Battery mysteriously drains??? Please help! :) (1 Viewer)

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hey guys, so here's my situation. I looked everywhere and couldn't find this so I felt it safe to post here and ask. I'm new to the LC love and regardless of issues, I'm in love with my 2000 LC. That being said, I have a problem and need your help. My battery continues to drain and Toyota dealership couldn't figure it out.

Quick version: So, 2 weeks ago I was out of town driving home and my battery light came on. The lights dimmed and eventually I lost all power and had to coast to the side of the highway to get towed back home. I checked the battery and it was dead. Dealership replaced my battery and that seemed to address the problem until 3 days later. My alternator is fine. Still putting out 14 amps. My battery light came on again and my lights were dim. This was the brand new Toyota battery. I took it back to Toyota and they ran tests over the weekend and through Monday. However, when I got it back the battery light was still on and my stereo presets were all the same and my clock was spot on. I'm thinking my dealership didn't even pull the battery (which they said they did.) they apologized and said they couldn't duplicate the problem I was telling them I had. That being said, I'm convinced they are no help :-/.

Here's what I've noticed... My driving lights don't automatically come on when the car is running. They used to. Also, I now have no light come on when I pull up on the e-brake. My lumbar support electronic switch isn't working. These are things I found in the middle of the night trying to figure it out. They used to work. I'm assuming it's an electrical short so I've searched everything to see what isn't working. Those are the three things I've found. Where do I find a cable for the e-brake that could be shorting. I checked the daytime running light line and it seems to be fine. I'm at a loss. I appreciate any and all suggestions. Thanks!!!
 
hey guys, so here's my situation. I looked everywhere and couldn't find this so I felt it safe to post here and ask. I'm new to the LC love and regardless of issues, I'm in love with my 2000 LC. That being said, I have a problem and need your help. My battery continues to drain and Toyota dealership couldn't figure it out.

Quick version: So, 2 weeks ago I was out of town driving home and my battery light came on. The lights dimmed and eventually I lost all power and had to coast to the side of the highway to get towed back home. I checked the battery and it was dead. Dealership replaced my battery and that seemed to address the problem until 3 days later. My alternator is fine. Still putting out 14 amps. My battery light came on again and my lights were dim. This was the brand new Toyota battery. I took it back to Toyota and they ran tests over the weekend and through Monday. However, when I got it back the battery light was still on and my stereo presets were all the same and my clock was spot on. I'm thinking my dealership didn't even pull the battery (which they said they did.) they apologized and said they couldn't duplicate the problem I was telling them I had. That being said, I'm convinced they are no help :-/.

Here's what I've noticed... My driving lights don't automatically come on when the car is running. They used to. Also, I now have no light come on when I pull up on the e-brake. My lumbar support electronic switch isn't working. These are things I found in the middle of the night trying to figure it out. They used to work. I'm assuming it's an electrical short so I've searched everything to see what isn't working. Those are the three things I've found. Where do I find a cable for the e-brake that could be shorting. I checked the daytime running light line and it seems to be fine. I'm at a loss. I appreciate any and all suggestions. Thanks!!!

This is a hard one, so when you start car and disconnect the cable from the battery (+) is the car
1. running on the alternator no problems
2. dying right away after battery disconnect
3. dying 3 to 5 seconds after battery disconnect
 
I know you said the alternator still puts out 14 amps, it's volta btw, but have you had it tested? Your symptoms are of a vehicle that has had alternator failure.

If that's what it is and the dealership missed it, I would change dealerships.
 
Hey fellas, I think I just found my problem! There was a set of yellow wires in the glove box on the left side behind that little box. I checked those and they had slightly disconnected. Fixed!
 
You mean the connector came apart? Weird. And reconnecting that fixed all the issues?
 
As best as I can tell, yes. That fixed the issues minus the lumbar situation.
 
What voltage is the alternator at when the engine is at speed? (2000 rpms)

If the battery is going dead, charging issue is at the top of the list. If that checks out, it means something is grounding out and using power quicker than the battery is being charged AND is below the amperage rating of that system (unlikely it seems).

Also, check ALL the major grounds on the vehicle well... There shouldn't be more than 4 or 5.

Are there any aftermarket systems on the vehicle that don't have fuses or have high amp fuses?
 
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here's the crazy thing... the light has already gone back off. Something is going on.
So, when the battery light is on, the volts show at about 10-11.

Battery doesn't seem to be going dead because once the light comes back on, it's as though nothing was ever wrong. All things go back to normal. It's a completely random thing, it seems, when the battery light comes on. When it goes off, all gauges show normal readings.

Nothing aftermarket that I know of.
 
I just re-read the posts so far and I think it's the alternator. As an armchair mechanic in this case, I can't explain all the symptoms, but a shorting out alternator could cause some crazy things. As much as I hate "replace and hope", if it were my truck, my next step would be to replace the alternator.
 
Hey fellas, I think I just found my problem! There was a set of yellow wires in the glove box on the left side behind that little box. I checked those and they had slightly disconnected. Fixed!

Be careful with those yellow wires! it’s for the passenger side airbag
 

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