OK, I would bet it's the battery first- even if that light is on. Batteries can die in multiple ways. First way, loss of electrolyte means that batteries produce the voltage, but can't handle the current. This means your battery is going to put out 12v+, but when you try to start, the voltage drops below 8v, and the starter just clicks. This is typical old battery. You might even get some lights to come on. In this case, the battery will not hold a charge at all. You will be able to get the car started by jumping it off, but as soon as you cut it off- it won't start.

Next loss of charge, if your battery is only showing 10v, then it's probably not going to start the car. If it's less than 10v, then it's definitely not going to start the car. In this case, you can jump the car, and a good alternator will charge the battery so that the car runs, and you don't have any more problems unless there's some sort of drain on the electrical system that is causing the battery to run down over night. This is what happens when you leave your lights on overnight.

One more possible issue is the loose connection. Battery terminals do loosen over time. When a loose connection is causing your battery woes, you'll turn the key to START and everything will die. Lights might come back on, like a battery that has lost electrolyte, but it still won't start. To test for this- pull the battery cover (no tools required, it clips on) then wiggle on the battery terminals by hand. If you can get one to turn, then it's loose. You might also find things breaking off the terminal- or a bad terminal. In this case you should repair it. Even if you have a good battery, a bad terminal will make the car think you have a bad battery.

There is a way to check battery voltage without having a multi-meter. These cars have a display mode where you can access some of the information the computer sees, and also do some simple tests of things like the gauges and led lights in the instrument cluster. To do this, put the key in the ignition, leave off, now press and hold the odometer reset button, turn the key to ON, and continue to hold the reset button. Very soon the gauge needles will start jumping around, and the odometer display will read [gauge]. Now, let off the reset button, and press it again to scroll through the selections. There are like 30 different selections, and I can't remember where the battery voltage display is- just keep pressing and releasing the reset button until the odometer reads [bat 12.4] or if your charge is low it might read [bat 10.1]. If you want to see if your alternator is charging the battery, then start the car with this on the odometer, and see if the voltage changes. With the alternator running you can see voltage up to 15v, but not higher. Higher than 15v, even 15.1 is a sign of a bad voltage regulator.

This is only what the computer sees. Now if you don't see anything- like [bat 0.1v] that could mean a bad connection at the battery, or a bad connection on the battery sensing wire at the alternator. If this happens, and I were you, I'd pop the hood and jiggle the battery terminals to see if I could get it to read the battery voltage. That would indicate a bad terminal, or loose terminal (most likely).

 

Thanks bro! now that was a FAST REPLY! Your next pineapple ice cream cone is on me!

 

My local sears store seems to be the ONLY PLACE that has this battery in stock. Its $109 + $15 installation.... they also say they can TEST the old battery and alternator... should I just go for it? Thanks. I have a small child I have to care for while wife is deployed and I would like to get this problem fixed TODAY if I can... aloha
[loveff] [ffrocks]

 

Problem was a DEAD CELL in battery, it had 2.0v in the entire battery.. new battery fixed it right up!

 

More like one working cell and 5 bad cells- LOL

For the brave, you can add electrolyte (water) to non-servicable batteries. I've done that before, but it only works in the rare situation where you have 12v- yet it won't start the car.

 

Posted via FF MobileGreat! >ad batt. = shit for usefulness.....

 

Good Explanation Alex.

 

a lot of the time when an alternator goes bad it usually takes the battery along with it...so it's a good idea to replace the battery and alternator at the same time so you don't have the situation that you had..