Battery light ON...new alternator and battery....now what? HELP!

[braysmom]

We have a 98 Grand Prix GT and have just had the alternator rebuilt. (Dropped my son off at preschool and came back to start car and nothing-my hubby looked at and determined it was the alternator) After installing new alternator I again was taking my son to preschool and was almost home when car starting going "crazy"! Track light off came on, interior lights dimmed, sluggish acceleration, battery light on, etc. Luckily made it into the driveway before it died completely! Hubby suggested putting battery on charge until he could get home. After he got home, he checked out everything and it seemed fine. So, he then took it to a mechanic friend to have them test the alt. and battery and they both checked out GOOD. So, in the meantime, no probs again until y-day! Family was on the way to Charlotte when battery light came on again. We stopped to look at and checked all battery cables etc and they were good. My hubby turned off car to see if it would restart and it didnt. (Thankfully we had brought and extra battery in case) Installed other battery and it fired right up! Made it back home with no probs. No we are here! My hubby is great with cars and solving probs but this has him stumped! Any suggestions???? THANKS SO MUCH!

[commutergp]

Originally Posted by braysmom

We have a 98 Grand Prix GT and have just had the alternator rebuilt. (Dropped my son off at preschool and came back to start car and nothing-my hubby looked at and determined it was the alternator) After installing new alternator I again was taking my son to preschool and was almost home when car starting going "crazy"! Track light off came on, interior lights dimmed, sluggish acceleration, battery light on, etc. Luckily made it into the driveway before it died completely! Hubby suggested putting battery on charge until he could get home. After he got home, he checked out everything and it seemed fine. So, he then took it to a mechanic friend to have them test the alt. and battery and they both checked out GOOD. So, in the meantime, no probs again until y-day! Family was on the way to Charlotte when battery light came on again. We stopped to look at and checked all battery cables etc and they were good. My hubby turned off car to see if it would restart and it didnt. (Thankfully we had brought and extra battery in case) Installed other battery and it fired right up! Made it back home with no probs. No we are here! My hubby is great with cars and solving probs but this has him stumped! Any suggestions???? THANKS SO MUCH!

Hi braysmom,

Sounds to me like you have either a bad wire somewhere or a bad connection at the battery. Since your hubby replaced the battery and it runs great, I would lean more towards the connection at the battery.....FYI, on GM cars there can be NO crud on the connections for the battery whatsoever. I use Dielectric silicone at the battery connections and have no problems.
Mark

[richtazz]

I think you have an intermittent short in the battery, and it happened to be ok when the mechanic checked it out. If the car continues to perform ok with the new battery, I'd say you found your problem. Keep us posted as to whether the problem re-occurs.

[braysmom]

Originally Posted by richtazz

I think you have an intermittent short in the battery, and it happened to be ok when the mechanic checked it out. If the car continues to perform ok with the new battery, I'd say you found your problem. Keep us posted as to whether the problem re-occurs.

Thanks so much for your responses. So far we have had no problems since the Charlotte trip when we replaced the battery. I hope that fixed the problem but if not I will be sure and keep you posted. Have a great day! ~

[ericvrose]

I agree with the bad/dirty battery cables. They have to be polished with a wire brush and so does the terminal on the battery.