Alternator Trouble

[butter]

My mother is having trouble with her 2006-2007 Yaris Alternator. The battery indicator light came on so she took it in for service. Toyota said the alternator was bad and not keeping an adequate charge on the battery. The dealer said it was registering a 13.7. The dealer said above a 14 is acceptable. She has been to another garage for a second opinion. The second garage told her a 13.7 to 14.2 is an acceptable range. The Yaris has been running fine with no problems starting or running any features. Anyone have a definitive answer on the acceptable ranges? or had any alternator trouble that is similar? Thanks for the help.

[CTScott]

There are many threads about charging light issues with the 07. There is a known problem with the voltage regulator becoming corroded and there is a TSB on it (see the link below to the pdf of the TSB). If the battery is good, then it could very well be that.

The service manual doesn't state what the ideal range is for output voltage, but to properly charge a 12V lead acid battery, it should be 13.5 to 14.2 volts, so 13.7 is theoretically OK (provided that the voltage is staying at that level and not constantly dropping below it).



http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29479&highlight=voltage+regulator