Car is a 2005 Toyota Camry LE 2.4liter 4Cyl. 62,000 miles.

Issue started after car was sitting for a week, while I was out of town. Came home and turned on car to go to work, and noticed the Battery warning light was on.

Drove car to work about an hour away. Made a three stops along the way and had no issue starting the car, or any noticable dimming of lights or loss of electrical systems.

Found the passenger side headlight was out and replaced it.(not sure if this is anyway related, but will mention it).

Drove car another hour home from work, no issue starting car, no noticable dimming of lights or loss of electrical systems.

Found and cleaned Corrosion on the Positive battery terminal.

Checked the battery afterwards, and it was giving 13Volts while car was off. Turned on car with AC going full blast, radio, wipers, and car was at 14Volts. When I turned on the headlights it was at 13Volts again.

Took car to the dealership(25mins away) to diagnose the problem and was told it was the alternator.

Drove car another 25mins home.

Took alternator to autoparts store, they were unable to test the old alternator as they did not have the right connector.

Bought new alternator and installed.

Warning light is still on.


Other than the warning light the car is driving fine.

Any suggestion/ideas?

Thanks in advance.

 

An 05 with 62K - warranty?

I searched my info file and found an article about always on charge indicator light. Not sure if this will help.

"The red charge light is glowing because it is receiving unequal voltage to each side of it. When you first turn the key on, power is sent from the ignition switch through the bulb to the alternator where it is grounded - the light turns on. After the engine starts power is sent back from the alternatorto the bulb to turn it off. With equal voltage at each side of the warning bulb there is no current flow through it and it does not light. Several faults could cause the bulb to glow.

The first test is to unplug the connector at the alternator with the engine running and see if the bulb goes out. If it stays on then the wiring from the bulb to the alternator is shorted to ground somewhere. Look for worn spots on the engine wiring harness as a likely source.

If the bulb goes out then there is resistance in the circuit. An incorrect bulb could cause your problem." Obviously not your problem but I'm wondering if just replacing the bulb could fix it?

There is more to the article but not applicable to your situation. Althought it talks about making sure your under-dash wiriing harness is not corroded - not really a concern on an 05.
I believe the "connector at the alternator" he is talking about is the "L" connector. The connector may not be marked and you may need a manual. I would talk to the Toyo tech about this to seehow much of hisbasic auto traininghe remembers. Sounds like the alt problem was a simple wrong answer. Normal voltage while engine is running is 13.5 - 15.1 volts.

 

I took the original alternator and had it tested, which it passed. Replaced it in the car.

When I take the connector off, the light does go out.

I can look into replacing the bulb, any other idea?

 

I'm thinking there can't be much wrong with an 05. Take what connector off, the bulb's connector? If there is no short that allows current flow through the bulb to create an imbalance then maybe the bulb is the problem. Might be a cheap try if you can remove the dash panel.

 

If there is an imbalance of voltage causing the bulb to light, then check the wiring schematic for wire circuits. Check for any fuses or relays in the bulb circuit. Also any places for shorts to occur. If the Alternator and Battery tested ok, then the problem has to be in the wire circuits.