Just got back from work as im pulling in the driveway the brake and battery light come on. I need a new battery right? The dash lights were dim and every time I hit the brakes on the way home the lights dimmed a decent amount. Although I shut the car off and it started up normally. Im gonna get a new battery anyway so I dont get left stranded.

 

get your battery and alternator checked. get a red top or yellow top =]

 

Sounds like an Alternator problem to me.

-matt

 

yes, sounds like you alt, isn't putting out enough charing power. easy way to check this, well you can check both batt. and alt at the same time almost.

get a volt meter, measure voltage at your battery as is with car off. should be 12.00v - 12.45v and then start you car and measure it again. you should have 13-14.5v with the car on.

if you dont have 13- 14.5v that means your alternator isn't putting out enough power to keep you battery charged and you should change your altenator ASAP because that causes you battery to fail as well. Also proir to removing the alternator check the battery cable going to it. make sure its tight and no corrision on it or anything funky like that.

 

yup....its the alternator. I thought that it was just the battery. It went away. And then like a week later...bam!!!!.....it was the alternator. but i guess i was lucky, mine was overcharging, so at least i was able to drive it home....

 

I suspect the alternator as well. FYI, if you have the 110 amp one you can go up to the 125 amp one without any problems, and the best thing is, the 125 amp one costs less than the 110 amp.

 

How much is an altenator? Im most likley going to get a new battery anyway.

 

take to an auto parts that can check your battery first since its easier to take out. if thats good then check your alternator. theres no sense in replacing the alternator if your battery is goin bad. if you drive with a bad battery itll blow your alternator. you drive with a bad alternator itll blow your battery.

its a viscious cycle of expensive stuff

and by the way, check your ground, battery and alternator cables. i had a similiar problem with my max when i got it a month ago and the genius that had it before didnt tighten the hot cable on the alternator

good luck

 

you might want to look into how much it woudl cost to get your alternator rebuilt by a shop rather than simply replacing it with a cheap POS. my biggest regret was putting a NAPA alternator in....if i could go back, i would have brought my bad nissan one to a shop that rebuilds them and had it rebuilt and beefed up to around 150-175 amps. the guy told me he charges around $100 to do so, and then you still get a good nissan one....ive had my NAPA one replaced 3x now....and they wont warranty it any longer because of my stereo gear in my car