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

 

[jesterbot]

P.S: I been through so many of these alternators that I can pull one out and install one in 10 minutes flat.

That sounds promising!

Where do I test with the multimeter? At the 100A fuse leads? I assume you didnt mean terminal to terminal on the battery...

 

[Ultimatedsm]

yeah, check the voltage on your terminals of course . Check for 5-10 minutes to see if it drops. If it drops too low that means your alternator is cranking enough juice or it can be bad grounds like I said earlier. It is a lot cheaper to check your grounds first than buying an alternator. Check your 100A fuse to see if its blown thats all. If its blown, than your alternator won't charge until its replaced.

 

[jesterbot]

Great - thanks!!! I'd definitely rather buy a fuse than an alternator We'll see!

 

[jesterbot]

Great - thanks!!! I'd definitely rather buy a fuse than an alternator We'll see!

And as luck would have it... the fuse is fine. Looks like an alternator issue I guess

 

[Ultimatedsm]

Check all your grounds first. I notice bad grounds kill alternators faster. Fix them all up because you go buy a new alternator.

 

[jesterbot]

Check all your grounds first. I notice bad grounds kill alternators faster. Fix them all up because you go buy a new alternator.

Checked all my main grounds. Everything is ok - I used to have a ground leak that would eat batteries, but not for months.

So now I have a new alternator sitting here... any tips/steps on installing this?

(Obviously?) it looks like this will be done from under the car for starters, so:

1. Jack up car, place on jackstands, fetch creeper from garage

2. Disconnect battery (i assume?)

3. ???


Thanks!! I'll take pics as I go to document for the similarly uninitiated!

 

[Eclipse98_RS]

Be sure to check and see if there is any corrosion on your terminals. As far as the brake light being on I had this issue once where i just needed brake fluid. I dont know if it will be the same in your case but be sure to check and make sure.

 

[siceclipse]

PULL THE FANS FOR MORE ROOM!


your welcome

 

[jesterbot]

PULL THE FANS FOR MORE ROOM!


your welcome

Wish I had gotten that advice an hour ago I managed to get the damned thing swapped with the fans in place, but it was tight!

That was no 10 minute job, that's for sure!!! Still... relatively painless as far as they go, I suppose~

 

[xxmonsterx]

same thing is happening to me but im on my 3rd alternator, 2nd set of belts. and i still get mad squealing and e brake and battery dash lights

 

[Lordpaxin]

autopart store alternators?

get a genuine alt. you wont be sorry.

 

[Defiant]

same thing is happening to me but im on my 3rd alternator, 2nd set of belts. and i still get mad squealing and e brake and battery dash lights

You have a blown harmonic balancer. Call San Rafael Mitsubishi, mention DSMtuners.

 

[AWDPetmitsu]

autopart store alternators?

get a genuine alt. you wont be sorry.

Even genuine factory alternators can fail. I just replaced mine that lasted only 1.5 months.

 

[Xero_Tolerance]

First off. I have done quite a bit of searching so I promise I'm not just some noob that's asking before trying.

I just got this car and it has been running great but for some reason, after I drive it around for about 10 minutes or so the battery light and brake light come on. Another weird thing is sometimes the lights will randomly go off. I say randomly because I have yet to figure out the conditions. But... when I start the car after it has been off for a decent amount of time, if the lights are on after starting I can rev it up to like 4000RPM and the lights go off for about 5 minutes. When the lights come on the car drives much much more poorly than before. It will sometimes come to a stall when I bring the car to a stop, or even once when I was on an exit ramp and had the clutch in it stalled on me. It also just feels like it's seriously lacking power when the lights are on.

I took the car to advance auto to get the alternator and battery checked. Well when I got it there the first time the brake light and battery light happened to be off at the time. The battery and alternator both checked out perfectly. The battery is within the last 6 months and the alternator is 4,000 miles old. It's a high flow alternator and an optima red battery, so they shouldn't be bad. Well a few days later I decided to bring the car back while the lights were on and the battery still checked out fine but the alternator wasn't charging the battery at all while the lights were on. So I went home and got out dsmlink, looked up the code and saw P1500 - Generator FR Terminal Circuit Malfunction. Researched that and basically I've narrowed it down to a few options.

-Bad ECU
-Bad voltage regulator, which is in the alternator
-Loose ground or other wiring

My other thought is that maybe it's a loose alternator belt. The alternator belt squeals a lot when I start the car up at night when it's a bit cooler so could it be possible that it may be slipping once the car warms up?

My question is what would be the easiest/cheapest or most convenient method to start fixing this problem. I'd definitely prefer to go with the most logical fix before trying to replace the ECU.

 

[Cs4g63]

You seem to be heading in the right direction with everything you have done so far. I would start out by checking to see if the alternator belt is bad or is just not tensioned enough, and also check for loose wiring going to the alternator. If both of those are good then move on to the more annoying stuff. Its always easier to start by checking to see if the simple things have gone wrong and hope its one of them.

 

[timloomis]

The battery has a straight shot to the alternator, and usually the brake and battery lights mean alternator. Just because the alternator is new doesnt mean it cant be bad. I've had parts store alt's last a few months. Mine just did this, after a few minutes it would be fine. Is power steering fluid leaking on it?

 

[DGajre777]

Those 2 warning lights are a sign that your alternator, voltage regulator to be exact, is about to die soon. On DSMs the voltage regulator is housed INSIDE the alternator, so when it dies, you will need to get a new alternator.

Mine gave me the warning lights and in about 2 months, the alternator was dead. Time to get a rebuilt one, but stay away from stores like Autozone, NAPA etc, because they seem to be hit and miss. Some have had good ones while some have had to replace 4 alternators in a year.

I bought mine rebuilt from the dealership for about $250, you can get a 100% new Bosch one for $400 or you can a high output one from eBay for about $300.

 

[SVP97GST]

I have this exact same problem, but I think my case might be a little worse. It only started coming on after I had a dyno tuning session and my o2 housing is dumped to the atmos right by the alt. Do you guys think that the overwhelming heat might've caused it to malfunction? Because none of the wires are melted or anything. And in the 2 days that this has gone on, I've managed to go through 2! count 'em 2! batteries. The only today actually popped! Thankfully I wasn't in the car (because the battery is in the trunk), but I did start coughing on the way home only to find out when I got home the battery had popped. But yeah..is it the o2?

 

[DGajre777]

It could be the o2 dump, heat kills alternators, make sure you are running you heat shield (especially the one on the exhaust manifold).

 

[Rex2342]

It's definitely the alternator going bad. I've done two this year so far and both shared your exact symptoms before they died. Take it out and test the amperage. My alternators always tested fine with Autozones and my own shops testers. They put out enough voltage but for some reason the amperage is always low. Do like DGajre777 said to and get one from a dealership. I've got a lifetime warranty from pepboys so thats the only reason I keep bothering to swap it out. I also work for a garage so they give me little hassle about swapping them every time they go bad.

 

[turbogentwo]

yeah but the one at the dealership is way too expensive get it lifetime from some warehouse and you are set for the life of it

 

[DGajre777]

What did the dealership quote you for an alternator? Did you try the Mitsubishi in Tallahassee and tell them that you are a club member? I got mine for about $250 that way.

 

[turbogentwo]

wow $250 that is expensive still but I guess better than going through junk at the local parts store; luckily for me it took 1 alternator to get it right from a AZ store

 

[Red97Eclipseboy]

Mine's doing the same thing. I am NOT getting a parts store one. OEM all the way. www.mitsubishioemparts.com has good prices.

 

[red_devil]

Check your wiring on your lights. If there is a short or if the headlight fuse is going bad the brake and battery lights will come on.