The charging system light has started to flicker on and off when it is wet outside. It does not come on and stay on. What to look for in the way of causes?
View 1 RepliesLast night, our '06 Honda Odyssey's red "charging system indicator" light came on. I quickly looked it up in the book, as sudden red lights on our car scare me, and it said that "The battery is not being charged. Go to a service station or garage where you can get technical assistance." Well, that was useful. It's Sunday.We turned off all the extra electric (a/c, lights, etc)on the way home. On the way home (less than 5 miles) several other indicator lights flashed on and off periodically.
The ABS, VSA and brake system indicator lights. We also noted that the headlights seemed dimmer than normal. When we got home, the front end smelled hot, but no smoke or anything. This morning, I looked to make sure all connections were tight, and they were. We had turned the master light switch off last night, but the door lights (on the bottom edge came on when I opened the door. Other than that, we have not tried cranking it, as I'm afraid that it will totally drain the battery.
I have a 1981 F100, lately when I've been driving at night I notice my headlights, dash lights, and charging light will flicker at the same time, and even sometimes my headlights will flash on and off by themselves.
View 2 RepliesLess than 30 days ago, replaced the Timing Belt, Water Pump, Front Arm Bushings, and Power Steering High Pressure Hose on my 2007 Honda Odyssey.
Today, my wife noticed the engine was noisier than usual, then suddenly became stranded on the roadside when the power steering went out; at the same time a "Check Charging System" error displayed on the panel. The van was within walking distance of home. I got it home and checked the engine, finding the Power Steering Fluid Reservoir to be nearly empty (far lower than the minimum line).
My questions - am I right to think Honda blew it? Does the above scenario sound like they simply forgot to refill the fluid after their repair? Or other? If negligence, what sort of damage may have resulted that I should be on the lookout for? Finally, why is the "Check Charging System" light coming on as a result of this?
Throughout the summer, when the AC was off, in fact the whole system was off, the AC light would flicker on and off, but would never do this when the system was on. Today, the AC stopped working out of nowhere. We are on vacation in a warm destination, so AC would be nice, even though it is almost December. We also want to spend our money on our vacation, not AC repair.
View 2 RepliesThe red battery light on my 2003 gx470 with 106k miles came on while starting the truck up today. I had the alternator tested by my mechanic and it was outputting 13.0v -13.1v which was low but not causing any loss of power. The battery on two years old and tested out fine. Nothing was flickering, no loss of electrical components, etc. It's the original alternator and I'm going on a 1000 mile round trip vacation this weekend for 10 days I so decided to swap out the alternator since if it was "going" I didn't want it going 500 miles from home. My mechanic does the swap and starts the truck up with no issues and no red light on. Lets it run for 15 minutes and turns off the truck. 20 minutes later they start the truck up to switch lifts so they could balance and rotate the tires and boom the light goes on again? Turns it off and on a few times...light stays on. After testing everything out My mechanic decides it must be a bad alternator or the regulator inside the alternator and gets a different one from a different manufacturer, a Duralast this time from AutoZone. Installs it and the red light comes on immediately. The alternator is putting out 14v.
View 10 RepliesThis has happened five times within the past couple of months. I have a 2004 Chevy Malibu Maxx LT. In all cases, I was accelerating while going uphill. I am in Chicago so by uphill, think expressway ramp. The Charging System Light and warning bell come on for about a second and then shuts off. When I get home, I check the battery. In all cases, it is fully charged. The battery is six months old. What could be causing this?
View 5 RepliesA few days ago my charging system warning light came on in the middle of my trip home from work.
I popped the battery out and took it to Advanced (in my other car) and they tested the battery, it was fully charged and was in good condition. So I popped it back in my car and when I started the car I didn't get the warning light on my way back to Advanced.
They tested my battery again, along with my starter and charging system. Everything looked good, except one of the terminals on the battery was a little loose so we tightened it. Next time I started my car the light was back on.
Also, I looked at the belt and it didn't appear to be cracked, but I'm not completely sure how to verify if it's in good shape.
I replaced my alt. because in the morning the bearing would squeak and the head lights flicker. It was a life time alt. Put the new one in now it wont charge. Took it back and got another, same thing. Also replaced the starter relay and battery. I checked the fusible links and replaced a terminal connector. The wires look good. There is 12v on the alt lug and pins 1 and 3 on the connector with the key off. Turn key on and 12v disappears form pins 1 & 3. Also checked all fuses in both boxes. I ohmed out the wire harness from the alt back to the connectors, all good. What am I missing? This is a 99 f530 5.4l.
View 9 RepliesCharging system failure light comes on about once a week, then the ABS & traction control lights are coming on and I can feel a vibration from the pedal and a humming noise! Replaced the sensors which fixed it or so I thought. It started doing it again. What is causing this & is this a common problem?
View 2 RepliesMy charging system light in my 2000 F250 keeps coming on and off and very random times. Its been happening for quite sometime now and I finally joined FTE so I figured I would ask everyone what could be causing this. Ive disconnected all the electrical plugs from the alternator and made sure they were in there well.
It all started when I was cleaning my engine not too long after getting the alternator replaced. I don't remember getting any water anywhere near the alternator and cant understand anything causing this other than the connectors. It will cut on and then cut right off sometimes and then sometimes it comes on and stays on...
I have a 2003 mercury mountaineer 4.6L AWD. The other day it died at the grocery store and now won't start. All it has is the check charging system warning light on. Changed Alternator, battery and starter already and still nothing. It does start sometimes but i need to give it gas to keep it running.
View 7 RepliesJust installed on new alternator when my 2008 Odyssey broke down while on Va-ca in Utah. Battery charging warning light went on, slight electrical burn smell, battery drained. No power, car went into limp mode. Had it towed to nearby mechanic. Three days waiting for part.Replaced alternator and told me everything was cool. Only made it 50 miles after I picked it up. Same problem traveling through Mountain pass 6% grade with my wife and kids aboard. Had it towed again, only 5 days to make it 1500 miles back to work..
View 19 RepliesI have a 1998 Honda Civic with 153,000 miles. Whenever I come to a stop my car turns off, before it turns off the check engine light will flickr and the right passenger door makes weird noises. When it turns off I put the car in park and it turns back on perfectly. When it does turn off the battery light and oil light comes on and stays on. This morning it happened again and the car wouldn't start up for 10 minutes I need to know what's wrong before it gets worse. I already got a tune up on it. Could it be transmission problem because the car will sometimes just jump up 1000rpm.
View 1 RepliesInstalled one of the wireless bu cams from Pep boys earlier this year. Anyhow it hooks to the bu lights and has a pwr source from the fuse box. Works ok, but every now and again it will flicker while I am driving down the road, is also slow to illuminate when reverse is engaged. What the issue may be? Its a VRBCS300W.
View 1 RepliesI've got a 2005 Honda CRV that I love everything about except one thing that really annoys and scares me.
The headlights and instrument lights "twinkle" or shimmer. Like they pulsate in intensity bright and dim 2- 4 times per second.
I've read threads in some forums and have heard of many other people experiencing the same problem but no solid solutions.
I've heard, low battery, bad battery connection, loose ground somewhere, loose alternator belt or faulty alternator, short in the wiring harness, or replace the dashboard computer.
I've checked many of these things but to no avail.
I have a 2001 ford excursion with the v10 . Yesterday it just died from no power from the charging system. I cleaned all my connection from the battery to the ground straps and my question is in the back of the alternator where the large wire connections with that disconnected. Should I not see current coming out of the bolt on the alternator.
I connected a test light to the body and the test side to the large electrical bolt on the back of the alternator and It would not light ? is the voltage regulator inside the alternator . I also found and a repair a worn fuse link that connected at the starter selonoid and i did make sure the wire from the back of the alternator to the starter selonoid has continuity.
2003 explorer 4.0.. I have no charging from the alternator at all. battery dash light on all the time. exciter wire from PCM to alternator, green/white is right around 11.6-11.9v when running. when key on engine off its 0.the other wire for the regulator is battery voltage all the time. voltage drop from large post to + battery terminal is 0.4v. I tried 2 different new alternators so far from napa and same issue. belt is not slipping and tension is good. this vehicle sat for about 6 months and has been on the road for only a week or 2. maybe 100 miles so far until this. I might try a ford alternator, what to do.
View 2 RepliesNoticed the warning indicator on dash, linage of a battery, this morning. Thought maybe battery needed to be replaced? So got replacement battery and installed it, but warning light still on.
View 14 RepliesI had my alternator and battery die on me in Dec 2015 and replaced both. Vehicle ran perfectly fine until this Sept 2016. First thing to happen was the battery light came on and then the System Charging Failure message and the tone came on and off intermittently. I took it to my garage and they tested and said the alternator was defective that they replaced in Dec 2015. It was showing 9V.
So they replaced it again free of charge with another rebuilt alternator. Within 30 min leaving the garage the system charging failure light was back on and again i lost charge to the point where everything was shutting down to the point i even lost the gauge cluster. Took it back to the garage and they checked the plug at the alternator and said it was fine. Then they said the belt was loose.
So they replaced the belt, the belt tentioner, and a pulley. Within 20 min the lights were all back on again and I was losing charge and all the things started to shutdown again. Where I picked up the car at 5PM on a Friday they had left and wont be back till Monday. So I am asking here....what is going on??? What else is there to look at or replace to fix this charging error???
I just got a Camry SE 2016 last Wednesday. and when I put the ignition key in and switch it, before turning on the engine, this message shows up: "Check charging system". and when the engine starts, the message is gone. Is this normal?
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