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1997 Toyota Camry Idle issues

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  • #657014
    Nicholas LavenderNicholas Lavender
    Participant

      Hey Eric or to whom it may concern, I have a complicated question. I have a 1997 toyota camry 4cyl with 217k on it. One day while driving, the battery light came on. I had my battery tested and it was old so I replaced the battery. Still, the battery light would occasionally come on. This mostly took place right after start up but would go away after driving for a bit. It would sort of flicker and then go off. Soon this was followed by the car having issues with extremely low rpm upon starting (car seemed like it was gasping for air) but this would be corrected after it ran for a bit. Eventually, the ABS, check engine light, and battery light would come on at start as well while it gasped at low idle, and even the radio would not power on UNTIL I had given it gas to raise the rpms (while idling) and only then would the dash lights (ABS, check engine, and battery lights) shut off one at a time, AND only after raising the rpms would the radio work again. If you could get the car on the road and be driving it, then there would be no issue but start-up and idle are where the problems are at! I had my alternator tested and it was bad. I put 2 replacement alternators on the car (thinking the first replacement alternator had been bad), but the issue has continued. I have had to start the car with my foot on the gas to get the rpms up so it doesn’t stall at start so it’s getting worse. I had my local mechanic look at it and he cannot figure it out, and a certified Toyota mechanic looked at it and could not figure it out. Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!

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    • #657030
      DanielDaniel
      Participant

        Well not to talk trash about my colleagues, but we don’t all have the same level of….um….integrity. It sounds to me like It’s something between the distributor and alternator. I’ll include a link to a pdf wiring diagram. You will want to pay attention to page “F” (it’s about half way down the file page.) If you don’t have a multimeter you could print that page out and give it to your new mechanic. Don’t go to a dealer. To put it politely, dealer mechanics have a different set of priorities when it comes to customer satisfaction.

        http://share.qclt.com/%E6%B1%BD%E8%BD%A6%E8%AE%BA%E5%9D%9B%E5%85%8D%E8%B4%B9%E8%B5%84%E6%96%99%E7%AC%AC%E5%9B%9B%E6%9C%9F/TOYOTA-CAMRY/camry.pdf

        #657039
        Lorrin BarthLorrin Barth
        Participant

          Put a volt meter across the battery posts. Before starting the engine it should read 12.4 – 12.6 volts. After start the voltage should be around 14. If the voltage is low suspect the alternator.

          If that is okay suspect a vacuum leak.

          #657053
          A toyotakarlIts me
          Moderator

            Little more information may help.

            I agree with above about the basics of putting a multimeter on it,, possibly a new bad battery… But that should have been done by both the techs… What did they find? Did they do a voltage drop? Check the cables and grounds?

            Was there any recent work done on the vehicle just prior to this incident? Belt and pulley condition?

            Have you put a scanner on it and seen what the computer thinks the voltage is?

            Have all the pertinent relays been checked?

            Has it been checked for a parasitic draw (Eric has a great video on this)… You could have a parasitic draw sucking the life out of the battery when the vehicle is turned off…

            -Karl

            #657255
            TylerTyler
            Participant

              I have a friend who had this Similar Problem (car had no ABS). Sadly Im unsure how it was fixed. It did it when he bought the car and one day later he rebuilt the engine on it.These hoses I found tend to get as hard as a rock and crack. I own a 99 Camry myself and I do hope this helps. Check these areas. The long thick hose you see one of ends is bigger that the other so you might have to get creative on replacing that one.

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              #657283
              BrianBrian
              Participant

                I also own a 97 Camry. Had the same issue in mine and a friends gm sedan. His car started fine with no odd noise, but the starter bench tested bad with an internal short, that fixed him. Mine had some great looking yet bad battery cables. I purchased mig welder grounding cable and made all new ones. The positive cable goes from the battery to the fuse box, the starter, alternator. The negative cable goes to the body and the motor for system wide ground. Either end of any of those connections can be loose or corroded, so check those too. We are lucky that all this can be done under the hood without jacking it up and crawling around under it. I’m very familiar with this car. Ask me spicifics and any part of it if you like.

                #657288
                BrianBrian
                Participant

                  Also, my lights would sometimes go dim, then the ac light started blinking. The compressor was bad and dragging down the drive line in my Camry. With the engine running, I held my hand under the compressor pulley wheel, it was dropping shiney metal flakes in my hand. I’m going to replace that next week.

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