The dreaded battery light has hit my sc.

While I was driving today my battery light turned on and shut off a few times, so I pulled over and checked to make sure my battery cables were tight........the cables were fine and there is no corrosion on the terminals so I continued on.

After my appointment everything is fine..........the battery light is off and everything is normal, so I decided to run a few more errands and head off to the mall. On my way home again everything is fine, no lights..............all is well. My next stop is Stop and Shop..........

When I started the car after grocery shoppping the battery light came on and stayed on for about 3 minutes.............while I was driving I noticed sometimes when I would step on the brake the battery light would shut off. Half way home I noticed that when i turn my blinker on the battery light would flash a few times then shut off......

The battery is only 2 1/2 years old and is a Duralast gold.............the alternator is original. I havent had a chance to start testing anything yet, but I'm thinking either a short (god I hope not) or the alternator finally died..............what are your thoughts?

 

Update: I just took a drive to the store and now when im driving and step on the brake the battery light comes on..........when I take my foot off the brake it goes off. When I parked the car and rolled the windows up the battery light comes on until I let go of the window switch

 

alternator is going poopy i think....or ground cable has poopy connection on opposite side of battery....meter the battery off it should read at least 12.5 and do it with car on should read at least 13..

 

alternator is going out.

 

its the alternator.. takes about 20 mins to change though.. very easy fix.

 

To clarify, with the car off take your volt meter and set it to 20 volts. Then but the positive voltmeter lead on the positive terminal of the battery and the negative lead on the negative terminal. You should have 12.0 volts. Then have someone start the car. the reading should jump up to 13-14 volts. If you rev the car you should see the voltage changing on your meter, that way you know the voltage regulator is working. If you dont get 13-14 volts your alternator is bad. No flucuation regulator may be bad. Either case you would need a new alternator. Or you could take it to autozone and have them bench test it.

 

Witht he car off the battery reads 12.35v..........when the car is running it its 14.58v and when the car is started with the meter on the terminals i goes from 12.35 to 14.58v rather quickly. When engine is revved it climbs them goes back down a bit.

 

Safe to say you can rule out the alternator, cause all your readings are spot on. I would move on to bad grounds. I read a thread with your problem and members were telling them to check the grounds. Heres a post from another member

"It's no secret that the grounding systems in that car are weak. I used a dremel with a wire brush to clean the paint off on the main grounds. They have 4 white with black stripe wires connecting to the frame. The most important ones are on the inner fenders. Buff them down to bare metal, it makes a large improvement. Also check your main battery wires to see if they are corroding from the inside"

 

Heading out to the car now to check it out.............thanks

 

Hey two more things, check your belt tension. A slipping belt or bad belt tensioner can create the problem your having.

 

You should have a 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of deflection if you push on the belt with your finger. Push on the belt where theres a good distance of belt if that makes sense?

 

SO now i NEED a new Alternator .............The Rectifier bolt snapped off due to rust, ugh I hate new england! if someone is local to western mass that has GE alternator I can pick up please let me know.

I redid all the grounds. The serpentine belt has 200 miles on it, but the tensioner is oem so when i get a new alternator I will get out the tensioner as well

 

I hope you get everything working