Accent MC (2006-11) :: Seatbelt And Battery Light Blinking

For the past 3 weeks or so (ever since it really started getting cold, highs in the 50F range or lower ) I've been having an issue where my seatbelt light on the dash will randomly light up and blink for a few seconds. I can find no rhyme or reason, it didn't appear to be linked to a loose buckle, or me going over bumps, or anything at all related to what my searches came up with for 'Seat belt light' on google and here on the forum. I had almost given up hope until a new symptom appeared.

A little less than 2 weeks ago I noticed that my battery light would also blink, very briefly, also seemingly at random. It could happen while sitting at a traffic light, or while cruising down the road at 60mph. Again, no apparent rhyme or reason. HOWEVER, every time the battery light would blink, even for a split second, the seatbelt light would then blink for about 6 seconds.

For clarification, I have seen the seatbelt light blink without the battery light, but I've never seen the battery light blink without the seatbelt light immediately starting to also blink.

So now that the battery light and the seatbelt light appeared to be linked, I figured that either my alternator or battery was giving out so I went by the auto part store to have them test it. Well, according to their fancy doohickey both the battery and the alternator are fine, but the battery was low on charge.

Well, I did some testing on my own with a multimeter attached to the battery and while the battery does still read low (~12.5V), it doesn't sag under load with the engine off and the alternator appears to be putting out the appropriate ~14.2V expected.


So I am now at a loss as to what to try. I've checked all the electrical connections I can get my hands/wrenches on and they all look good and tight with no corrosion. I'm almost to the point where I'm going to buy a new alternator and throw it on.

96k miles