Toyota Corolla Altis : Battery Problem

TheCatalyst · 2nd August 2020, 22:41

Similar thing had happened with me in the past. I tried everything from measuring the standby drain on the battery (due to the security system) to keeping it on trickle charger. In the end, it turned out to be a defective cell in the battery. There are 6 of them in a 12v battery, and even one is performing suboptimally, it will cause the battery voltage to fall. Trickle chargers do help in prolonging the battery life in such cases, but in my opinion its just delaying the inevitable. Get it replaced and try to opt for a maintenance free battery.

As a precaution, there are couple of things you (we) should do/check/remember about every 3-6 months -
1) Regularly check the battery water level (unless its a sealed one). Top it off if needed. DONT overfill. It should be about 1-2cm above the plates.
2) Check the alternator charging voltage regularly. Its should about 14.4v at the battery terminals when idling.
3) If the battery voltage falls below 10.5v, its low. You may have to charge the battery externally.
4) If the battery voltage is below 9v, then its usually a dead battery. There are cases where you might be able to kick start the charging process with another 12v battery connected in parallel, to fool the charger into thinking that its dealing with normal battery.
5) Even if the voltage is 12-13v at standby, it could still fail to crank the engine. You may have to check the voltage during cranking. Shouldn't fall below 10v.
6) Keep the terminals clean. Remove any deposits and apply vaseline.
7) Parasitic drain, though very less, could a problem when parking it for more than a month. OBD readers do consume slightly more, but still usually are not the problem, unless faulty.
8) Sometime a battery will work perfectly fine during a cold start, but would refuse to crank when the engine is hot. In such cases, the battery needs replacing as it is not able to sustain the voltage after warmup due to fast charging.

As a rule of thumb, a healthy battery should be able to crack the engine with the headlights ON, without them dimming too much.

landcruiser123 · 3rd August 2020, 03:16

I think your alternator isn't charging the battery enough. Have the ASS check the alternator.

2nd August 2020, 22:41	#16
TheCatalyst BHPian Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: Mumbai Posts: 58 Thanked: 274 Times	Re: Toyota Corolla Altis : Battery Problem Similar thing had happened with me in the past. I tried everything from measuring the standby drain on the battery (due to the security system) to keeping it on trickle charger. In the end, it turned out to be a defective cell in the battery. There are 6 of them in a 12v battery, and even one is performing suboptimally, it will cause the battery voltage to fall. Trickle chargers do help in prolonging the battery life in such cases, but in my opinion its just delaying the inevitable. Get it replaced and try to opt for a maintenance free battery. As a precaution, there are couple of things you (we) should do/check/remember about every 3-6 months - 1) Regularly check the battery water level (unless its a sealed one). Top it off if needed. DONT overfill. It should be about 1-2cm above the plates. 2) Check the alternator charging voltage regularly. Its should about 14.4v at the battery terminals when idling. 3) If the battery voltage falls below 10.5v, its low. You may have to charge the battery externally. 4) If the battery voltage is below 9v, then its usually a dead battery. There are cases where you might be able to kick start the charging process with another 12v battery connected in parallel, to fool the charger into thinking that its dealing with normal battery. 5) Even if the voltage is 12-13v at standby, it could still fail to crank the engine. You may have to check the voltage during cranking. Shouldn't fall below 10v. 6) Keep the terminals clean. Remove any deposits and apply vaseline. 7) Parasitic drain, though very less, could a problem when parking it for more than a month. OBD readers do consume slightly more, but still usually are not the problem, unless faulty. 8) Sometime a battery will work perfectly fine during a cold start, but would refuse to crank when the engine is hot. In such cases, the battery needs replacing as it is not able to sustain the voltage after warmup due to fast charging. As a rule of thumb, a healthy battery should be able to crack the engine with the headlights ON, without them dimming too much.
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3rd August 2020, 03:16	#17
landcruiser123 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 2,985 Thanked: 6,858 Times	Re: Toyota Corolla Altis : Battery Problem I think your alternator isn't charging the battery enough. Have the ASS check the alternator. Last edited by Rudra Sen : 4th August 2020 at 08:37. Reason: typo edited
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