When The Battery Light Comes On Does This Mean The Battery Is Going Dead?

The generator light came on while I was driving but the next day all I heard
was a clicking sound when I tried to start it. Headlights come on dimly. Is
this usually just the battery or something more serious? Before this I had
no indication that the battery was getting weak. The little battery light
would come on when I first started the car and then go off as is normal.

 

The generator light came on while I was driving but the next day all I heard

It probably means that your alternator went, and ran the battery dead. If the
battery is fairly new, replace the alternator and you should be fine. If the
batt is getting old, replace it as well.

 

Someone who knows cars told me that if the lights come on even dimly, it's
not the alternator just the battery. Anyway, how much does it cost to
replace the alternator on a '96 Saturn SL?




If the

 

If you replace the alt, charge the battery up prior to running the car
so as not to overwork the new alt. If I were you I would probably check
for a parasitic draw as well.

 

On Sauternes that battery light is actually an indicator that the alternator
is going out. I had to replace mine on my 95SL1 early this year or late
last year.

Since I didn't have the tools to do the work myself I had to take my car
into a shop to do the work. I can't remember exactly how much I spent, but
I did save some money by buying the alternator from an autoparts store
myself and then taking it to the mechanic to be installed. That way the
shop did not have to charge me a mark up on the part.

I did not change my battery when I changed the alternator and have not had
any problems with it.

Mark.

 

Did this affect the warranty or repair garuntee that the shop normally
provides as part of their service? IIRC, many shops won't allow you
to give them the replacement parts, since they say they can't be sure
where the part you gave them came from.

-rj
98SL2

 

Where are the most likely places to look if the battery is being drained?

 

You usually pull one fuse from the fuse block at a time to see if there
is a large drop in amps being drawn. First you need to know what the
typical draw is. A google search for "parasitic draw test" should
provide you with what you need to know.

 

Look under the car for a puddle of electrons.

;-)

 

Presumably your battery is dead now, but the battery light indicates a
problem in the charging system, most likely your alternator is bad.

 

Actron Charging System Tester

Sears item #00947099000 Mfr. model #CP7611

Versatile charging system (battery and alternator) tester requires no
internal battery of its own and is ultra-compact for maximum convenience.
Color-coded LEDs. Tests 12V batteries


You need one of the above to know for sure..........

 

Alternator Replacement Procedure:

1. Write down all of your radio station presets (optional)
2. Disconnect negative battery cable (most assuredly NOT optional)
5/16" wrench works well
3. Jack up the right front corner of the car
4. Put a jack stand under the car.
5. Remove the right front wheel
6. Remove the two plastic splash shields (you pull the plastic
center pins out of the fasteners to remove).
7. Use a 14 mm wrench to remove tension from the accessory belt
(turn wrench clockwise on the bolt in the center of the idler pulley).
8. Move the belt off of a pulley to remove tension from it.
9. Remove the 10 mm bolt holding the splash shield onto the
alternator
10. Unsnap the splash shield from the alternator.
11. Unbolt the cable running from the alternator to the starter AT
THE STARTER.
12. Carefully pry the clip up from the other alternator connector and
remove it from the alternator. Be careful not to break the clip off
of the connector.
13. Remove the upper alternator bolt (13 mm) from above.
14. Remove the lower alternator bolt (13 mm) from below.
15. Remove alternator down through the wheel well.

You now have the alternator with a 1 ft cable attached. You need to
remove this. The Chilton's manual suggests using a 13 mm wrench that
is only about 60 thousands of an inch thick to hold the stud coming
from the alternator (to prevent it from turning). Such wrenches are
quite difficult to find. I removed the cable from the alternator by
putting two 10 mm nuts on the top of the stud and tightening them
against each other. Then, I used one 10 mm wrench to loosen the nut
holding the cable while using another 10 mm wrench against the bottom
of the two 10 mm nuts that I put at the top.

The bottom line in working without the stud coming out from the
alternator is you don't want to put any torque on it with respect to
the alternator. It is (ahem) not a robust design. When you get this
cable off, put it on the same position on the new alternator and
tighten it similarly (using something to hold the stud into the
alternator to keep it from turning. Either a very thin 13 mm
wrench, or the double nut trick. Then reverse steps 15 to 1 in
reverse order.