ok i was crusing at night when i notice my battery light was kinda glowing....it wasnt on full...just very very very dim....so dim its only really noticable at night or when you get really close and shade it...

nothings burnt out, nothing is giving me problems whys it on ...err why do you think its on?

 

Alternator is probably starting to go bad.....you should also check your voltage meter and make sure its reading the appropriate voltage.

 

its always 2 lines above 12 volts...its a new battery and it doesent have a problem starting unless its been sitting a while and all i do is roll the windows up and down on hot days so my leather doesent cook...thats usually caused by flooding it a little

 

Check your alternator belt, it might be slipping.

-C-

 

I know on a GM car I had once, the light glowed dimly and it ended up being a bad diode in the regulator. It will still charge, but not to full capacity, I think.

 

i'm pretty sure since the engine is very....new that the alternator is as old as the engine...could be defective but it'd gone out by now if that were so...

i'll check the belt when i replace my crusty bulbs

 

You could take it to Autozone or someplace like that for testing. I know on the test machine at the store near me, there was a light that indicated bad diode(s). That would at least tell you if it was something in the alternator, or if you need to look elsewhere.

 

I actually just started having that problem last night...again..


My car is an 87 GXE and battery charges fine, it's a 16V battery and alternator is a brand new BOSCH, the thing is that I have owned this car for about 5 years now and have replaced the alternator 4 times, the last 3 were crappy Dixie alternators and now I decided to splurge..no matter what I do I can't stop it from comming on

the belt is new and not too tight, not too loose, battery is brand new aswell, I think the car just has poor wiring directly from the factory because this happens all the ime and if my car get's wet from the rain I will start to have the same problem, along with interior lights staying on

I know it's not much of a fix but just letting you know your not alone, maybe we should look into some better wiring..

 

i had a throught...when we replaced teh AC compressor we had to take the belts off...because the belt goes arround the a/c and alternator....ever since we changed it a belt squeaks when it rains...could one of the pullys be to tight and causing the slippage?

and dont the pullys need to be torqued?

and the alternator isnt a cheepo its just a factory/replacement nissan...or what ever they used

 

poor wiring will not cause the alternator light to come on. the simple "battery light" that most cars have is very unreliable, I've had several alternators die with the light not coming on to warn me.

this light is connected to the alternator through the 2-prong connector, and at the same time, supplies power to the field coil inside. an internal defect causing -12 volts to be sent to the alternator light causes it to come on. generally, the only time this light comes on is if the belt breaks while you're driving, or when the ignition is ON with the engine not running.

good alternator output is 14.4 volts DC. but generally, anything between 13.5 to 15.0 VDC is sufficient. a quick check of the voltmeter gauge can verify charge, discharge, overcharge, and undercharge. your best bet, however, is to check the voltage at the battery terminals with a good multimeter. with a good alternator, it will hover at the 14 line. it is not abnormal for the alternator light to glow faintly when a lot of electrical equipment is running, but if it glows noticibly it may be a sign of impending failure.

 

my question still remains....do the pullys need to be torqued?

if so what to?