Battery Light

5 years? My money would be on the battery. I think you are living on borrowed time. Most places that sell batteries will do a free electrical system charging check to make sure the alternator and voltage regulator are OK.

Bob

Could be the battery getting weak or the altenator/regulator going bad.. most garages will test this for you.. They will perform a load test on teh battery and the charge pull of the altenator. they will also test teh amps coming out of the altenator to see if it's up to spec..

5 years is a good time for a new battery, either that, or the belt is slipping.

The only problem with what you guys are saying is that even if the battery is dead, the light won't come on unless the alternator isn't charging.

On most vehicles if the battery has a shorted cell it will reduce the voltage and trigger the battery idiot light. Again, my money is on the battery, but I agree it could also be a slipping alternator belt, although I would expect you would see this most often under load and lower RPMs which did not match the description. The battery most likely has sulfur deposits and is internally shorted from age/use.

Bob

Thats why I suggested to go to the auto store or garage and have the battery load tested and altenator charge pull and amperage draw.

If a cell is shorted it may cause enough potential difference with the alternator to trigger the light.........but, a shorted cell should be consistent.....

Thats what I'm saying........

But, if the alt decides to totally go, jumper cables won't help........sure you can get it running when the other battery is hooked up, but you won't go far after the cables are unhooked.......

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comNHRA (BANDIT2941) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m21.aol.com:

Thanks for all of the feedback.

Just to shed some light on the subject, it is very unlikely that a slipping belt is the problem. I replaced the belt tensioner about a year ago and the belt is in good shape. Not to mention, I have not heard a belt squeek from under the hood.

After driving the car some more today, it seems like the light is not on when the car is first started but may come on after 10 minutes or so.

I am going to get a new battery since the current one is 5 years old. It will die sooner or later anyway.

Dan

I'm guessing it's the alternator, with an intermittent failure.

Others will say "but the alternator is only 3 years old"... but these Delco alternators really aren't all that great to begin with. Did you get a brand-new alternator or a rebuild? Some rebuilt units are better than new, others are not so reliable.

Tim.

That pretty much sums up my thoughts........

It's the alternator!! The only reason the warning light is shaped like a battery is so it could be understood by someone of any language. Until the

70s it usually read [ALT].

You can ruin a new battery (or an old one) by running it discharged flat, like you'd do if your alternator dies next week and you need to drive home. You can even ruin a new alternator by charging a flat battery before its brushes seat well.

Moral: Get checked out, don't be suprised if you buy both.

You can charge the battery off another car and have enough juice to get home or to the dealer.

As long as you're not going far, its during the day, and you have time to sit hooked up to the other car for a bit.........