Battery Light coming on intermittently

[cArAzzIE]

I noticed my battery light on while driving home today...then it went off. Then on an errand, came back on, but went off. Any ideas what this could mean? My battery is relatively new...bought it around Nov/Dec I think.

[Titus]

Good chance your alternator is toast.

[cArAzzIE]

Thanks Todd!

That's exactly was I was hopping *not* to hear but sorta figured

[Titus]

When does Nails get back? It really isn't a difficult job. The Autozone alternators are around $175, but have a high failure rate. Town North will probably sell you an OEM one for around $250 if you can talk them into discounting it for you. Just a guess, but I suspect that Track Dog would do it for you for around $400 part and labor.

[jeepinbanditrider]

R&R is easy. You might even be able to find a place to rebuild it for you. They can make it better They have the technology :P

Also check out Rock Auto. You can get a Bosch or Denso alt (at least for my 91 model anyway) for what Autozone wants for their's even with the Core Charge thrown in.

[motorollow]

Are your belts squealing? The belts may just need to be tightened. The alternator in my 1990 lasted over 200K miles.

[gabkwong]

If I were you I will pop the hood and check the alternator belt tension adjustment bolts fist. Make sure they are still there. I have the dam thing broken twice and did the same thing as you say. If you still have the bolts, than proceed to check if the belt has enough tension and still on the pulley. The belt is lesser suspect if you do not hear any noise. If both of the above are ruled out, than it is very likely your alternator gone bad. On both of my 99s', they all gone bad around 100K miles. I will never buy any rebuilt parts from Autozone because of very bad experience. I will get it from O'Riley. Take your car to O'Riley, they have the tool to help you check out what is wrong. If it is the alternator, just buy a rebuilt one and I am sure one of us can help you put it on. It is not that hard or time consuming job. Let us know if you need help!

[Nails]

Thanks for the call tonight motorollow. I hadn't been on here today yet. I agree about the alternator issues and am glad you and gabkwong can offer help in my absence. Carazzie, you probably should carry the jump start pack with you until this gets fixed. Your black ground (negative) battery terminal is the one closest to the rear of the car should you need to jump it. Connect it first, disconnect it last. You can call me if you have questions.

[VFR750]

Auto Electric on the corner or Royal Ln. and I35E can rebuild it. I just had them do the alt off my wifes car and it was $75....its not all shiny like a reman from the parts store but I know they do good work, they have been at the same location for at least 15 years....talk to Jeff.

[luis]

mine was doing that halfway to houston. pulled over across the street from bucees, and that was it. luckily the toyota dealership was open and gave a jump/charge. 30min lasted me til north houston where my buddy met me up and gave me a jump/charge til i could make it to his house. luckily, the guy i bought my koyo rad lives near my friend & had his alternator. i swapped it in the next morning - easy.

[jeff_man]

i replaced my 3 days ago, took 20 mins

[trickyrix]

Yep, it's a 20 minute job if you take off the stupid manifold brace! Also, a set of gearwrenches are a must...

[cArAzzIE]

Well - everything "appears" okay. The battery light has not come back on. However, my "ding ding ding" is gone...when I shut off the car and the headlights are still on, I get nothing...not even a single ding. So, I'm thinking that I probably left my headlights on Monday when I got to work...and with a newish battery, it didn't drain it so maybe the alternator is working, but maybe the battery just isn't at full charge???? In the mean time, I miss my ding ding ding...

[cArAzzIE]

I think Nails has a few wenches...I mean wrenches... wouldn't surprise me if I'm missing a few bolts, definitely have some loose screws...

[cArAzzIE]

I'm going to end up stranded, aren't I....

[cArAzzIE]

must be toast...to make sure I got home I turned off AC and everything else possible "just in case". Turned on AC after picking up Jbug and the light came back on and the windows went up reeeeeeeeaaally slow...

[motorollow]

Get a replacement alternator and we can install it for you if you need help.

[cArAzzIE]

Okay...I need help. A lot of suggestions...I'm a little overwhelmed (and very appreciative) with the responses. Not sure what's in Allen as far as O'Reilly's or Autozone... but will find out and drive over and get it tested. If it's bad, sounds like my best (more secure?) option would be to buy a new one at Town North and and bribe somebody to give me 20-30 minutes of their life in this scorching heat.

[SirHustlerEsq]

Yep, it's a 20 minute job if you take off the stupid manifold brace! Also, a set of gearwrenches are a must...

Yeah, it's weird to see Miata alternators fail.

See if the alternator is putting out voltage and whatever amperage (I don't know the min value) with a multimeter, hopefully it's not the regulator in the computer.

[jeepinbanditrider]

What year is your car?

Edit-Nevermind found it on your profile.

Rock Auto carries Denso and Bosch alts for your car (both good name brands as far as auto electronics go) for less than Auto Zone or O'Rileys carries their house brands.

Here they are

ACDELCO Part # 3341336 {#19134329} Reman; 70 Amp GENERATOR,HITACHI IF; 70 AMPS	$152.89	$45.00	$197.89
Add to Cart
BECK/ARNLEY Part # 1860919 Remanufactured; May Not Include Pulley AMP 70; PULLEY S4; MFR HI; VOLT 12; ROT CW; PLUG 303; CLK 3:00; REG E/R (Only 2 Remaining)	$130.79	$70.00	$200.79
Add to Cart
REMY Part # 12035 Remanufactured 70 Amps	$165.79	$80.00	$245.79
Add to Cart
DENSO Part # 2103155 Reman Alternator * Non-stock item--shipping delayed up to 2 business days	$152.79	$34.00	$186.79
Add to Cart
BOSCH Part # AL4226X Remanufactured; May Not Include Pulley * Non-stock item--shipping delayed up to 2 business days	$165.79	$92.00	$257.79
Add to Cart

I'm willing to bet the OEM alts are/were Denso.

Here's the Autozone one. I'm not a big fan of "Duralast" parts.

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par.../N-jd2odZ9ci9i