Battery Light Anomaly?

TimKustom

TimKustom

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Before y’all try to “rickroll” me...I did search the forum on this topic...:D

In the last 6 weeks, I’ve seen the battery light come on now for the 6th time. Three of the times it stayed on once the car was started. It stayed on from only a couple of miles to about 15 miles then would go out. The other two times it came on while driving, and then goes off in a few minutes. Yesterday morning it was off after initial startup, drove about 5 miles, then turned on the stereo (it’s stock). The light came on about 4 miles down the road, I then turned off the stereo. Light stayed on for about another 3 miles then went off.

Now the really weird part....

Driving home last night, the battery light stayed on after startup. Drove home, stayed on the entire time (a bit nerve-racking). Pulled car into garage, turned off the headlights and checked it while it was still running, 11.96v. Told the wife to turn on the headlights back on and the voltage jumped to 13.5 and the battery light went off!

I’ve checked the voltage at the battery when the light stayed on after startup (the car had sat over the weekend) and it was at 11.96v and crept to 12.03 as I tested. With the battery light off it’s reading 13.65v with all accessories on and 13.85v with them off.

I had it checked the other day by Autozone and Advance with their “testers” both said battery and alternator was fine (light was off). Autozone said their equipment was not as good as Advance and recommended going next door to see what they say. Advance tests the car with and without a load on it.

I’m thinking it could have a dead/going dead cell in the battery, haven’t taken it out to be tested yet, that’s next. Autozone said their “roll out” machine could not detect a bad cell, only if the battery had sufficient voltage/charge. Advance guy just gave me blank look and said it was fine.

The Alternator is working, since the light goes out. But I think it’s working overtime.

I’ve got a line on an alternator guy that can rebuild it for $140. He asked the “smart” question about it if it was made by Mitsubishi.

SO, I hate to start throwing parts at it. Just looking for some thoughts on what might be going on. Haven’t really drove it with the stereo or A/C on lately.
 
Its easy, the light will ONLY come on if the alternator is failing. ONLY EVER ONLY!!! (except when you turn the key on without the car running guys, please don't rick roll me!)

Sounds like your regulator in the alternator is taking a dump, its only a matter of time until it fails.

The only other thing it could be is the connection AT the alternator, make sure the contacts are clean and the plug at the alternator is intact. This will "simulator" a failing alternator.
 
The battery light is nothing more than a current indicator. When the car is charging properly, the charging voltage and amperage is being supplied via the alternator and no current flows via the battery light. When the vehicle is using more juice than the alternator is supplying, current flows through the battery light and the battery light is illuminated.
 
Your alternator is starting to fail. The battery light was on for 6 months in the crown vic. And I had everything tested and it "checked out" fine when the light was off also.

I would recommend changing the alternator because as others said it is on its way out.
 
I have seen a bad tensioner create a "battery light on" condition also. The belt in this example was bad too as it skipped on the alternator pulley. This condition was more evident with an increase in RPM.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Took one of the other cars to work on Friday. Then was out of town over the weekend, so it got to take a rest. I checked the battery this morning and it read 12.2v. The book that came with my BatteryMinder shows that a less than a 50% charge. That's after a 12.7 reading right after shutting the car off last Thursday.

Gonna see what I get this evening and will report back.

Didn't wanna spend this months "fleet money" on a alternator...:mad:
 
TimKustom said:
Thanks for all the replies.

Took one of the other cars to work on Friday. Then was out of town over the weekend, so it got to take a rest. I checked the battery this morning and it read 12.2v. The book that came with my BatteryMinder shows that a less than a 50% charge. That's after a 12.7 reading right after shutting the car off last Thursday.

Gonna see what I get this evening and will report back.

Didn't wanna spend this months "fleet money" on a alternator...:mad:
Click to expand...

How many miles are on your car?
 
+5 on the alt. the battery wouldn't cause the light. you can actualy take a battery terminal off with the engine running and it will be fine.
 
When we were waiting to hook up this duice (DRUNK) I was setting up my partners car to get the duice in the front seat (fatal blanket cuz she puked all over) and I noticed his battery light was on in the patrol vehicle. I thought great, he's gonna break down on the way to the jail. It ran for about 35 minutes with full A/C, repeater and lights on, and a trip to the jail without dying. I took a peak under the hood and they are running a REALLY small pulley on the Vics, I'll have to take a picture. It even looked smaller then the one I was running. Needless to say it didn't start when he was leaving the jail. :D
 
Interestingly enough, when my alternator was giving up the ghost, the battery light did not come on, other than at start up as it normally does.

Replacing the alternator only takes about 15 minutes and it's much easier than any other car I've done that with.

SC
 
Finally got a chance to yank the alternator out...I thought it was very interesting that it had a "remanufactured" label on it. Original dead before 21k miles?

Tested at Autozone - Fail

Tested at Advance (it's next door) - Fail

Tested at Southern Armature - Fail

Got a rebuilt from Southern Armature (they do them inhouse) for $140 with a 1 year warrenty. Battery is charged and gonna install tonight, so I should be back in Lincoln style tomorrow.

Yep it's a sin to let somebody else do this job for you. When I was having the cruise recall done, an older guy had a MINT '93 Mk VIII also having his recall done, he then told them his battery light was on. They told him it needed an alternator and they said it was going to be $900. He shrugged and told them to fix it. I was biting my tongue the whole time. FYI, that dealership is no longer is business. :cool:

Thanks for all the assistance. ;)
 
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