I've got a 93 Manual TR, fully stock. I've only had it for a couple months and recently noticed that the charge (battery) light comes on every now and then. I've always thought that this light comes on when the car is running off the battery or when the battery is close to or flat. But does the light also come on when the alternator is over-charging? The reason i ask this is because the light sometimes turns off when i crank up the stereo.
If the problem is over-charging what can i do about it? Also if it isnt, does anyone have any ideas what it could be and how i could go about fixing it.

Also does anyone have a workshop manual for a TR magna in PDF format?

my sister had this happening in her barina,
her alternator was over charging
put a multimedia over the batter and check how much volts its getting wen the car is running,
you really shouldnt drive it if its over charging caz it will blow all ya electrics, ya computers and stuff

I've got a 93 Manual TR, fully stock. I've only had it for a couple months and recently noticed that the charge (battery) light comes on every now and then. I've always thought that this light comes on when the car is running off the battery or when the battery is close to or flat. But does the light also come on when the alternator is over-charging? The reason i ask this is because the light sometimes turns off when i crank up the stereo.
If the problem is over-charging what can i do about it? Also if it isnt, does anyone have any ideas what it could be and how i could go about fixing it.

Also does anyone have a workshop manual for a TR magna in PDF format?


check the water level in your battery and fill it with distilled water. last year our tr died in the ass with a burnt out ECU aparently alt overcharged the battery which dried out then surged back and destroyed it. costing a shitload to fix they had to replace alt and ecu + battery. id get the alt checked because the guy said to us it was a common fault.

I better make a note of that when I get the 200,000km Triple Diamond Service done soon.

It's come up occaisionally for me too... ('92 TR)

Just had a poke in the battery... the water level is about an inch from the top (standard sized battery) is that ok? Does it need more?

Just had a poke in the battery... the water level is about an inch from the top (standard sized battery) is that ok? Does it need more?

as long as its covering the plates easily should be fine .

perhaps getting a multimeter and testing the alt might be the best thing then you will know for sure. either that or ask some guy to check it for 20 bucks.

I've got the same problem on my 91 TR...

Everytime it comes on I'm normally in the middle of nowhere without a multimeter. By the time I get home or have a chance to pull out a multimeter the light has gone off.
My first thoughts was that it could have been undercharging, but overcharing? Hmmm...May have to pay more attention to this.

I have the Haynes Manual for the TR Magna...
I can scan the bits you need.

If your lights dim when cranking the stereo (aftermarket job I assume?) that is the fact that the stereo is pulling more current than your alternator can supply, so it's taking it from the lights and the battery itself, thus stopping it from recharging like it should.

I'd recommend upgrading the alternator if you want a permanent solution. Upgrading the battery will do nothing because it's the alternator that supplies power when the car is going, the battery is basically only for starting up and keeping power to things when the car is off.

What is the RPM when it comes on?

Make sure when filling the battery you only use distilled water.

Or boil the water and let it cool first.

Make sure when filling the battery you only use distilled water.

Or boil the water and let it cool first.

if you dont know distilled / demineralised are the same thing when you go to buy some.

I get the same thing as lethal, it comes on almost randomly. No certain RPM, not after going over bumps (loose wire or somethin), not while accelarating, not while decellerating, its just weird. I took it to an auto elec, but i couldnt make the light come on when he was in the car, so he couldnt really say, all he said was its the alternator stuffing up, great help coulda told him that myself. The lights dont dim when crankin the radio so its not draining power off the battery. Im only running a CD player and some 6x9's, no amps or subbies so it shouldnt be draining much power anyway.
i'll check the water levels first thing tommorow.

The problem is quite simple. Replace the alternator.
It is either the brushes in the alternator or the regulator.
If one diode is not working properly you will get the same symptom.
They are about 250.00 for brand new units

Make sure when filling the battery you only use distilled water.

Or boil the water and let it cool first.

my mate is an auto electrician and said u can use just tap water and it wont do any harm,
:? not sure bout that, but thats wat he uses and it works fine,
i filled mine up with tap water bout a year ago and its still goin strong

[quote:a6d8bde9cf="Killbilly"]Make sure when filling the battery you only use distilled water.

Or boil the water and let it cool first.

my mate is an auto electrician and said u can use just tap water and it wont do any harm,
:? not sure bout that, but thats wat he uses and it works fine,
i filled mine up with tap water bout a year ago and its still goin strong[/quote:a6d8bde9cf]

not to be a wanker or anything but what would an auto 'electrictian' know about a chemical reaction ?

the reason you use demineralised is so that no minerals react chemically to prevent the battery from charging.

You ONLY use distilled/demineralised water in a battery!

I honestly dont care if you're mate is an auto electrician. Batteries *can* [edit] die because of using plain tap water.

I wouldn't be taking my car to him!

No offence mate but your friend is very wrong on this issue.

My battery dies lots and i couldnt be ****ed buying a new one so i bought jumper leads instead ;)

My battery dies lots and i couldnt be ****ed buying a new one so i bought jumper leads instead ;) <<lol perhaps you should have bought a manual.

i remember my starter motor being screwed a week because i didnt have the kesh. Its amazing how hard it is to find a hill to start on. Tho the manual tr takes a shuv to start its great.

i know for a fact that adelaide water is hard water filled to so many minerals you can hardly foam soap. this would really screw a battery.

put a multimedia over the batter

:lol: :lol: :roll:

small things I guess
:)

I had exactly this problem with my VT commodore. Casual driving caused the battery light to come on. If i turned the lights off, CD off and changed down gears to get higher revs it would go off.
In my case my alternator was wrecked. cost around $360 to buy a new one. I'd say get it checked by an auto-electrician, from what you've said it could be a range of things.