Alternator problem or worse?
 

Two weeks ago I suddenly had the brake and battery lights stay on after starting the car. It went away in about a minute and did not return until today.

I completely cleaned up the battery and its clamps. But the problem persisted. I then checked the voltage with the car running and found it to be 9VDC. Then upon shutting down the car the battery slowly charged up to 11.9VDC

Why would the alternator cause these two lights to come on? Is something loading my electrical system down that has to do with the brakes?

The car seems to run okay. I made it home thru a 37 mile commute and all the accessories worked. But knowing how alternator problems can be I expect my battery to eventually die.

Any help is welcome and appreciated.

I bought mine with those two lights on... I asked the owner about it and she said it had something to do with how tight the wires are pressed together when they are connected to the instrument cluster and that they just rubbed against each other so long that they were frayed and constantly stayed on. It didnt sound right but I bought the car anyway and had my mechanic check it. He told me that my alternator needed replaced, but this was before he actually checked it. When he checked it he found that it was still doing what it was supposed to but that one piece of it needed replaced (just the piece that would turn off the two lights on my dash). Well that didnt sound right to me either.. so I read on here somewhere that when those two lights come on it means that you need a new alternator altogether. But I've driven the car since the day I bought it without replacing it and it still runs fine... I assume that I will need a new one soon but as long as it still turns on then I'll keep driving it!

Thanks, the car died as I got to work. It sure acts ike the alternator is gone. Well got it towed and my trustworthy mechanic is fixing it today. I'll let everyone know if it is something else.