Wife's G4 just had the battery light come on again after 2 years.

[Top_Fuel]

Dirk...any time you have charging system issues, it's a good idea to get the battery load tested so you know for certain that your battery is not part of the problem. Heat is a battery killer. Even though your battery is "only" 2 years old, that doesn't mean jack squat because you live in a super hot environment. Your battery may still be weak. I'm NOT telling you to put in a new battery. Just test the one you have so you know it's good. It could be perfectly fine.

I'm with Fummins on that connection looking a little questionable (who has rust on their alternator output?!? ).

Anyway...corrosion can creep up the strands of a cable and you don't even know it because it's not visible. You want to verify that the connection between your battery and alternator doesn't have excessive resistance. Get your friend with the multi-meter and you can do a 2-minute check to verify that your connection is good by doing a voltage drop test on it.

[Dirk Diggler]

Dirk...any time you have charging system issues, it's a good idea to get the battery load tested so you know for certain that your battery is not part of the problem. Heat is a battery killer. Even though your battery is "only" 2 years old, that doesn't mean jack squat because you live in a super hot environment. Your battery may still be weak. I'm NOT telling you to put in a new battery. Just test the one you have so you know it's good. It could be perfectly fine.

I'm with Fummins on that connection looking a little questionable (who has rust on their alternator output?!? ).

Anyway...corrosion can creep up the strands of a cable and you don't even know it because it's not visible. You want to verify that the connection between your battery and alternator doesn't have excessive resistance. Get your friend with the multi-meter and you can do a 2-minute check to verify that your connection is good by doing a voltage drop test on it.

Thank you top fuel. We did test the battery, it was fine. I'm rolling the dice here but my friend says it'll hold just fine and this guy is no automotive slouch. I watched him completely rebuild the engine and electrical system of his Honda S2000 SR and he's an engineer for Lockheed Martin, so I gotta take a leap of faith.

With that said, I know you and Fummins are trying to look out for me and I thank you. I just have to test it to see if it'll hold. I'll post continuous updates.

[Top_Fuel]

A voltage drop test on that alternator cable will tell you for 100% CERTAINTY that the wire and connections between your alternator and battery are good. Then you don't have to wonder about it. No dice rolling or faith required. Takes about 2 minutes of time.

[Dirk Diggler]

A voltage drop test on that alternator cable will tell you for 100% CERTAINTY that the wire and connections between your alternator and battery are good. Then you don't have to wonder about it. No dice rolling or faith required. Takes about 2 minutes of time.

I should of been more clear sorry, the alternator tested correct as well.

[Dirk Diggler]

Wife did her 30 minute drive to work today. No issues with the idiot light going off. I told her to drive on the highway with the AC on full blast, be doing 75 mph, lights on, radio on high, dome light on, etc. anything to stress that alternator connection out in order to see if a battery light would come on, nothing did, so it looks like we got it crimped in there good with enough clean copper wiring intact.

[Dirk Diggler]

Check out this used 2017 Mirage alternator for sale on ebay. The connector looks like its in exactly the same condition as ours, corrosion and everything.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/14353120680...0dc17777f8ee8a

[dspace9]

Could that be "normal" wear and tear? Typical wear and tear? Better wording there sorry.

Seems more than a coincidence that your 2 year old battery --/light comes on at this time. Maybe peace of mind is just buying a good quality battery and keep on motoring. I upgraded my battery before my original battery failed. I got 7 years out of the factory one. I forget the brand, new battery has been very good, never had the dash light for battery.

I have my check engine light on but that is from my evap leak. You can smell a little bit of gas the first 5 mins of starting up but goes away.

[Top_Fuel]

Check out this used 2017 Mirage alternator for sale on ebay. The connector looks like its in exactly the same condition as ours, corrosion and everything.

The bolt looks a little discolored...maybe a little surface rust?



Yours just looks a little extra-crispy...

[Fummins]

I have my check engine light on but that is from my evap leak. You can smell a little bit of gas the first 5 mins of starting up but goes away.

If you ever decide to post what code has been popping up for the last 3 or so years I'm sure someone will try to help you figure it out. Until then put tape over the light and pretend it's fixed.

I have learned to completely ignore the airbag light on my car. But I actually know what the code is and how to fix it(there's a recall that'll take care of it). I'm just too lazy to take it in.

[Dirk Diggler]

The bolt looks a little discolored...maybe a little surface rust?



Yours just looks a little extra-crispy... :

Its still conducting though. The slightly lower than normal current is bugging me a little bit, so we'll just have to see.

I talked to my wife about possibly selling it to CarMax for $9800 if that battery light comes back on. I don't want to deal with electrical gremlins and fried wiring all over the place. She likes the Outlander Sport so we might put 10Gs down on a new one, but she loves her little G4 so we're going to hold onto it for as long as we can. What we're not going to do is dump $2k or $3k into it though, hell no.