New Car Battery
 

Hi all,
I hope I have the right thread. I have a 2011 Scion xB.
My battery light came on the other day. The car started up great but it seemed to struggle staying on while parked or while stopped (shook a good amount).
I got a new battery from Costco. I installed it, turned it on & it was even worse trying to stay on while parked or at a stop. It actually turned off on me. I did some research, and read somewhere I may need to reset the computer.
So I took a couple fuses (EFI) out & put them back in. It seemed to work. The car starts up great & stays on just fine (no shaking at all).
But the Battery icon on the dashboard is still appearing. Should I be worried? I drove my car this morning to work. I don't notice a difference from before this all happened.


Thanks for any feedback,

You battery is probably not the problem. The battery light is telling you that you do not have full voltage when the car is running. You'll want to check all the battery and engine grounds to make sure they are solid but most likely you have an alternator that is on it's way out. You'll need to take it to a auto shop or mechanic and have the alternator tested.

Thank you for your reply Greg.
I was worried it might be the alternator :(
I'll take it into the shop & and see what they say.
Even though it's a 2011 Scion, is it normal to have the alternator replaced this soon? Or am I just not taking enough care of my car? O_o

I've never had an alternator go bad in any car I've owned but have seen enough people have to replace them that I think it just happens. Poor production or built on a Monday type thing. Also could be that your battery was going out and the alternator was working extra hard so that took it out. Also, if you have a lot of high draw equipment, large stereo system, that can shorten the alternators life span.

You were right on the nose with this one Greg. The alternator gave out. My car was running on the battery for the past couple days. The old battery was low on energy and was probably making the alternator work overtime. I was driving to work when my car turned off including the power steering. Thankfully I was able to pull over safely.
Bought a new alternator and with my father in law, we were able to remove the bad one & install the new one. I got a new battery under the warranty as well. The battery icon disappeared. Car runs great again.
Thanks for the help Greg, I wasn't in shock or anything when my car turned off on me as I figured it was the alternator after what you said.

Glad it all got sorted out. Yeah, it's fun when the power steering turns off. One of the downsides of electric power steering.

One thing I noticed is the car is a little bit shaky when my car is idle. Doesn't happen all the time, only some times. Any idea as to what causes this?

You can try cleaning the throttle body and MAF, also check your spark plugs. These may help. Mine has done it for a while, but I've modified so much that I just accept it.

Thanks for the tips. Hopefully that'll help it out.