Battery Warning Light Comes On, Randomly, than gous off

620

Asked by Talyanich Feb 02, 2015 at 11:40 AM about the 2004 Nissan Maxima SL

Question type: General

Hi, 2004Nissan Maxima Ti, 6 cyl, 3.5 ltr,  A battery light Warning comes ON randomly on
dashboard, then gous Off, on it self, ( no pattern 4it as 2.when comes ON and no pattern
4 going OFF, also very random and no pattern off the times it remains lON.
Now the battery'are brand new, may be 3 weeks old.  When it comes ON wile you
driving, or when standing @ the Lights,  the car drives and behaves normaly when it
comes on, even Under a load as, stereo, A/C, blinkers or lights.. Any one has any ideas-
??? Thanks. Tony.

17 Answers

That icon that loos like a battery is really the alternator warning, it could be the alternator is not putting out enough (they do get weak before going out, not fail suddenly) or cables. Suggestion is check all cables and grounds. A cable terminal can have a bad connection between the cable and terminal, that you cant see, disconnect and do a continuity test, it should show little or no loss, and the battery ground where it bolts to block or frame . That randomness you describe leads me to think of cable connections

16 people found this helpful.
Best Answer Mark helpful
620

Hey, Thanks for your respond, I thought same thing,, and was looking at the wires, but did not disconect though, however I tried spraying a WD- 40 inside, thinking that may be it one of the brushes that getting stuck and that's causing, but it so neatly packed all the way around, that there is not even a little acsess to knock on it a little, You know.. However I think You are rite in being on the way out, cos being 2004 that's 11 years and still ttye OEM that's in there.. But logicly if it was on the way out, then it just should get worse and worse.rite-?? But it nust being random.... Only once when it came on, the car's exelarator wasn't responding, 4 few sec, till that light went Off, and the car went back to normal imideotltly. But it only happend ones, cos like.sad b4, when ever it comes on, even with lots of Load on, she just maintaines steady as., any diferent Thouts or still same-???

5 people found this helpful.

Pretty much same. The alternator can be a odd animal, work fine then act up then back to normal..with the movement of the belt spinning and car bumps. And Bingo, 11 years it's served you well, and most don't last that long. It has brushes, it's not an induction generator and they wear and a end-of-life get funky

4 people found this helpful.

Opps, sorry...you said it has brushes already. Didn't mean to come across as a know-it-all

2 people found this helpful.
620

Nah man, you cool, all good. I meant I presume that it most probably be the brushes ida worned out ( due to fact of 11 years dancing :)) ), or due to being worn out, may be one of them getting stuck... You know the funny thing is, my dad got a price from a mechanic for brand new one ( complete) of $500-00, and nit sure if that was including the labor or not, rite, but I stridaway thout, fuk, it like $3-60 for a pack of 10 on EBay ( or somthing simular ) or I even got 2 completly brand new ones at home from one of thous cheap garden electric sowers . And Iam most probably 150% could_v dis mental the old one from the car, and change thous brushes, and probably gave it a light restoration nudge( if you know what I mean Hahahaha) but fuk, like I sad in this car it is so neatly packed, and being on on the side and not in front, you know, it greatly reduces the excess to it!!! So b4 dismentaling the actual real thing, getting it of the car, I recon wuold be a Huge job and pain in the ass, it self!!! What you recon, makes cens-??? Lol.. And Yeh you got a point reg the bumps and belt, but I also Thout of the belt b4, but don't know if you knew, I didn't. :) but the belt on that model is self adjustable, you know like the Bimos, they got a little hydro lik set up next to the direction pulley, in the Bimos they sale this unit as one, new pulley and the hydro lik mechanism,they do come a part though and you can by it seperatly, but hey It All About Making The Big Bucks You know... Like I sad 4 me to do it wi new brushes+ cost of degreaser spray+ lubricant+ grease + my time(=0) hahahah total $10-00 if any.. New1 - $ 500-00. Still unsure if it wi labor or wiot...

2 people found this helpful.
115

I have same case, Battery light come and go way while given on gas. I have done alternator few months back, so I am planning to take to back to mechanic. Do am I still able to drive the car on road? I try to run in internal road for 3 to 5 mins, but I am scared to drive on road... Let me know you suggestion, thanks in advance ....

11 people found this helpful.
200

Same problem here. Battery light goes on and off randomly. Battery and alternator have both been checked and are fine. Mechanic said some connectors were bent and supposedly fixed them but light still goes off and on. Not set pattern of when our how often... Any other ideas would be appreciated. I have an 03 Ford Focus

18 people found this helpful.
50

I have the same issue 01 focus. What was your issue?

5 people found this helpful.
130

since 7 months i have changed the alternator to the new one but suddenly in this day the battery light on in a few second then the battery light became off. would please give the best answer of diagnostic

13 people found this helpful.
120

i have the same problem but the battery and alt checks out good. cleaned the terminal connections and they are ok...everything is normal but the light stays on. what could be a problem i dont know of..

12 people found this helpful.
90

I have the same issue I have a 2007 Ford focus I got my alternator checked and my battery they both good but the battery light goes on and off randomly it stays on for a second then goes off. Someone please help me please

9 people found this helpful.
200

I don't have an answer for you but as I posted earlier in this thread I have the same issue with my 03 Ford Focus. My light has been coming on and off for over a year (first came on January 2017). The battery and alternator have checked out fine. We have come to the conclusion that the light itself has a flaky connection. If anyone else has any suggestions I would welcome them.

2 people found this helpful.
10

I'm having the same issue with a 2001 Mercury Grand Marquis - I've replaced the alternator (it went suddenly), the battery (it was a few years old) and the terminal cables (one was fraying) and STILL have the light come on randomly. Usually when it comes up the max A/C acts up a little but still runs cold. Mechanic has checked it a number of times - can't come up with anything other than maybe a wiring issue with the light on the dash.

1 people found this helpful.
10

Check the belts battery terminal grounds to the battery alternator also even could be bad spark plugs weak wire or weak ignition coil

1 people found this helpful.
10

I'm having same issue. Battery light was on constantly, took car to the garage and the mechanic couldn't get the light to come on and car passed all the checks. However the following day the light was back on when I was driving to work but was not on when I was driving home and this pattern happened for a few days. I was advised by another mechanic to take my car a good run so drove down to the coast. Light was not on when I started my journey but came on during and the same happened on my return, wasn't on when I left but came on half way through. I stopped off at a few shops on the way back and the light never came back on

1 people found this helpful.
30

my light comes on and stays on I fool with the compass settings on dash after a time it will go off. then it will come on after a week.. i have new battery and alt

3 people found this helpful.

Same issue here I’ve got a 06 Ford Escape original alternator went out from a gasket cover leak recently have had replaced; the alternator, those gasket covers, and new battery. Light still coming on the dash but goes off. Have had many test ran and battery and alt are at testing fine. Done at autozone as well as a auto shop, we haven’t been able to figure out why the light keeps coming but it’s a nightmare trying to find the source of this issue. Ground cable was checked, as well as under hood fuse and relays, and positive charging cable.

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