Low idle
Low idle
the IS200 is trying to idle at ~800 rpm, but it keeps dipping slightly and making the whole car wobble a lot.
I've also tried the sat nav screen again tonight, linked up to the stereo circuit. The screen had **** loads of lines moving all over it so I'm not convinced the car is generating sufficient power (though that might just be because the head unit drains too much).
What's the verdict, alternator on the way out? Doesn't look like it's been changed for a long time. The car really struggles not to stall when the AC is active on idle.
What's your volt meter reading?
about 3mm shy of 12v. I can see space between the needle and the 12v mark. It's had a battery recently so it's definitely not a dead batt.
If it's under 12v when the car is running it's definitely not charging, even with a duff battery the volt meter should be about 14v when running.
Best thing to do would be borrow a multimeter and check the voltage on the terminals of the alternator, which is probably dead.
Agreed alternator, first thing, check the belts tight.
belt has been squealing lately, needs a full set of new ones but I'm loathed to change them so close to it being garaged.
right, I've double checked today and the volt dial is reading a steady 14 volts, still idling low though. Any other suggestions? I have a suspicion that the spaz who wired up my head unit didn't do a very good job, but I can't honestly believe it's causing the problem as it still idles low with it turned off.
Is the idle rough or just low? Because once it's warm mine always idle below 800rpm anyway...
It could be the issue if something's dead shorting, is the car starting fine? Ie battery not dead?
car starts fine Stav, it doesn't sound like it's hunting but every 4-5 seconds I can feel it vibrate and the needle dips slightly. Battery is fairly new, plugs are also quite new and it's only been doing it for the past month or so. I had some starting issues when parking it facing down a hill during winter, but that cleared after some fairly aggressive driving with a low tank.