I have an '06 Acrua TL. It has right about 100k miles on it and I am the second owner. I've had it about a year and everything has been great! Unfortunately recently the low battery (or battery indicator light) came on. I just assumed my battery was low. I honestly didn't do anything about it for a couple of days and kept driving it. Everything was fine until around day 3. When I started it I noticed the nav screen was flickering. I made it down the street and all of the internal lights cycled off then on and then it wouldn't shift right anymore. I realized that the voltage had gotten so low that it couldn't operate correctly anymore and limped it back home down the street. I charged it up and went to Autozone and purchased a brand new battery. I installed it in the parking lot and as soon as I started the car the battery indicator light was back on. I was stumped since I just put in a brand new battery. It didn't take long before the same thing started happening. Nav screen was flickering because of low voltage and it would no longer shift correctly. I put the charger on it and peaked the new battery. Even after this it wouldn't even make it 1/8 of a mile before having low voltage issues. I let the car sit for a few days and it COMPLETELY drained the new battery just sitting there.

My question is does this sound like an alternator? Is the alternator not keeping up. And if so could the battery indicator light come on immediately even with a fully charged battery? Could a problem with the alternator drain the battery even with the car off?

I can replace it pretty easy, but they are damn expensive unless I want a cheap autozone alternator so I don't want to make the investment unless I'm pretty sure.

Any help is apprecaited!

 

Sounds like alternator or bad ground. Check ground connections first ensure they are clean of corrosion.

If you have a voltmeter you should be able to check the alternator, measure at the battery post with the vehicle running and ensure its reading about 14V.

Here's a nice video

 

Sorry to hear about your issue. Autozone should be able to run a test on your alternator for free. I would start with the test and then take it further from there.

 

Is there a diagram of where all ground are located, or someone that can give me a good idea? I've done a basic check on the obvious ones, just want to make sure I don't miss any.

Also, what is everyone's thoughts on a Autozone or Orileys Alternator? I've heard they are junk, but they are way cheaper than the $330 OEM replacement.

 

Definitely sounds like the alternator

 

+1 on new alternator. My oem alternator (2004) lasted 90K and went out with the exact symptoms. Battery light came on. I had to drive another 12 miles and it went into limp mode about 2 miles from home and died right when I pulled into my driveway...


Slapped in the new alternator (Napa) and all was good. I also recharged my battery while I installed the alternator and it's been fine ever since...

 

Update: Alternator was the issue. Thanks for the help!