Battery Light Flickering

[lexfourcam]

Hi everyone been doing good for a while and haven't had any problems, but yesterday my battery light started flickering. I have an aftermarket 200 amp alternator I installed about three months ago. I also have two optima batteries. I like playing my stereo loud so that's why I decided to upgrade the big three. I went to autozone and they checked all my voltages and both batteries were fine one at 85% and the other fully charged. My cars lights don't dim and even with the volume all the way up the voltage didn't drop below 12.5 and was 13.5 on idle. My car starts and runs fine. Although when I replaced the alternator the person who replaced it before broke the connector. This is to the voltage regulator. The plug went in and I haven't had problems until now. I'm thinking that since the connector is broken so bad its getting a bad connection. Like I said it charges perfectly fine and my batteries are good. The car starts immediately and my lights do not dim.

[lexfourcam]

Bump...

[steve2006]

As you say it would appear that the batteries are being charged OK and the alternator is providing a good output,I would look at the damaged connection as it could be high resistance and causing the warning light to illuminate,it may be worth,if you can,removing it and giving it a good clean with some electrical contact cleaner,check all the other wiring to the alternator and make sure all the earth points are good.

[lexfourcam]

I'm definitely gonna check the connections this weekend. I went today and read about that same results so that tells me it should be ok. I was also told i should run an extra wire from the alternator to the battery. Do you think that will provide a better charging current to the battery?

[steve2006]

The standard wire from the alternator to the battery should be fine providing all the connections are clean and tight,running an extra wire could mean splicing into the original harness possibly creating additional problems,also the routing has to be good to avoid chafing or heat sources which could result in a short circuit and a fire risk.

[landar]

Like I said it charges perfectly fine and my batteries are good. The car starts immediately and my lights do not dim.

I agree with Steve about the wiring...don't try to modify the original, it might only lead to more issues.

Couple of additional things to ponder. If the system charges perfectly as stated, then the indicator must be errant. Correct? Or is it? There is a good possibility that you are teetering on the edge of a proper charge or that the charging intermittently quits and then picks back up. I tend to believe the indicator is showing this sort of intermittent problem.

It is not uncommon for an aftermarket unit to start going bad after a few months. Have you recently checked for a power steering pump leak? Also, the system usually relies heavily on the alternator mounts for a ground. Did you clean the mounts when installing the new alternator? Ground strap from engine to chassis still in place?

Finally, check for AC on the system by using a voltmeter in the "AC" position. Should not be > 100mv. Else a diode(s) in the alternator may be faulty.

[lexfourcam]

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check that out. My power steering pump was changed recently and I had to buy a new alternator which was only 100 amp. So if I do have to send the unit back I'll just swap them out and be patient. When I installed the alternator everything was fine and I had no battery light flickering. It just starting happening recently. The connections looked pretty clean from what I can remember. Other than the connector being cracked everything looked normal.