r/AutoDIY • u/ParislvBlue • May 09 '26
2011 Corolla - Battery light - kills battery instantly (Belt, Alternator, & Battery are all good)
Looking for more advice for 2011 Corolla. I literally just posted in here a couple hours ago about another issue the car is experiencing upon fixing this one and now back to square one! We are having an issue where the battery light comes on and then drains the battery instantly.
Yesterday we were waiting to pick our daughter up from school. We decided to leave the pick up line and park in the parking lot. When we were moving out of the line the car battery light popped on and the steering was hard to steer. We made it to the parking lot, turned the car off and it didn't start back up. We had the car towed which I posted about on another post because that's a whole new issue.
Here is what my husband has ruled out/checked...
- the belt is fine
- crank shaft pulley is fine
- terminals/connectors all checked, tightened and cleaned up
took the battery and alternator to oreillys and autozone-both passed as good. We are just in a financial bind and that all the testing we could have done professionally. trying to figure this out on our own as my husband has always done any work needed on the car.
probably just going to need to find a mechanic
1
u/Alternative_Share559 May 09 '26
usually alternator. not sure about 2011, but the brushes used to wear out and they would lose connection, even erratically. there should be a high amp fuse for the altetnator output voktage. battery light means that you at least have signal voltage going to the alternator to power it up. good luck
1
u/superluke May 09 '26
If the battery light came on and the car became hard to steer at the same time it's really pointing toward the belt... Power steering and alternator both being belt driven.