Recently as of this morning my cars battery warning light stays on for long periods of time. It never did this before. I suspect it's some lose wiring either from the alternator or on the battery side of things. I doubt its the actual battery that needs changing since it's less than a year old, but i could be wrong. If anyone has had any experience with the same problem any advice would be welcome.

Most common cause is the regulator on the alternator. Don't believe it is hard to swap in some new brushes, may set you back 30 odd bucks. Otherwise you could go a reco swap over alternator for around 150.

The battery light indicates your charging system is not working, I barely ever see the battery as the cause of this, usually means the alternator is not producing enough juice.

Is it an urgent job or can I kinda hold off until a bit later

Is it an urgent job or can I kinda hold off until a bit later

Depends how consistant the battery light is, and if you can risk breaking down :P

The battery light being on means the battery is NOT charging. It is a fault in the charging system.

Is it an urgent job or can I kinda hold off until a bit later

It is pretty urgent, if you don't get it fixed the battery will drain (potentially damaging your new battery) and you being stranded as you can't start the car or even drive, if the battery dies while you are driving, your car will conk out, have almost been collected because of this.

Thanks for the heads up I'll get on top of it asap

I have also been told that if a battery goes completely dead you will shorten its life. Cant comment if that is 100% correct but just something to keep in mind.

Well thanks for the advice guys. Didn't feel like risking getting stranded on the M1 highway during peak times so i got it fixed thanks to Madmagna

Magna_TR-driver is right...
What was the problem in the end?

Had the exact same problem about 3 months ago, changed the regulator on the alternator and have not had a problem since. You can buy a battery tester from K-Mart for about 15 bucks, test while the car is off and then test while the car is running and you should be able to figure out if it is the battery or alternator/regulator.

Took me about half an hour to change the regulator, a bit of a fiddly job but not too difficult for an intermediate backyard mechanic. Just make sure you disconnect the battery first or you could, well, die.

http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67168&highlight=alternator+blink

Thats the thread from when I had my problems

Yeah mine was giving me the exact same problem, only that I wrote it off as a fault of some kind a few months back, but as of this morning it went crazy and started staying on and then all of a sudden it would stop. Due to the fact I need my car I didnt want to take chances. Anyway i saw madmagna and he reckoned it was the regulator, so he gave me a good condition alternator, and haven't had any battery warning problems.

just another quick question while were on topic :)
i bought a new century battery a few months ago but i accidently let it go completely flat. its only been the one time and i know that flattening it shortens the life span but ive charged it up again and its workin fine now. ive put it in my daily driver now so prob wont be flattened to that extent n e time soon.
just wonderin if anyone can give some indication as to what the life span of a battery is and how much that would be after its been flattened once??
just wanna make sure its not gonna die on me anytime soon because of it.

thanks

Batteries can last up to five years if maintained well. The Century in my old Festiva was about four years old and had half the rated CCA when I tested it so I replaced it.

I'm guessing that it'll go for about two years if you keep the water up in the cells as required, it may last longer though. I wouldn't count on it lasting longer than that if you've drained it dead though.

just another quick question while were on topic :)
i bought a new century battery a few months ago but i accidently let it go completely flat. its only been the one time and i know that flattening it shortens the life span but ive charged it up again and its workin fine now. ive put it in my daily driver now so prob wont be flattened to that extent n e time soon.
just wonderin if anyone can give some indication as to what the life span of a battery is and how much that would be after its been flattened once??
just wanna make sure its not gonna die on me anytime soon because of it.

thanks

Did you buy the premium century? Mine comes with a 3 year replacement warranty, if it dies in that time I get a brand new one, HUZZAH!

Glad it was something simple in the end mate, Madmagna knows his shit.

thanks for that tobe. dont know much about the life of batterys so wasnt sure if it was gonna pack up on me in a couple of months or somethin.
nd maddog it comes with a 2 year warranty but im assumin that the fact that ive flattened it before might be a void of the conditions that the warranty comes under though im not sure how they could test that.

thanks for that tobe. dont know much about the life of batterys so wasnt sure if it was gonna pack up on me in a couple of months or somethin.
nd maddog it comes with a 2 year warranty but im assumin that the fact that ive flattened it before might be a void of the conditions that the warranty comes under though im not sure how they could test that.

They can't, where did you buy it from? I asked at Autobarn when I bought mine "What if I have a big stereo, the battery runs flat etc." and they guy just said they'll swap it over if it's dead. You should get at least 2 years out of it, my old battery ran completely flat and is still going.

They can't, where did you buy it from? I asked at Autobarn when I bought mine "What if I have a big stereo, the battery runs flat etc." and they guy just said they'll swap it over if it's dead. You should get at least 2 years out of it, my old battery ran completely flat and is still going.

yeah i got it from autobarn as well. and if youve run urs flat before as well then that sorta puts my mind at ease about the issue. it doesnt really bother me if it goes flat in a year or two i just dont want it screwin up on me soon coz i dont have the money to keep replacing batteries atm lol. thanks again for ur help. greatly appreciated :thumbsup:

A couple of comments on this thread.

1.... A lot of people dont know that the warning light can also come on if the alternator is overcharging.
This is just as bad as undercharging and can shag yur battery.

2.... Sending a battery dead flat can shorten the life of the battery but not dramatically if its recharged properly.
Where possible, its best to put the battery on a charger overnight to trickle it back to full charge.
This minimizes the damageing effect of a high current prolonged charge.


There ya go :happy:

Anybody happen to know any tricks to replaceing the voltage reg on a 3lt? Bloody oil dipstick is in the way and makes it quite difficult to get to that screw!

Ok,
To begin with, replacing just the reg is a temp fix, may last even 24 months but the armature on the alt needs to be cleaned, surfaced and tested. You can not do this on car

In all cases, to properly fix just replace the alt and you have the peace of mind to know it will last

Ok,
To begin with, replacing just the reg is a temp fix, may last even 24 months but the armature on the alt needs to be cleaned, surfaced and tested. You can not do this on car

In all cases, to properly fix just replace the alt and you have the peace of mind to know it will last

12 months is more then enough time dude, car will be approaching 300,000 soon and a 6g74 is on the cards (I have about 35,000 till my next major is due)... So any tips to getting to that damn screw? >.<

edit: NVM! Voltage reg replaced, battery light gone! :)