So like the topic says, my damn battery light is on even after I swapped out a new battery this evening. I had the light come on, then my ABS light came on, then I lost all my gears and turn signals. I have the new battery in now and all symptoms seem to be solved except for that light. I searched the topics and found nothing on this. Any clue what I need to be looking for next? Thanks!

I assume you have + on + and - on - right?




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alternator


My Car

Sunfires rule! (Tom) wrote:alternator

What he said. Your alternator is bad, but just to make sure take it off and take it over to the auto parts store and have them check it.

So they can test the alternator once I remove it at any store like an AutoZone?

if you have a volt meter, you can check it yourself. Check the voltage of the battery before you start the car. (should be around 12v)

Then start the car and check the voltage again with the car on

-if the voltage is around 14V, that means your alternator is fine
-if the voltage is around 12V, that means your alternator is not charging and the more you drive your car, the faster the battery will drain
-if the voltage is around 15 or more, that mean your alternator is overcharging which mean your alternator is also fried and it will kill you battery too.



2003 Cavalier 2dr. 5spd

GrimRaven wrote:So they can test the alternator once I remove it at any store like an AutoZone?

Yes on AutoZone's web site you will see that they do free testing of starters, alternators, batteries, and ignition control modules

I had the same problem yesterday in the morning, the battery light came on... arrived to office, made a search in the forum and figured that the problem could be the battery or alternator... thinking of that, on my way home, the gauge lights and headlights started to dim, then the ABS, Brake and Check engine lights turned on... made an emergency stop at an audio shop and asked to a guy to check if the problem was the battery or alternator... he told me that was the alternator...

damn...

Then he charged the battery for an hour to give me some charge to return to my home. It was 10 p.m. and 40 minutes of drive to my place...

10 minutes later, all the cluster lights came on again and started to blink... at a stoplight... everything was off... including the engine... needed to call the towing service.

And guess which was the problem... a wire (not sure, cuz a technician found it) that goes from the alternator and the coil (not sure) was burnt... so, not necessarily is the alternator... the cheapest way is to check for corroded or burnt cables...

My alternator was shot. It was only producing 10 volts so I was running on nothing but battery basically. Well, I can say this - my headlights sure seem a heck of a lot brighter than I am used to seeing! And of course, I have the 2.3 Quad 4 so that just jacked the price of that part to around $200. Fun.