Water DE-activated battery light

leeklimala

Registered User
My car's battery light stays on. No flickering, no flashing, just on all the time. Advance said it was overcharging. Autozone said it was fine. Either way, the light stays on all the time...except when it's raining. Any ideas?
 
Hmm, maybe a ground that isn't working so well and conducts better when water hits it, I dunno thats a weird one.
 
check the terminals on the battery and make sure their not corroded. It sounds like a ground issue. You could always check the alternator with a volt/ohm meter with the engine running. Should be around 13.1-13.5
 
New battery, no corrosion. Will check the alternator myself next time I'm at my dad's. Will also try to get under the beast and check for loose connections.
 
Probably a bad ground or charging problem. Those parts dorks don't know how to test an alternator any more than you and me. See if it's putting out 14.1-14.6 volts steady with a voltmeter. then probe the pos. and neg. battery terminals while it's running to see if the battery is charging at the same voltage.
 
Like Jeremey said. Stick a volt meter on the battery with the key off. Check voltage. Should be right around 12.5v.

Turn the ignition on and start the car. Check the voltage. Should be about 13.7v.

If it's significantly over that, then that's why the battery light is on. If it's under that, then that's why the battery light is on.

If it's just fine, then a diode in the alternator failed that's in the circuit that drives the idiot light. It's rare for such a part to fail without the regulator circut also having a failure, but I suppose it's possible.
 
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