I recenty went and got a brand new alternator installed at a auto shop. On the way home I noticed my battery light on my dash was on but dim not fully lit like when you turn the key before you start the car.I went back and they said it was my belts that they were loose and worn and should be changed. I bought brand new dyco belts for my alternator, power steering and ac compressor. Since they were all right there why not get all new ones. They were done and the light was still dim. I told the guy it was never on even when I had a bad alternator. He said to come back tomorrow if it doesn't go away. I have a brand new battery brand new starter and a brand new alternator. I checked the fuse under the dashboard and it's good. They checked the plugs and said everything is on tight. My question is what would cause this? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

is the alternator denso brand or what?
if it's brand x from china it could be crap from the get go.
your old alt might have just needed a new brush assembly.
always ask the shop to give you the old parts.

 

It's a brand new Duralast alternator. And I even had it checked . It's good. My old one tested bad with a bad regulator. What could be the reason the battery light is on but not fully lit just dim?

This is when the cars is on
This is when I turn the key but don't start it

 

alt not putting out full power. its bad.

 

Do you have a way to test voltage?

 

bad alt, take the car back and have them replace it.
You have my luck, Buy a brand new part and its bad, just the luck of the draw.

 

When I get home from work I'll get it tested again. I went to autozone and they tested it. It was putting out 14+ Volts and was good. But I'll check it out and give a update. I read something about similar issues and they said the cars computer wasn't receiving a 5 volt return? How would I test how much the return is? Wouldn't that be included and show up when they test the alternator? But thank you for the input and I'll share what I find later.

 

Generally you have power, ground, and reference or return voltage when considering a sensor. Your problem is that the alternator's voltage regulator was probably defective out of the box and yes it can happen more often with parts store brands (i.e. Duralast, Worldwide, etc) than with a quality OEM and aftermarket parts supplier (i.e. Denso, Bosch, etc). However, I have gotten the rare 1 in a thousand defective Denso fuel pump which stranded me in '15 while traveling to visit family for Thanksgiving. I suggest you invest in a multimeter, even a cheap one from WalMart, Harbor Freight or the like will suit for occasionally checking an electrical component. Also get your own battery tester, I personally have a low-tech one from HF (100 Amp 6/12V Battery Load Tester) which has served me well.

 

 

You got a bad alternator. This happens a lot at chain stores. Don't bring your own parts to a shop. If they buy the part yes you'll pay more, but they warranty the whole job. If you bring the part you'll have to pay for labor again if it is bad.

 

Yeah that's what's going to happen if I do need another alternator. I'll have to pay again. But I haven't been able to get my alternator tested it's been raining and hey won't test it when it's raining. But I did go after it got installed and had it checked and it checked out good. I'll look into that multimeter and battery tester. The multi meter is what's going to tell me How many volts my alternator is giving? Thank you! I'm going to look them up right now. And if I test it and the alternator is good? What else could it be?

***UPDATE***

i went and and bought a multimeter. Here's the results

This is the voltage when the car is off
This is the voltage when the cars on. Alternator is good right? If so then what hell else can cause the battery light to stay on but very dim??

 

would I be able to do this test while the alternator is installed or do I have to remove it? I don't have the tools to remove or install reason why I had it installed. But since it was giving 14.40 volts this maybe another issue like stated in the video.

 

Man I need to put new bulbs in my cluster or something.

Double check your alternator fuse. 14.41 volts is too much especially since your battery is nearly over charged at 13 volts.

I would also double check the alternator plug to make sure it's all the way plugged in

 

Looking at those dash pictures, those are definitely LED's that are in there. You can see the lack of a hotspot (dim) on the coolant gauge. They do look like awesome LED's would like to know where they got them.

And about the alternator charging too much, the spec is 13.5-15.1 according to the service manual. I was concerned my new alternator was overcharging at 14.1 volts and talking to the honda specialist they reminded me that the Honda alternator was a bit higher than the Toyota I was used to. Checking the service manual I realized 14.1volts is normal. So 14.4v does seem to be ok, but just because the voltage is there doesn't mean the alternator is putting out the correct amperage/current.

I'd take that alternator to a real shop and have it tested out, not just Autozone. Their testers are a joke, the battery load tester only tests to see if voltage is below 10 or so volts. That's it! Doesn't do any real load testing! Advance Auto has the Midtronics load tester, same one the dealer uses! Much better unit.

 

The dash to me doesn't look LED lit but if it is I bought the car like that. I still need to check the idones like in that video that was linked. So far no progression. I still have the battery light on and will go do the test with the brights on and air full blast. If i still get around 14 volts then what?

 

Hey bud did you ever get this fixed? I'm having the same issue. Just got a new alt and the battery light came on a day later. Getting about the same volts as you are getting as well.

 

nope. Battery light is still lit the same no brighter no dimmer. I called a shop that deals with just alternators and told him my story and he said that it's probably a wire in the harness that sends a signal for the light to come on that it's probably loose and isn't a major problem. So as of now I just left it alone. My battery hasn't been drained or haven't had any other problems besides the light staying on.