Battery Light

[Joe Tracker]

My battery discharge light comes on intermittently. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. It will turn on bright or dim on any given day and then not happen again for days/weeks. It never stays on for longer than 20 minutes of so. What action do you recommend?

Thanks,

Joe

1999 Chevy Tracker, 1.6 liter 16 valve

[fixkick]

that is the alternator light. (the signal from the alternator does all that, (from the internal regulator, ) it means this regulator sees a problem.
does this car have DRL (daylight running lights) option? as seen on most cars in CANADA by law up there.
DRL loves to short out , burns up (see connector turn brown on the module) and cause the alternator lamp to fail. the trick is unplug the DRL module to discover this (not at night !)

what is the engine RPM when the is on?, answer must be 800 RPM hot or higher engine cold < and is the engine hot, ? not told yet.
lets make the list.
1: engine RPM not stated, with lamp acting up.
2: fan belt loose to alternator.
3: battery cables loose, to starter? ( 2 cables = 4 ends)
3b: is the alternator 3 bolts all tight, three point are the critical ground. I've seen some super rusty (mean also corroded) and fails. the alternator had 4 connections.
4: the alternator has a plug on the rear, not loose, and 1 huge wire, this huge wire (6 gage) must not have damage.
5: the battery will read 13.3. to 15v running, of it goes below that and lamp goes on, then the alternator shuts down.
6: failing alternator.
7in some cases a bad battery, if say 1 cell shorts and alternator regulator sees that fact and shuts itself off, to prevent battery blow up(rupturing). and turns on the Lamp)\

also it will get worse,problems never self cure. they progress. so... testing now mean not stranded later.

The cause is the regulator, if it sees over or under voltages or current it will shut down. (or it is being lied to, that means bad wires/connections)
Use a voltmeter to see what is going on, any DMM meter works here,
if this was a modern car with dash voltmeter, you might see 12vd not 14v, running when ALT lamps(battery symbol) cluster warning light come on.
when you see that you instantly know the Alternator just shut down.
if you saw 10v driving, that means battery is bad, or you were late seeing the ALT lamp come on and the battery is near fully discharged.
also when the lamp comes on does the starter seem weak ever? (restarted)
batteries have short life, 5years is a good average.
and alternators are next but can last 2 time or more longer that is why I always suspect battery first, get it load tested.



http://www.fixkick.com/Charging/charging.html

My battery discharge light comes on intermittently. There does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. It will turn on bright or dim on any given day and then not happen again for days/weeks. It never stays on for longer than 20 minutes of so. What action do you recommend?

Thanks,

Joe

1999 Chevy Tracker, 1.6 liter 16 valve

[fixkick]

is car 4wd? and 4 doors or 2, what transmission.?
does the dash have a tachometer, as all 4wd do. see?
if it does have a tachometer, rpm is always over 800 right>?
the needle on the the tachometer starts at "1" 1 means 1000, RPM
so 800 is 0.8 or just tad below 1000. ok?

on this car or any car really if the EGR sticks open (and other failures, ask) the RPM can go super low to 400 RPM ,engine shakes and the Alternator goes a little nuts.
i did the math on that once using the pulley ratios 1.5:1 is common, so 400 engine rpm is 600 at the alternator shaft,
most alternators drop off line below 1000 (alt rpm) 666 RPM engine, see?

this is why engine RPM is #1 then belt slip. always. EGR stuck open is super common failure on cars.

example alt. see drop out RPM below 10 amps is a dead alt

[Joe Tracker]

It appears to be the DRL's as you suggested below, not the alternator. The battery voltage reads 14.3 with my DMM when the alternator light comes on. And there have been no other symptoms suggesting a charging problem - only the battery/alternator light.

What can I do to stop the light from coming on when there are, in fact, no charging problems? Can I eliminate the DRL? Go back to manually activated headlights?

Thanks again for your help,

Joe Tracker
1999 Chevy Tracker (a.k.a Vitara)
2 door
1.6 liter engine
five speed manual trans
four wheel drive

[fixkick]

all DRL's can be defeated, the charge light defeat, is just telling the DRL module a lie that charge lamp is on but is not.
I will need the 1999 shematic, to figure that out.
the oldest cars, use HUGE dimming resistor hidden in the RF fender. cut the wire to it bam no DRL.
then later no resistor again, they do PWM the modulate the lamps to do DIM
ill attempt to get the drawing first

It appears to be the DRL's as you suggested below, not the alternator. The battery voltage reads 14.3 with my DMM when the alternator light comes on. And there have been no other symptoms suggesting a charging problem - only the battery/alternator light.

What can I do to stop the light from coming on when there are, in fact, no charging problems? Can I eliminate the DRL? Go back to manually activated headlights?

ok got it.

there are only 2 pins on your DRL module that can be fooled.
pin 4, PPL/WHT, GROUND THIS WIRE AND IT THinks handbrake is set, (cut wire first at DRL) or the dash lights for brakes failure will glow.
Pin 2, white/red. this wire cut, same way, and the ground it, this will tell the DRL the ALternator is dead,(a lie) and the ALT lamp will not glow because, you cut the wire at the dRL module only, (I like this pin , lied to best)










Thanks again for your help,

Joe Tracker
1999 Chevy Tracker (a.k.a Vitara)
2 door
1.6 liter engine
five speed manual trans
four wheel drive

[fixkick]

that is 1999 book chev tracker

[Joe Tracker]

that is 1999 book chev tracker

Thanks! You are awesome help!

Joe Tracker