my "check battery" light has been flashing on and off intermittently and i have located a short circuit sound coming from the drivers side of the engine bay. i can hear it near the power steering fluid reservoir...in that area.

i disconnected the battery and it still made the noise.

car: ES 250

what the heck is causing this short? where is it coming from? how do i fix it?

 

Hmmmm. I assume that the car wasn't running when you disconnected the battery (It certainly should not have been run without the battery). Please verify that.

Does it make the sound when the key is removed from the ignition switch? How about when accessory power on and engine off? How about ignition on but engine not running?

 

correct. the car was not running.

electrically everything is "normal", as in working properly, except the stereo intermittently shuts off and then on. and the "check battery" light intermittently flashes.

i had the alternator and battery checked and they are both ok.

yes, the sound was made when the key was removed from the ignition switch.

i think the short (noise) happens all the time, regardless if the engine is running. after i disconnected the battery the noise still occured but not for long. something is getting charged and is shorting. would it be some kind of capacitor?

 

there's a plug for the diagnostic tool. it seems to come from that area. that diagnostic plug in is near the power steering fluid reservoir.

 

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it seems that when i hit a bump on the road the check battery light comes on and when i hot another bump hard enough it goes off. i think it may be an exposed wire touching some metal and shorting out. i was told by a friend to check the engine bay in pitch dark to check for arcing.

what do you figure? this "short" happens with the battery disconnected too. so are there some capacitors in the engine bay that i should keep an eye on?