the alternator to the point where the alternator isn't (re)charging the battery anymore.

It is VERY, VERY unlikely that your brand new battery "isn't holding a charge", unless of course, you've already managed to drain it down to the point of having damaged it, which now, is entirely possible. You won't have to wait any 3 or 4 weeks for a dead battery, you'll be lucky to get 45 minutes of running time out of it.

It really doesn't sound like you even bothered to do a search and read any of the "mountains" of posts and information contained within this website about the well known, extremely well documented and moderately easily fixed problems with the power steering systems on LS400's. You, in all likelihood, have a problem that most of the other members on this board have had at one time or another.

You shouldn't expect a personally tailored response to your particular problem, especially when it has been so well documented, the information is so easy to find and those of us who have been through it successfully have duplicated posts on the subject so many times.

Again, please start here, as well as doing your own search on this site;

POWER STEERING !!!

If you put the effort into it, you will not be disappointed with the investment of time you've made. Stop throwing your money away, find out what the root cause of the problem is, fix THAT and you'll be much happier.

ps; I will bet you (or anyone else) that the root cause of your problem is the filter screen on your Power Steering solenoid on your P/S rack.

[sheab]

ummm i dont know what to say .. just for a quick .. update .. after puting the new battery ... then i start the car and then .... i pop up my hood and remove the positive cable from the battery ... and the car didnt stop it was running .. does it help . to identifying if it was the battery or alternator ? ... sorry .. and thanks alot !

[92Lex]

ummm i dont know what to say .. just for a quick .. update .. after puting the new battery ... then i start the car and then .... i pop up my hood and remove the positive cable from the battery ... and the car didnt stop it was running .. does it help . to identifying if it was the battery or alternator ? ... sorry .. and thanks alot !

That wasn't the best method to test an alternator but yeah, the alternator is still good.

[sheab]

ummmmmmmmmmm .. hey i notice something today .... while driving .. and came to red signal and hit the break .. couple of light came on like baterry-oil presure break and one other like white house sign ....then i let my foot out from break and hit gas all the light are gone and didnt came back after that it happend yesterday too i mean twice what was that for ??? and what is the perfect way to trouble shoot the alternator?

[larryp]

False warning lights are one sign of a bad alternator.

[sheab]

umm bad luck ... the alternator is bad ... while the engine and all the lights and radio on . i took off the positive battery cable off and the car shut off lol .. then i checked by meter while the engine was running and its give me 12.2 volt on battery ..hhehehe i have an idea .. my p/s pump wasnt leaking .. so why did my alternator go bad ??>??????????????? i will never change the p/s pump..even it will drip..unless its not working ...... let me tell you why ... those are mechanical thing ... and top of that its lequid so it always gonna leak soon or leater .. so what better is to put a new alternator .. but makesure put a .. cover on top of it..... so makesure .. p/m driping doesnt get into alternator lol ... how does it sound ? it will take lil time but hey thats the only way .. to t.c of it .. while the car is sitting on its 17 birthday ...however i think it should be done .. at the 1st place while it brand new .. its my openion .. and thank you all

[djspawn00]

[sheab]

my question was -- why the alternator went bad when there is no leak on p/s !!

[larryp]

It's a mechanical part - they wear out over time even without a PS leak. Usually the brushes are the first thing to fail.

[sheab]

It's a mechanical part - they wear out over time even without a PS leak. Usually the brushes are the first thing to fail.

i changed the battery .... it didnt help .. it shows the alternator is not charging the battery .. then i change the alternator ..still no luck .. after i replace the alternator it looks like over chargeing .. oneday after they check it wasnt charging ... ummmmmmm so they said .. the alternator is defect....i didnt belive em .. so i took my old alternator to auto zone and they test and it pass ... so there is noithing wrong with the battery and alternator ..... its just not showing the alternator is not charging the battery ummmmmmmmmmm what should i do guys .... hummmm plz help the car is sitting down ....! is there a electrical problem?

[92Lex]

Do a voltage drop test on the battery cables.

[sheab]

Do a voltage drop test on the battery cables.

can you tell me the procedure .. and what are the manufecture number .. and how to test .. please thanks !

[finespunflesh]

WOW. I am having the exact, identical problem as "sheab" with my 1990 LS400 right now! I replaced all the seals in my power steering pump, since it had been leaking, and cleaned out the alternator with some brake cleaner. Took it to Oreilly's and the tested the alternator, and it worked fine they said. Got a new battery. And now my car flickers all the dash lights, and runs under 1000 rpms no matter how fast I try to go, and then slowly but surely a few miles later all the lights in the car flicker and it slows down and dies. I can't get it jumped by another car + jumper cables, because the battery is completely dead. I took the battery out and home after I got a ride, and charged it, and put it back in the car just to get it home. SO SICK OF THIS happening. When it's fully charged, the car runs SO WELL. I am hoping to get an on-site mechanic here to test the charging system, because I don't know what to do from here. "Sheab" let me know if you ever found a solution please :) Thanks for posting this!

[landar]

I really admire your tenacity, Nicole. It sure sounds to me like the alternator is not charging the battery, despite Oreillys testing. Tell you what...you can do some sleuthing yourself if you can get hold of a voltmeter. If you do not have a voltmeter then you can buy one fairly cheaply ($20?). And it will be charged to the 'education' account. ^_^ Or maybe you can borrow one? Anyway, I can walk you through how to do this testing as it is actually pretty simple. Do you have access to a voltmeter? Are you ready for an education? ;) Note: Sheab is probably long gone.

[curiousB]

retracted, didn't realize OP was 2007....

All you need is a DVM to check alternator output. Lots of threads here on the procedure.

If you had a PS leak probably brushes were damaged. You can fix alternator by cleaning it up and putting in new brushes. A lot cheaper than a new one. A rebuilt is an option too.