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*RESOLVED?* Blown fuse. What made it blow, I don't know. But my car is tentatively fixed. One question. Do you think Napa will let me return the alternator I bought yesterday? If not, I do have an old, old alternator I can, at least, return for an $80 core (and have a spare alternator).

Do be clear, the previous alternator was an OEM (Denso) that was in service for 10 months. The replacement could very well have been a dud, though. It was some Mexico rebuilt thing from Napa that didn't look great either.

I think it's correct. My wipers and window motors are very slow.

I don't know about the first question or how to find out. But, the alternator has a voltage regulator built into it.

*Update* I installed a new alternator and the car is doing the exact same thing(s). It's holding steady at ~11.9 volts. My OBD reader says my battery is in poor condition, but that may just be because it's low from not being charged. The car still starts, but I suppose I could have someone jump...

The gap is actually perfect on all of them, but they are oily/fouled (likely due to a leaking valve cover/spark plug tube gasket that was replaced while these plugs were installed). They were in for ~60k miles. Toyota says 120k. The misfires, I think were coincidental.

Interesting. I recently bought new plugs because my gas mileage was down, and the car was sluggish (everything else checked out). I suppose I'll go ahead and replace the plugs. Couldn't hurt. When my last alternator was going out, nothing weird happened except the battery light coming on sometimes.

No luck with adjusting the safety switch. I did see that the fin was off-center in neutral, and I had to move it as far over as it would allow, getting it lined up. Still no gear indicator on the dash, and all the other malfunctions. The gear indicator did briefly show when put in manual mode...

That's what I've always heard/thought. However, since I've owned my car 5+ years, it would often show as low as 13.2v at idle, although it puts out over 14v right after cold start like it should. I'm on my 3rd battery, 3rd belt, 2nd tension pulley, and second alternator, (probably didn't need to...

Yes, that's too low for my car too. The alternator usually never goes below 13.2 volts, and that's stopped in traffic with lots of accessories on. Although, when my old alternator went out-less than a year ago-everything drove and operated normally, just with the battery light on and the alt...

I see the oval holes. Is it supposed to oriented like this in park? The little blade fin sticking straight up? Also, when I messed with it, the center hole was kind of loose and would move a little by hand. I'll look at it again, loosen/tighten it at a different angle. Thanks for the tip.

Come to think of it, the car started acting strange this past Sunday. I was on my way home from a family gathering, and as I was coming off the interstate, the car would idle too low at stops like it was about to die. I also had several misfires on cylinder 4 - not enough to trigger a CEL...

Good call. I just started the car and looked at live data. Battery (alternator) voltage was hovering around 12 to 12.2 volts. The battery terminals are clean and tight. I replaced the battery and the alternator recently with a reman Denso unit, but I'll look it over in the morning. Thanks!

Hi everyone. My 2009 Vibe GT (Toyota 2.4L) did something odd earlier tonight. I was at a red light and the engine started revving higher than it should, my turn signals stopped working, the airbag light came on, and the digital gear indicator on my dash went blank. P0705 (PRNDL Input-Engine and...

It shouldn't be added to the gas tank, then?

Good tip. I loosened them both quite a bit and pushed them down further before tightening. Now they are past the tops of the terminals and tight without touching ends (y)

Thanks. I'm 99% the initial problem was a loose battery connector, but I then disconnected and cleaned everything and the alt cable didn't quite seat.

As always, I've learned new and valuable things and am eternally grateful to everyone here at BITOG. By the way, it really helps when this is plugged in all the way until it clicks: I am an idiot 😂

The car never failed to start. All the info I've reported is from my OBD reader live data. The car almost died a minute ago, but I had to have defrost, wipers, and headlights on to see. Once I turned them off and parked, the battery voltage increased to a functional level.