Having a weird problem with my 98 LX. The original alternator was going bad, it would randomly cut voltage from 14.5 to 12 as the car was running, it was noticeable in the headlights and dash lights they would go dim then brighten up even on the highway. But even during all this the battery warning light, NEVER came on. I just put a new alternator in the car, and voltage is now steady at the battery at 14.5 with the car running, but now the battery warning light is flickering at idle, and if i use the windows or put some other kind of load on it then it turns on solid. As soon as I get above say 2000 rpms it turns off. The voltage at idle is fine though so what gives??

 

Loose belt?

 

Belt was tight but just retightened and its still doing it. I noticed that when I took the battery cables off with the car running, the light went away and the car runs fine. Alt output is between 14.4 and 14.7 volts consistently. Could this be a bad battery? Doesn't seem rational since all that was changed was the alternator but at the same time the old alt was bad and never threw the battery warning light so i dont know. Any help would be great

 

you should never remove the battery terminals while a car is running. the alternator will try to compensate for the loss of power and you could fry your ecu or other electronics...

 

Faulty instrument panel? You think? Maybe kinda expensive to replace with out knowing tho!

 

I'm thinking something may have gotten damaged, or became faulty for your previous altenator's charging fluctuations.

Could be the battery, try swapping with a friend to check.

 

Good idea will try this today

 

A bad battery would NOT cause the charging system light to turn on or flicker.

 

Ok so any idea why this would be happening with a new alternator putting out a steady 14.x volts even with the light on?

 

Make sure the belt and all mounting bolts are tight.

 

Everything is tight. Went to autozone had the battery and charging system tested everything passed. Still stumped.

 

Test for a short in the wire that runs between the battery light and 4P alternator connector.

 

poss bad bulb? check all bolts that tighten alternator

 

Are there any grounds that have got tampered with while replacing the altenator? What if it is a loose ground?

But you did say when you add a load such as rolling down the window, your battery light becomes solid. Hmmmm.

Check the fuse for the charging system.

 

The charging system light would never turn on if fuse 15 were blown.

 

Do you guys think I should try getting another alternator? Ive read about people with problems from autozone alternators, although it is putting out consistent voltage and the car is running fine. What would be a better option for a reman?

 

I know that, but I've seen slightly blown fuses that do not have the complete break in it. Never hurts to be sure.

 

Not likely, but it certainly doesn't hurt to check.

 

You can swap the alternator, prob will do it under warranty. If that does not work change the bulb in the gauge cluster, sometimes with age they act up. My d4 light sometimes works sometimes does not, this happened with my bulb for the trans shift it would work randomly, I changed it and it was fine ever since.

 

It was the alternator. Put one in from a local rebuild shop and everything is working fine now, no more light. **** autozone, never again, their warranty means dick if i have to keep swapping alternators cause they are junk out of the box.

 

Lifetime warranties have given me the skill to remove and reinstall an alternator lickety-split.