Battery warning light, 95 Park Ave

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Ed - 03 Nov 2005 21:09 GMT

On our 95 Park Ave the Battery Warning Light (beside the voltage gauge)
sometimes comes on and stays on for a while after start up. This is a fairly
recent development (during the last year) and is happening more often and
staying on longer. This morning I put a DVM on the cigar lighter socket and
it looks good. Holds at about 13.85 DC, and AC well below 0.5 volts. But,
this was not when the light was on, as it chose to behave properly.

The Pep Boys 84 month battery is about 2 years old.

Any idea what might be wrong?

TIA

Ed

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sdlomi2 - 04 Nov 2005 00:41 GMT

> On our 95 Park Ave the Battery Warning Light (beside the voltage gauge)
> sometimes comes on and stays on for a while after start up. This is a
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Ed

Ed, 1st clean your battery terminals. You can determine the battery's
condition by having it tested with a battery-tester that puts a load on the
batt. With battery fully charged, have it tested free--A-Zone, Advance A-P,
Pep-Boys(?), local shop. If this passes, check alternator. Probably more
likely to repeat the light-staying-on when 1st started each AM, so be sure
to plug in your voltmeter just before starting, so as to 'see' what the
alternator is outputting at the time of malfunction.
IMO, sounds more like alternator beginning to go. Its output can be
checked with the same type load-tester, but if its regulated output is
correct when tested, ..... HTH, s

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Ed - 04 Nov 2005 17:32 GMT

> Ed, 1st clean your battery terminals. You can determine the battery's
> condition by having it tested with a battery-tester that puts a load on
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> checked with the same type load-tester, but if its regulated output is
> correct when tested, ..... HTH, s

Thanks for the response.

I have cleaned the terminals, and the cables look good. I'll get the battery
checked
ASAP.

You're right about it happening most often on first startup of the day, but
alas
not the day I attacked with my DVM. Is it safe to assume that if the battery
checks out and the cables are good it has to be an intermittant alternator?

Thanks again. I really appreciate the help I get here.

Ed

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