just changed alternator batt light still comes on

[SHOman24v]

i just chaned my alternator because i was having a battery light coming on, when the car idles the light comes on. when i unplug the battery when the car is running, the light goes off, plug it back in the light comes back on, whats the deal?

<small>[ August 08, 2003, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: SHOman24v ]</small>

 

[Mr Anonymous]

SHOman24v:
i just chaned my alternator because i was having a battery light coming on, when the car idles the light comes on. when i unplug the battery when the car is running, the light goes off, plug it back in the light comes back on, whats the deal?

You did make sure your battery was fully charged before starting the car with the new alt. right? Bad alternators can ruin batteries and vice-versa. You're going to want to charge the battery fully and make sure that it holds the charge.

 

[luigisho]

You need to get the battery checked to see if it will hold a full charge. Check the cells to be sure they have enough (distilled) water. Autozone will charge it for you.

Also, if you bought an aftermarket reman. alt. you should have it tested to be sure the output is within spec. I just went through 5 alternators in one day trying to find one that worked within acceptable output parameters. I learned not to leave the store until the unit has been tested (and I get to watch).

 

[SHOman24v]

my battery is not bad, its new.....the car never has problems starting, i recenty put in a sub and amp, but i took the fuse out and started the car but the light was still on, and again i unplugged the battery when the car was on and the light went off.......with my stock alt., the light would only come on when driven hard, and it also ran fine with the battery unplugged........do i have another problem..

 

[Mr Anonymous]

SHOman24v:
my battery is not bad, its new.....the car never has problems starting, i recenty put in a sub and amp, but i took the fuse out and started the car but the light was still on, and again i unplugged the battery when the car was on and the light went off.......with my stock alt., the light would only come on when driven hard, and it also ran fine with the battery unplugged........do i have another problem..

Did you install the new alternator and the new battery at the same time?

If you bought a new battery last week and your alt. was already going bad, it could have very well ruined your new battery before you installed the new alt. this week. The fact that the battery light goes out when you disconnect the battery with the car running tells me the battery isn't right. Again, you're going to need to have both the battery and alt. tested together.

 

[luigisho]

It's possible, but rule out the easy stuff first. Test the charge on the battery with the car both off and running. If the voltage is too low with it off, suspect the battery; and if the voltage is too low when running, check the alternator output with it removed from the car. It could be a wiring problem but it will be hard to tell without knowing what is healthy in the first place.
I've been there recently. I installed a new battery and alternator from AutoZone a few weeks ago. I assumed everything was healthy from the store and I still had a battery light coming on intermittently. The battery checked out ok, I removed the "new" starter and took it in for testing. No good. Neither were the next 4 I tried from 2 AutoZones and a PepBoys. The second PepBoys had one within spec. Don't assume what you have is good because you just bought it. Louis (LaTech), who works at an O'reillys, pulled 10 off his store shelves the day after I posted this somewhere, and 3 of 10 were found to be bad. Always test before you leave the store.

 

[LaTechSHO]

that was when i worked at Advance Auto that i did that....

The numbers aren't that high at O'Reilly...

different companies remanufacture things for different retailers....


Louis

 

[SHOman24v]

so wait, my battery is the culpurt, i do have the orignal terminal posts on my car.....if i hook the car up to another car as if i was jumping it would that be like having the battery charged what i mean is i think that should make the light go away....