Battery warning light is on...

[yuro]

something strange is happening with my 2004 2.3L car.....

on Sunday the battery light came on...

I cleaned positive and negative connection on the battery as well as ground wire... the light is still on...
I used voltmeter to measure voltage on the battery and when engine is not running I get 12.8 V, with engine running I get 13.3 volts... when I turn on AC, lights and high beam lights - I still get 13.3 volts with idling engine.... that would indicate to me that alternator is charging the battery...

did anyone experience something similar?

[Cosmo77]

Its not a matter of volts...its how many amps are bing produced from the alternator.

[yuro]

Thanks Cosmo77.... I'm not sure if my voltmeter can measure amps, so I will take my car in...

It all started when I cleaned my MAF and IAT sensors... after cleaning both sensors, CEL went off for a day, but then it re-appeared....and then battery light appeared as well.... I did read somewhere on internet that IAT sensor can cause battery light....

For now I will replace MAF o-ring gasket to make sure there is no vacuum leak around the sensor and then I will take the car to Jimmy for electrical system test... for some reason I think that his test will be way better than Canadian Tire test... :)

[kramr]

Get an AVR test done to see how well the alternator is charging the battery. In a lot of cases when the battery light comes on, the aternator is done or soon to be done!

[Mazdy]

Sorry for reviving the thread...

Had this problem yesterday...and have a few questions..

So the battery warning light went on yesterday...but its weird...i turned off the car then turned it back on then its gone..

So this morning i checked all the wirings for the battery n stuff but didnt have time to check underneath for the alternator..since i needed to go to work....

So after checking all the wirings i turned it back on and the battery warning light is on.....i drove it around the block a few times then turned my car off then back on after 5 mins and the battery light is now off..weird..

Does this mean that my battery is old and needs replacing or its my alternator thats messed up thats why its not charging the battery so the warning light went on....


Like Dave(Noobmeister) mentioned to me that its probably alternator that its not charging my battery properly...but could it be the wiring since the battery warning light goes on and off?

Neways if ever its the alternator...should i buy a new one? Or a rebuild used one?


Thanx guys

[Mazdy]

^^ NVM its my alternator...the brush inside is all used up and isnt connecting properly...so i just gave it a tap just for it to connect to temporary charge my battery...i guess its time for me to get a new one :(

[sol_searchin]

When the battery light is on while driving 99% of the time it's the alternator OR your missing the belt for the alternator (seen these snap all the time lol), a dead battery wouldn't effect the car if it's already started because the alternator is powering everything.

[Impressive]

My battery light would flicker on and off while I drove periodically when I had my SRI on and the intake was falling apart and causing issues for the car's ECU.
Every time it would flash I would notice a split-second loss of power which worried me but going back to the factory intake has solved my issue.