Battery light on, already changed battery and Alternator what could it be?

[TannerJac]

After my car died on the side of the road from lack of electricity, I went to Napa and bought an alternator, which didn't keep the car running, so I replaced the battery as well. It started up fine, however over the last 3 days the battery light appears after about a minute of driving...What else could it be?

[RalphT]

Originally Posted by TannerJac

After my car died on the side of the road from lack of electricity, I went to Napa and bought an alternator, which didn't keep the car running, so I replaced the battery as well. It started up fine, however over the last 3 days the battery light appears after about a minute of driving...What else could it be?

Besides the red light, is the battery charging OK after replacing the battery and alternator? Is your car still dying? What year do you have?

[TannerJac]

Originally Posted by RalphT

Besides the red light, is the battery charging OK after replacing the battery and alternator? Is your car still dying? What year do you have?

It is a 1999. I can't tell if it is charging or not. The battery is new and I have driven it 3 or 4 times sine I put the new battery and alterator in. I basically just waiting to see if it will die or if the battery light is just a bad sensor.

[RalphT]

Originally Posted by TannerJac

It is a 1999. I can't tell if it is charging or not. The battery is new and I have driven it 3 or 4 times sine I put the new battery and alterator in. I basically just waiting to see if it will die or if the battery light is just a bad sensor.

It's not a good idea to let the battery die because they are not meant to be deep cycled. You can ruin the battery. What you need to do is start the car and turn on the headlights at night. With the headlights still on turn off the engine and see if the headlights are the same brightness. If they are then your battery is charging. You can also check the alternator by hooking up a simple voltmeter across the + and - terminals. If the battery reads a higher voltage when the car is running..say around 14volts then you know the alternator is doing it's job. Then you know you might have another problem like the cluster light or a wire is bad.

[patarusky]

Are you sure it's a battery warning light and not the overflow tank light? It's on the right hand side of your dash. It looks just like a battery with a cap on it and it's red. The battery light has a positive and a negative mark on it and it's just to the left of the other light. It means you need coolant in the tank that's on the right inside fender by the shock mount. That tank level should be no less than an inch from the top.If you turn on the key but don't start the car you can see both of these lights at the same time.