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Battery light on. Car is dead.

D

DocStruthers

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Dec 11, 2008
Messages
864
So i have a problem with my 99 Contour SVT and I can't post anywhere but here so I am gonna ask for help here. :shrug:

as the title says it has been on for a few days

just today on the way home car completely dies.

total electrical failure as i can tell.

NO juice in the battery

whats weird is that at idle the battery light was usually off
then as rpm's increased the lights intensity did to. :shrug:

my local auto part's store tested the battery and applied a load and it said the "diode" was bad!

makes sense i guess the Alt. had good output I think however it wasn't being controlled properly ex: being told when and when not to provide voltage to the battery.

I DUNNO for sure!

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!! :laugh:
 
welcome I would geuss bad alternator or wiring there is also a mega fuse under the coil pack that could be bad good luck
 
Okay, as with all "Guesses" they are or could be wrong.

HOWEVER:

if your light was off at idle, then came on (or flickered on) at lower RPMs and got steady on at anything higher, then your alternator wasn't producing a charge whenever that light was on.

You drove your car (started, powered the fuel pump, spark plugs, ignition coils, radio, headlights, brake lights, etc) all on your battery for a few days (which is amazing in and of itself) and then it finally got so low it wouldn't drive.

now you've got a completely dead battery and a bad alternator.

If your light was "flickering" or going on and off then your megafuse is fine.

My official diagnosis (based solely on your initial report) is that your alternator failed (diode they were mentioning is on the alternator) and then your battery died.

OFFICIALLY:

you should trickle charge your battery or swap in a known charged one.

measure voltage at the battery.. should be 12.0vdc or higher
start the car and measure voltage at the battery. 13.2-14.2vdc or so.
turn on the headlights, turn off the car. wait 60 seconds. measure again. 12.0 or higher

Do this then let us know what you get. I have a feeling you will get 12 or so on the battery then the same when started, and the same when the lights are on, indicating no charge and to replace your alternator.

You COULD just replace it now, but just in case its not that, I'd suggest doing this test first.
 
clean the battery cables charge the battery etc. usually when the "bat" light comes on it is because your alternator is not charging but since you were able to drive it for days..... I'd say you have a bad voltage regulator (which can be fired if you run your battery down by leaving the lights on but just get a jump long enough to start the car.) alternators are not designed to charge a dead battery just to maintian a full one while supplying the electical demands of your running vehicle.

good luck alternator is no fun to change on these cars.
 
another common misconception is that the "battery light" has something to do with the battery.. its actually a "charge indicator" malfunction lamp and indicates whether or not there is a charge being produced from the alternator.
 
when my charge light came on and I took the alternator out it turned out to be just a broken wire at the back side of the alternator harness. rebuilt harness /checked alternator/ reinstalled / no more problems:shrug:
 
Thanks guys!!

Basically all of you reinforced what I have been thinking myself!

I just bought a new battery and alternator earlier $280 with a %10 discount from a friend. HORRIBLE

I knew the battery light didn't have anything to do with the battery itself necessarily, considering the lights flickering and fluctuations changed according to my RPM.

Anyway!

thanks again guys!

I will obviously inspect as I go to see if perhaps just a wire has been jiggled loose. WHICH WOULD BE GREAT
.
because then I could return this stuff and order some damn suspension stuff! :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

hey guys is it true with STIFF suspensions (Ground Control c/o's with Koni's or KYB GR2's) u can get cracks and breaks around susp. component mounting locations? etc. . . :shrug:
 
sometimes what i've heard about that is the battery can also be overcharging(not your case though), but does sound alternator related. Hopefully you'll get it fixed. And welcome.
 
Have seen worn brushes produce a similar problem. Light out lower rpm, speed up and improper increase in charge makes light show up. Brushes built into regulator assembly on this car maybe? Bad rectifier diode dropping a loop of charge same thing.
 
amc49 said:
Have seen worn brushes produce a similar problem. Light out lower rpm, speed up and improper increase in charge makes light show up. Brushes built into regulator assembly on this car maybe? Bad rectifier diode dropping a loop of charge same thing.
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yes the brushes can cause this. the regulator/brushes/diodes are all built into the same peice which is on the back of the alternator. the alternator has tobe pulled to get to it so might as well just change the whole alternator...
 
Dunno 'bout that, $40 price for regulator vs. $150 whole thing has me going "Are you SURE??"
 
but like brapple said, you have to pull the altornator anyways. and if it really isnt the regulator then you have to pull it again. and if youre not doing this yourself then you have to pay for the labor twice. and when i got mine changed, they charge up the ass for labor but i didnt have the time to do it myself
 
CRGkart44 said:
but like brapple said, you have to pull the altornator anyways. and if it really isnt the regulator then you have to pull it again. and if youre not doing this yourself then you have to pay for the labor twice. and when i got mine changed, they charge up the ass for labor but i didnt have the time to do it myself
Click to expand...
Did you ever get that hole thing w/ your belt and alternator straigthened out:shrug:
 
haha... NO:mad:

ill see what aircougar says tomorrow.. i have a lot of questions for him. but i have a 6 month warranty on it... and the shop refuses to change it saying nothing is wrong. the belt isnt making noise though.. i confused it with moosing. but my battery light still comes on at about 5k RPM

i took it in once and they said it was one of the pulleys... they did it for free and gave me the old part. that was near perfect. didnt change anything. i tried belt conditioner and that did nothing either... ill probly make them replace the altornator before the new year. im surprised im gettingsuch a hassle, my parents have been takign their cars their since we movved to NY 6 years ago
 
In today's world no guarantee you won't repull alternator anyway when new one doesn't work. happens all the time. I forget that I do all my work myself for free. Basic alternator once regulator portion yanked is super easy to check with meter, except for possible diodes pretty reliable. Many rebuilt alternators will still reuse the diode package unless you pay for the max price one, then no guarantee even then they're not using old parts. Just because they say all over the box 100% new parts not necessarily so. And, last time I checked a one hundred dollar bill was worth..........well, a hundred dollars.
 
amc49 said:
Dunno 'bout that, $40 price for regulator vs. $150 whole thing has me going "Are you SURE??"
Click to expand...


again for along time we have only been able to get the alternator. I remember looking years back for just the regulator/brushes and not finding them listed anywhere. teamfordparts.com always listed it as part of the alternator. just recently I found it on rockauto.com. I still don't believe a local parts store or chain carry just that.

also I am note sure about others but a few time when going to remove the alternator because of the battery light I have found teh case of the alternator cracked. so there wasn't an option but to replace it.
 
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