Battery Light came on...

[Saluki2003]

So my battery light came on last night. I think the battery is pretty new. Does this mean my alternator is going out? Im working the next three day so wont have a chance to get it looked at. I'm kinda worried about it dying on me though.

What should I do?

 

[wickedstangs]

@Saluki2003 could man somethings other things too in your charging system.. Is it flashing?

 

[Saluki2003]

Its not flashing...steady red. Anyone good with electrical stuff? Im kinda broke right now and cant really afford to take it to a shop for diagnostics.

 

[sdsubzero4]

Autozone can test your battery for free. But check your connection on your terminal. Also, check your connector for the alternator, the plug in one. Sometimes the wire will go bad on them, and if there is not a good connection, it can cause the malfunction light to come on.

 

[Saluki2003]

terminal connection looks good. all systems started shutting down on me down the street from autozone. Battery looks almost brand new. I'm guessing its the alternator.

 

[SickSix]

First obvious thing would be to test the battery. If the test shows good, the alternator could definitely be suspect. A quick way to check alternator output would be to connect a multi meter to the battery while it's running with multiple loads on. If it's showing around 14 volts, you know the alternator is working, in which case you might have a parasitic drain. But from the sound of it, if systems are shutting down on you like that, sounds like it very well may be the alternator.

 

[Saluki2003]

Yeah. I'm not going to have time to check it out for certain till Sunday.

Anyone wanna help me get Elvira back on the road on Sunday? I'll supply the beer.

 

[Mustangcwo]

Another quick check on the alternator, if you do not have a meter, is to start the car, turn on the headlights and then diconnect the positive battery terminal with the car running. If the car shuts off, the alternator is going bad. DO NOT reconnect the battery until you shut the car off.

 

[Saluki2003]

Anyone available on Sunday to give me a hand replacing the alternator?

 

[POEBOY71]

do you still need help if so we can knock it out this weekend.