Battery light came on.....
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Joined: Jul 2002
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From: New Jersey
Battery light came on.....
Last night I happened to be at a light. When the light turned green I happened to floor it (I was pissed at the wife ) 
anyways i noticed that the battery light came on for about 5 sec and then went out. This never happened before.... is this something i should worry about?
anyways i noticed that the battery light came on for about 5 sec and then went out. This never happened before.... is this something i should worry about?
Driver
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 153
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From: Illinois
If it hasn't happened before and doesn't happen again, I wouldn't worry about it too much. The battery light comes on when there is a problem in your charging system or if your battery is low. Usually, it's when the alternator is not putting out enough voltage to charge the battery, but it can also be if the alternator puts out too much. Since the alternator is belt driven, there is a correlation between engine rpm and alternator output, to a point (that's why after a car is jump-started, it's customary to rev the engine).
If you continue to experience this every time you floor the gas, I would venture to say that there is something not functioning properly in the charging system, perhaps the voltage regulator, which should do precisely as it's name suggests. I'm not sure, but I would assume that it could also be the alternator. Either way, you should know that if output of the alternator falls outside an optimum range, there can be a negative impact on your battery life. My advice is to have a trusted mechanic check the output of the alternator--this can be easily done without any removal of parts. See thread below to find out why I say 'trusted mechanic.'
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=94547
If you do this yourself, use a multimeter to probe the two battery posts while the engine is running. You can have an assistant floor the gas (make sure it's in park or neutral
) while you monitor the voltage. If the output is not within 12-16V range, it's likely your assistant will report that the battery light came on. It's also likely that your reading would have been over 16V.
Hope this helps.
Mike
If you continue to experience this every time you floor the gas, I would venture to say that there is something not functioning properly in the charging system, perhaps the voltage regulator, which should do precisely as it's name suggests. I'm not sure, but I would assume that it could also be the alternator. Either way, you should know that if output of the alternator falls outside an optimum range, there can be a negative impact on your battery life. My advice is to have a trusted mechanic check the output of the alternator--this can be easily done without any removal of parts. See thread below to find out why I say 'trusted mechanic.'
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...threadid=94547
If you do this yourself, use a multimeter to probe the two battery posts while the engine is running. You can have an assistant floor the gas (make sure it's in park or neutral
) while you monitor the voltage. If the output is not within 12-16V range, it's likely your assistant will report that the battery light came on. It's also likely that your reading would have been over 16V.Hope this helps.
Mike
Last edited by mtsao; Sep 12, 2003 at 08:49 AM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 96
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From: New Jersey
Well so far so good it hasn't happened again. I normally get a new battery everytime i purchase a new car. I try to make that a standard practice. Thanks for the good info. Very comforting to know that its not serious.
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