My daughter has a 2008 Toyota Camry Solara SLE (V6, automatic, & all options minus Nav). The car is in good shape, has 115K miles, and has been driving great until recently. We bought it from the original owner who took good care of it.
Symptom: When driving at freeway speeds (AC, lights, and radio on) the car's electrical system is affected while using either the right or left turn signal. All dashboard lights will begin to dim and the engine will begin to die. She cannot repeat this while the car is at a standstill.
The first time this happened the repair shop checked the alternator and replaced the belts which were cracked. It happened again and I took it back to the shop for a re-check. They've test driven it and can find no issues. I suggested a possible short in the turn signal switch, but they tell me the switch is ok. I will have them repeat a test drive under the above conditions, but wanted some further feedback.
I would appreciate any help or insight as this issue needs to be fixed. My wife and I need her to have a solid ride for those night time rural commutes.
Thanks for your help.
Well there's got to be some kind of short in the steering column assembly. Unless the alternator is actually weak and they haven't tested it correctly
Thanks for the response, I appreciate it. The repair shop (second time around) tried to replicate the issue under the conditions listed above, but couldn't do it. They said there were no codes indicating a problem, and that the alternator was fine. Would a short in the steering column assembly cause a diagnostic code to be registered? I'm at a total loss. What would be your next step?
Scotty does not respond to follow up questions within a thread.
They need to do a load test on the alternator and battery, not just an output test, which is probably what they did. If things are going dim when the lights, ac and radio are on, the alternator is not producing enough voltage to keep everything else going, unless there is also a bad ground or a shorted circuit as well.
It looks like a faulty Turn Signal/Hazard flasher could be a possibility.
