2005 Elise alt bad?

[underpressure02]

Hello everyone I am new to this forum and looking at buying a 2005 elise.

The current owner claims that the car is acting like the alt is bad and has decided to sell the car instead of getting it fixed. He claims it is 1500 dollars to fix the alt.

The story sounds fishy but I wanted to find out if 2005 model cars are known to have electrical problems? ie ecu, wiring and so forth or if it could honestly be the alt. I have not checked out the car yet but figured I would ask here first before driving to see this car.

Any help would be great. TIA.

[407Driver]

I would suspect the battery more than the altenator. My 05 elise has 45K mls.. and is on its third battery. The alt. is a toyota part and is not known to be a common or frequent problem to my knowledge. The electrical system and ECU will act funny when battery volts get low.

[MattG]

Agreed, battery is the likely culprit, and fixing that might be as simple as tightening the battery cable connections. I've heard of some alternators failing, but it's not that common.

[underpressure02]

Any reason why your car is on its third battery? Do these cars often have that issue?

[waydui]

I have an '05 Elise and have no issues with the alternator, or anything electrical for that matter.

I'd ask the seller exactly what conditions make him suspect the alternator? It could be as simple as a loose belt.

Alternator problems have not been a major issue that I've noticed. Some cars with aftermarket superchargers experienced alternator issues, but I think that was more related to wire strain than the the alternator itself.

Do a search in the Electrical section for "alternator" and a lot of posts come up.

Sounds a little fishy that a guy would dump an Elise just for a (maybe) alternator issue.

regards,
Wayne

[underpressure02]

Originally Posted by waydui

Sounds a little fishy that a guy would dump an Elise just for a (maybe) alternator issue.

regards,
Wayne

That is the same thing I was thinking. The car has a clean car fax, and low miles. I assumed there is something else wrong with the car electrical wise. That is why i posted on here.

[MattG]

My original factory battery was still going strong when the car was a little more than four years old...at which point I replaced it only to save weight. I think we see a lot of batteries going bad because many of these cars aren't driven much, and if it's not kept on a trickle charger, that's a lot of cycling for a battery to go through.

[TheViper]

This could prove useful.
Battery Choices & Information
Cheers,
Michael

[BrianK]

Originally Posted by MattG

I think we see a lot of batteries going bad because many of these cars aren't driven much, and if it's not kept on a trickle charger, that's a lot of cycling for a battery to go through.

Agreed.

underpressure02, I'm also on my 3rd battery in my '05. I usually only drive the car on the weekends... if I miss a weekend or two, then it may see 2-3 weeks of down time, which seems to be bad for batteries. Many people here seem to go through batteries faster in this car than in others.

Regardless, I would have the car checked out by a mechanic (preferably a Lotus dealer if there's one around, even though it will cost you a pretty penny) before purchasing the car.

Overall, they are great cars that are very reliable in almost every aspect.. A true, usable sports car.

[underpressure02]

I figured you guys would say b/c they don't get driven all the time. Have that same problem with a lot of my cars. Just ended up disconecting the batteries when not in use.

Forgive my noobness, but is the engine, trans and ecu all toyota?

[MattG]

engine and transmission are Toyota, ECU is Lotus.

[Gizmo3000]

Originally Posted by underpressure02

I figured you guys would say b/c they don't get driven all the time. Have that same problem with a lot of my cars. Just ended up disconecting the batteries when not in use.

Yup, batteries tend to go bad if you let the car sit for more than a few weeks.

But disconnecting the battery also leads some some other hassles - the radio/clock will forget all it's info,.. Alarm might also have some issues?

If you end up getting the car, and a new battery, get a BatteryTender or Battery MindR and you'll get the most out of your battery without ever having to worry about wether you've got enough juice to start your car.

[MattG]

Good point about the alarm...it's supposed to have a backup battery tucked away somewhere, so disconnect the primary and you'll be affecting that one.

[TheViper]

It's Ok to disconnect the battery if the alarm is turned off.
Cheers,
Michael