Freezing weather battery/brake lights

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FCJK23 - 31 Jan 2007 07:19 GMT

I have a 2000 Nissan Maxima, 138000 mi. After my car has been sitting
in near freezing temps, when I turn my car on the battery light and/or
my brake light will come on for a minute or so, then after my car runs
for a while, the lights turn off. I have not noticed the warning
lights when the weather is warmer. Is this something that I should
get checked out or can I attribute this to the cold weather? Any help
would be greatly appreciated.

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cmdrdata - 31 Jan 2007 21:50 GMT

You say near freezing temps, so I'd be safe to assume that the battery is
not frozen, besides it takes a lot more lower temp for the acid to freeze.
So, if you have digital voltmeter (they are cheap, you can get one at
Walmart for less than $15.00) when this problem occur, measure the battery
volateg at the terminals. You should get between 13.5 to 14 volts. If not,
I think it is co-incidental to the temp that your alternator is about to
die, most likely a worn carbon brushes inside. In previous post someone
mentioned that a low voltage (12.5 v or lower would cause the brake
warning light to come on. This is true. The computer detects a low voltage
and light up both lamps.) BTW, I replaced mine using Autozone alternator
since it was much cheaper than dealer's, and so far it has performed just
fine (30K miles ago).

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