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Warning light don't turn on when key is placed to start position

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Jackson

20+ Year Contributor
101
0
Jan 10, 2003
Victoria_BC_Canada
Okay, when I put my key into the start position, normally all the warning lights come on and turn off after the car is turned over ( like cars are supposed to). BUt recently, there is a problem in my charging system ( alternator suspected) but how does this explain my lack of warning lights when my cars key is placed into the start position before attempting to crank? Is this a short somewhere and has anyone seen this before?
 
Check your 80 amp altenator fuse. on the passenger side...
 
Newish battery ( 6 months old) has had so much strain on it that the indicator has alreday turned from green to yellow for battery condition. Altenator will not charge up the battery so the car slowly dies after start and driving it around for a bit (lights dimming and such until pop pop, stop). Its like running the car without an altenator and just off the battery until the battery dies. I have had the altenator blow b4, and it had all the same symptoms but this time it also had the indication of these warning lights that won't turn on upon putting the key into the start position. Fuses are solid so I was wondering if this is a ground wire/power wire (or possibly a relay) that is essential to the altenator and also is used for the ground for these warning lights. Just seeing if anyone else has had these symptoms. I will be testing the battery and altenator later tonight.
 
if your car is dying AFTER it's started then your alternator is not working at all. the only thing the battery is there for is to start your car. then all of the power requirements are met by the alternator alone. if the alt won't charge the battery. the battery won't keep the car running. if the alt is not keeping the car running then there is no power being generated. make sense?

Jason.
 
replace the alt and put your battery on a very slow trickle charger for 24 hours. and then have a look at your dash lights. wierd stuff happens when there is no power.

make sure there is water in the cells of the battery too if its a servicable battery.

Jason.
 
I did the recharge but not with a trickle charger and it did take longer than normal to charge the battery but it did hold a descent enough charge to get me the rest of the 8 km home ( aka 5-6 miles). I'll update later when I diagnose the car after work with the multimeter and see how the battery and charging system is doing when running/stopped.
 
Update, if anyone ever runs into this problem with warning lights, here is the solution.

There is a ground wire that runs from the alt's wiring harness that plugs into a peg in the power steering pump area. Plugged that in, all the indicator lights came back on. One problem though, I realized this right after I had removed and replaced my alt with my junker one. I did a multi meter test and DC volts did raise by about 1.3V across the battery with the car running so I can't say whether it was the alt and ground or just the ground.
 
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