i have been driving my car very sporadically in the last several weeks...so its mostly been parked outside in the cold...the last few times i did drive whenever i would start up the car it fired up right away as usual however the battery light would turn on and it remains on for a minute or so until the RPMs steady, then it goes away...it doesnt come on while driving nor do i experience any electrical problems. my battery is about a yr old...its a diehard gold. should i check the belt or is this a tell tale sign of a new alternator sometime soon...i have 59k right now. also could it possibility be that my car sits outside for days without being used?? but i doubt thats the case. any opinions?

thanks
-dave

 

Surprisingly diehard batteries have rated very poorly the last few years.
walmart brand (Autostart IIRC) are near the top.

Anyway's take the car to autozone and have them test the system out for you. (It's a free service) They should be able to tell you what's wrong with it.
Possible parasitic drain or bad battery would be my guess.

 

test it... battery or the alternator is taking a vacation...

 

it's the battery not the alternator. die hard batteries suck!

 

It sounds like the Alt. to me.

 

sounds like the alernator to me, maybe a dioide starting to go bad. when a dioide is week the alernator may still seem like it is working fine.

 

an alternator could start going bad at 60k? i remember i didnt change my alternator in my 93 g20 until at least 150k

 

Mine went bad after less than 30,000 km (~20,000 mi). Luckily the car was still under warranty. My guess though in this case is that it is the battery. Sounds like it doesn't get exercised enough. The cold probably isn't helping either.

 

Sounds like alt. might be on its way out - mine died at 32K. When it went, battery and brake light lit up on dash.

 

Sounds like a bad battery. If it were the alternator, the battery light would probably remain on.

If you don't have access to an ammeter or someone who can test your electrical system, try this quick test:

Start your car when it is dark outside. Turn on your high beams (and fog lights if you have them), and your radio. Step on the breaks and then turn on your turn signal and see if your headlights dim when the signal is clicked on. If not, try rolling down 1 window, then 2 at the same time.

If your lights dim, it's most likely a weak battery.