small issue and i think i know the cause but i would like a second opinion.
my battery light is on when the car is off and the light turns off when the car is on.
the battery is less than a day old and it sounds like the car is struggling to start.
anyone have an idea?
Im thinking alternator.
You just changed the battery, and the battery light is now on when the car is off? On top of that, the car is “struggling to start”?
Check your grounds.
thats exactly what i was thinking.
[QUOTE=operator207;2142761]You just changed the battery, and the battery light is now on when the car is off? On top of that, the car is “struggling to start”?
Check your grounds.[/QUOTE]
which ones and where?
usually the alternator is the only thing that illuminates a battery light.
why did you change the battery? a dying battery can fry an alternator pretty quickly
[QUOTE=welfare;2143322]usually the alternator is the only thing that illuminates a battery light.
why did you change the battery? a dying battery can fry an alternator pretty quickly[/QUOTE]
i had to change the battery because the old one just died. i had a radiator fluid leak a little while ago and it got all over that side of the engine bay and maybe it shorted out the battery or something. but it was just dead and it was less than a year old.
so i got a free replacement from walmart. but im just going to go ahead and change the alternator anyway…
i can only use obd0 and obd1 alternator on my car rite?
Replacing parts on your car before you know what is wrong is an expensive way to fix your car, eventually you will replace the “broken” part.
I have a question…
When you say, "my battery light is on when the car is off and the light turns off when the car is on. exactly what do you mean?
The “battery light” is supposed to be off when engine is running.
Are you saying the light turns on when you turn the ign. to the off position, [so key is removable] or just off enough so engine stops running, [accessory position]?
If either of the above, I will have to agree with operator207 and suggest the checking of the grounds, the main ones…
Batt. neg.(-), batt. to chassis and chassis to engine.
These grounds should be removed/undone and both contact surfaces cleaned and the reconnected, making sure they are tight.
Remove the batt. and batt. “box” to access the chassis ground point, fallow the ground cable to it’s engine grounding point, should be on a bracket held in place with bolts mounting transaxle to engine.
If that does not work, [can’t hurt to do the grounds on a car that is more then 15 years old] do the same with the main powers…
Batt. pos.(+), batt. to fuse box, batt. to starter and alt. to fuse box and the main fuses, [the ones that are held in place with screws], same way, remove clean and reconnect.
If you have a, [or can borrow or buy] multimeter, you can do a basic check of the batt. and alt. before you spend money on an alt. you may not need.
Hell, even a $2.99 12V test light can be used for a basic test. 94
[QUOTE=fcm;2143418]Replacing parts on your car before you know what is wrong is an expensive way to fix your car, eventually you will replace the “broken” part.
I have a question…
When you say, "my battery light is on when the car is off and the light turns off when the car is on. exactly what do you mean?
The “battery light” is supposed to be off when engine is running.
Are you saying the light turns on when you turn the ign. to the off position, [so key is removable] or just off enough so engine stops running, [accessory position]?
If either of the above, I will have to agree with operator207 and suggest the checking of the grounds, the main ones…
Batt. neg.(-), batt. to chassis and chassis to engine.
These grounds should be removed/undone and both contact surfaces cleaned and the reconnected, making sure they are tight.
Remove the batt. and batt. “box” to access the chassis ground point, fallow the ground cable to it’s engine grounding point, should be on a bracket held in place with bolts mounting transaxle to engine.
If that does not work, [can’t hurt to do the grounds on a car that is more then 15 years old] do the same with the main powers…
Batt. pos.(+), batt. to fuse box, batt. to starter and alt. to fuse box and the main fuses, [the ones that are held in place with screws], same way, remove clean and reconnect.
If you have a, [or can borrow or buy] multimeter, you can do a basic check of the batt. and alt. before you spend money on an alt. you may not need.
Hell, even a $2.99 12V test light can be used for a basic test. 94[/QUOTE]
when i say that i mean that when the car is completely off and the key is out and you look at the dash the light is on. then when you start the car it turns off.
i have a multimeter and checking all the ground is a good idea 
do know of any good write ups that can step by step me in checking them?
solution…
the alternator. gonna change it out tomorrow
[QUOTE=DA_all_day;2143605]solution…
the alternator. gonna change it out tomorrow[/QUOTE]
Good that you found your problem. I would however still clean the grounds. One ground was loose when I did my swap, (the one by the thermostat) and it would keep it from starting (cranked fine, just would not start) and would light up the battery and CEL lights on the dash but very dim.
How did you test the alternator? On the car, or pulled it off and took it in to test? I ask as a bad ground will make a charging system have problems, and could show a bad battery (can’t develop enough cranking amps to pass a test) or show insufficient charging ability of an alternator (too much resistance at the ground)
Since your going to pull your alternator, might as well check the grounds.
[QUOTE=operator207;2143872]Good that you found your problem. I would however still clean the grounds. One ground was loose when I did my swap, (the one by the thermostat) and it would keep it from starting (cranked fine, just would not start) and would light up the battery and CEL lights on the dash but very dim.
How did you test the alternator? On the car, or pulled it off and took it in to test? I ask as a bad ground will make a charging system have problems, and could show a bad battery (can’t develop enough cranking amps to pass a test) or show insufficient charging ability of an alternator (too much resistance at the ground)
Since your going to pull your alternator, might as well check the grounds.[/QUOTE]
the alternator got tested on the car. i was out and about taking care of some stuff. if i remember rite he said that he jumped the car and tested the voltage on the battery and determined the alternator was bad.
and as for cleaning the grounds, can i just replace them? i was going to buy some grounding wires but i have no idea what the right ones to buy are…
[QUOTE=DA_all_day;2144035]the alternator got tested on the car. i was out and about taking care of some stuff. if i remember rite he said that he jumped the car and tested the voltage on the battery and determined the alternator was bad.
and as for cleaning the grounds, can i just replace them? i was going to buy some grounding wires but i have no idea what the right ones to buy are…[/QUOTE]
Sure you can replace them, but they may not need replacing. They could simply be corroded. Which could give you the same results as the test above depending on where the corrosion is.
I would start by cleaning them before replacing them. You can either grease them to prevent corrosion or paint them with some clear krylon.
I would suggest getting a Helm manual, and reading up if your wanting to do stuff to your car yourself. It is THE BEST manual for your car.
Testing the parts separately helps keep one part from masking another part. Like a bad ground masking a bad starter or alternator. Or a bad battery masking a bad starter.
Was going to say it was the voltage regulator shorted out, [alt.] it would be the only way batt. light would stay on with ign. all the way off.
Unless you have added a lot of load the stock ground cable is fine, if there is nothing wrong with it, just clean the contact surfaces.
The batt. to chassis and chassis to engine ground is on cable, the chassis ground point is under the batt. “box”.
As mentioned, redo, [clean] the thermostat housing grounds also.
It is also a good idea to redo, [clean] any grounds you can find, if a lead is screwed/bolted to the cars chassis it is a ground, you will find a number of them in the engine bay and a few around the under dash fuse box, [drivers A pillar] 94