Battery light stays on until ~4k

[dosh8er]

... I think that would be an alternator problem, and not necessarily a battery problem... whatdya guys/gals think? Any sure fire ways you know of to check... right now i'm about 3 hrs away from home, working as an intern at a theatre... so i really don't have a lot of time, but any other hints i could use... I noticed this yesterday, it was fine when I drove about 15 min. and stopped, then it sat for a while, i got back in to take off, and the light wouldn't shut off unless the rpms were above 4k.

It's been like this for a day now...

Should I drive on it to charge battery, or maybe that wouldn't be a good idea? At least it's a stick, and I can keep it in a lower gear

It runs like a top right now too.. got my valve lash adjustment just right... it PURRRRSS...

words welcomed.

[NXRacer]

take it to an autoparts store or an auto battery store. They should be able to do a free charging system check and tell you whats wrong and why its doing that.

[hondamanlxi]

thats gotta be a worn out alty! Autozone will do it for free (along with others)

[cruznz]

check the belt first,...possibly the brushs/sliprings are worn

[dosh8er]

Well... I had a squeeking belt, and threw some belt dressing on the belts, and the squeek stopped. Then today I took it for a drive (15min) and the light stopped for a while...

I'm thinking It might be my belt... however, the tension feels okay.

[RustyHo88]

it sounds like its just your belt. i had HUGE alternator problems when i had to take off the adjustor bolt above the alternator. when i took it off, it bent the bolt a little because the nut was rusted on the bolt pretty solidly. luckily, it was far enough down the shaft of the bolt that i could still get the nut on the bolt. however, because of the bend in the bolt, the tension of the belt fluxuated. and i see you also live in michigan, which probably means your car has its fair share of rust. so... check your tension. also, check to see that your alt wiring harness is in there tight, as well as the gound bolt on the top of the alt. the squeakiness from your alt might be because the bearings in your alt are going and not because of the tension. i like nxracers advice, take it to an auto parts store, or alternator / starter place, and have them test it for free. youve got nothing to lose. hope this helps.

[dosh8er]

I ripped off the alt yesterday, took it down to the napa, and had them test it. It was fine.. nothing wrong.

So i come back, slap it back on, and the light is gone. I drove it today for 15-30 min. it was fine.

Then i took it for a longer drive, 40 min. and the light comes on right as I start pulling up in the drive. ?

I might replace that belt... but it's awfully strange, I had the napa guy test the entire system out today, and it all checked out fine, even w/ load and such. Could this be a short somewhere? I tried the belt dressing again, it didn't help.

These are problems that bug me... the ones that are 'invisible'.

[rdn]

i would change the coal in the alternator and the charging relay if i were you....fairly easy to do and cheap too

[cruznz]

it's possibly a break-down with the diodes or regulator due to heat,...if you got a multimeter....connect to the "L" terminal,(wht/blue trace ,i think),on the alternator ,then start it and check voltage....or take it back to napa,and when they're doing their checks,get a hair dryer to simulate engine heat on the back of the alt.