Brake, Battery light - flicker on /off DEAD ALTERNATOR [Merged 4-8]

[BrnOutKing]

Ok this just started happening.

I'll be driving and the E-Brake and Battery light will flicker on / off while driving..... or I'll start it up and they'll stay on.

normally I'd think it was battery related.

But I'm not sure on this one. - I just changed my brake pads, so that shouldn't be triggering anything.

The battery is a couple months old. - however my alternator is going - it doens't work from time to time.

What's your opinions. - I noticed it goes on and off with bumps with leads me to believe it's a loose wire or something?

However I have no Idea which one? or where it would be located.

I'm thinking I'm going to pull the center console off to check out the e-brake area for anything out of the ordinary today.

Thanks
-brian

 

[skharvey]

I just replaced altenator on my 92 eagle talon. Your problems are identical to mine even going over the bumps.

 

[kylemoto]

When the alternator in my Talon went it didn't do exactly as you guys have quoted, but I sure got some funny antics.

Every light on my instrument panel went on - oil pressure, fuel, coolant, brakes. But some lights were dim and others bright.

The next clue was the CD player started skipping all over the place. Then the engine died (final clue!).

Oh yeah - $550 for the dealer

Kyle

 

[GST2G]

dont know what the problem is but ever since i got my 02 elim dp and hi flow cat intsalled these three lights wont turn off.
and the radio, power windows, door lock, and the ac doesnt work...i changed the battery and it still hasnt solved the problem.

is there a fix?

 

[crazyjoe]

Did you install it yourself, or have a shop do it? It sounds like they seriously messed up some of your wiring or something.

Have you checked all your fuses?

Have you looked under the hood and under the car for any hanging wires or anything like that?

 

[Enraged78]

When the battery, brake AND coolant lights are all on at once, it means that your alternator is either dead, or the voltage regulator is reporting a severe undervolt to the ECU. Rip your alternaltor off and have it bench tested. Before you do that, though, check the connectors on the alternator and make sure that you didn't knock something off when you put your parts on. That should get you where you're going.

Later,
Matt.

 

[mitsugsx95]

Yeah, check your alternator fuses and connections. Last time i took off my o2 housing, I hit the alternator and it started sparking like a mothe, then blew a fuse.

 

[gotdsm?]

This happened to me as well. It just does this if your idle is too low and it indicates that our cars are about to die. If you rev on the gas does the lights go out? If so it could be your plugs or wires not giving you enough spark all the time. I replaced mine and it fixed the problem. I also adjusted my idle screw just a little. However, normally on EFI engines adjusted the idle from the screw is a bad idea.

 

[GST2G]

well, i found out i got a bad alternator...but whats the difference between a pep boys alternator and the dealership's? and how do i take it off?

 

[laserspeeddemon]

Get a DSM Manual for your car. Its not that hard a chore.

 

[timloomis]

my car did the same thing and it is the alternator,just changed it yesterday.youll need a 12mm wrench and a 10 mm wrench.take off the fan closest 2 the front of ur engine(3 10 mm bolts and a plug),take off the adjustment blot(1 goes in2 the alternator and the other runs along with the belt and is long)u dont havta take off the top arm,take out the long pivot bolt on the bottom of the alternator,unplug ur eclectrical stuff from it and bolt the ne 1 on.l8r.

 

[OB1]

I have the exact same symptoms with my car. E-brake, battery and rad lights on 75% of the time.

Could it be anything other than the alternator? Wires? Voltage Regulator?

Problem seems to be getting worse. The lights used to turn off after 3K rpm, now they come on and off intermittedly.

 

[jay-d]

basically when your battery, coolant and parking brake lights are on.. its your charging system thats failing. Charging system = altenator. I've replaced two altenators on my vehicle, i bought one that was a 90 amp and had 1 year warranty and it just died, so i dished out some extra cash and got a 90 amp with 5 year warranty. Amps mean how much your altenator can push out.. just say you turn on ur head lights, those say are 5 amp, your stereo 10 amps, your a/c , 20 amps etc.. the more you use electrical things on your vehicle the more amperage your going to need, and the only way you can get that is, is from your altenator.. always go with the bigger amperage altenator it will be beneficial to you in the long run. Just like a car battery, you always want to get the bigger CCA's.

Good way to test your charging system or also called an AVR test is to put a volt meter to your battery with your car on, it should run close to 14 volts, then throw on your headlights, a/c, stereo anything that takes electrical power, your voltage should still stay at 14.. if drops like 13, or even 12, your altenator needs rebuilding. =D.. hope this gives you more info on charging systems.

 

[OB1]

It turns out my alternator is providing only 11.5 amps to the battery instead of the 14-15 that it should be. Time for a rebuild.

 

[jay-d]

Originally posted by OB1
It turns out my alternator is providing only 11.5 amps to the battery instead of the 14-15 that it should be. Time for a rebuild.

correction, 11.5 volts.. i've never seen voltage go pastg 14.4 volts.. =D

 

[laserblue]

The bottom line is... when the engine is running with low voltage, the dash warning lights do crazy things... lighting up like it's a Christmas tree!!! A voltmeter hooked to the battery tells the story. With the engine off, the voltage should read ~12.6v and when running - >13v or so. That means that the alternator/ regulator is sending charging current. If the voltage increase is not there, then probably the alternator took a dump [or any part associated with it, like the fuse].
Another common problem is crud that develops at [and under] the battery clamp posts, particularly the negative one. Make sure that the clamps are clean and shiny... and also check the other end of the neg wire [bolted to the fire wall].
My car is on its fourth alt!!!!! That should teach me to buy bargain basement ones!!... I think that I got lucky on this last one, though. It's lasted a long time... OOPS --- now I jinxed it!
Let us all know know what you do to make your car happy again!!

 

[OB1]

Well I pulled the alternator and had it bench tested. It is in perfect condition. Re-installed it on the car and the problem is still there.

Could it be anything other than corroded terminals because I cleaned most of them up during the re-install?

I hate electrical problems!

 

[jay-d]

test ur battery as well, not only for voltage but for CCA (cold cranking amps).. any dealer, mechanic shop should have a CCA tester, maybe your battery isn't holding a charge.

 

[OB1]

Battery is brand new. The dash lights have been on and off for a while now, even before the new battery.

It must be a faulty conection somewhere that is getting worse and worse as the days go by.

I guess I'll have to remove and re-install all associated conections to the charging system.

 

[OB1]

Turns out my alternator is OVER charging the battery. 15.5 Volts most of the time. I think my voltage regulator may be toast so out comes the alternator again for a re-test!

 

[laserblue]

Who would've thunk?
Tell us what the test reveals!!

 

[nellystyle]

pleaaaaaaaase tell us what the test reveals cause i'm having this exact same problem

except i'm as mechanically inclined as a chimp so you have the upper hand good luck

 

[OB1]

Turned out it was the voltage regulator. Cost to replace was $77 for the regulator, $40 for labour. This is canadian funds $135 with tax. Keep in mind this is just for the regulator, I had to remove and re-install the alternator on my car twice because the first time they didn't diagnose the problem.

 

[gvr4#1372]

I had the same problem last week, I had to replace the alternator and battery. It is ok now

 

[MadPSI]

I searched all over and cant find anything regarding this so anyhow..
90 Tsi Awd, New battery, 1 month old alt, and today after stopping at the store, start the car up...and the Low coolant, Charge, and Brake light are all on....rev the car up and they get a little dimmer but are still on, swing by autozone and they say everything is good, but headlights still seem a little dim, do all those lights come on when the alt is toast?

thanks

-Brian