I started to get a battery indicator light on when I start the car and stays on for awhile. I took the car to a Autozone and got a new battery yesterday. I then woke up this morning and had the same problem. I took it over to a Firestone and the Battery, Alternator, and Starter are testing fine. They also told me there is no significant voltage draw with the car off either. Anyone had this issue? The light stays on till I get halfway till my destination and shuts off. The car runs and starts fine.

 

What is the voltage at the battery before you start the car and again after it's started and running?

 

Keep in mind that the "battery" light does not tell you about the condition of the battery, but whether it's getting charged by the alternator. Really should be labeled "alt." There is also circuitry in some alternators that can fail and cause the light to come on even though the alternator is charging properly.

Was the light on when the Firestone place found everything to be OK?

Ken

 

No it was not.The light goes away when you are driving down the road after the initial start up after the car has been sitting for a long while. I do not have a volt meter to check it either. Other than the light the car runs and starts fine.

 

Get a cheapy meter $10....you will need it in life...it's not hard.....we will help you.

 

I had one it just broke.

 

Holy...I just looked up how much it is for an Alternator, $500!!! I am really glad I got the extended warranty and the alternator is covered. I might drop it off and have Mazda or Firestone fix it under warranty.

 

Take it to Mazda rather than Firestone. Mazda will know the specifics of your car's electrical system.

Ken

 

I do not know, they fumbled the last fix I had there and there is not another dealer nearby. I’m not too warm and fuzzy giving them my car back. However, they did give me a car to drive when it was in the shop. Firestone will not do that.

 

I too would recommend the Mazda dealer if you have a warranty. I have done the alternator on my 8 and it's a little tricky.

 

Mazda checked it out and it and they said is charging and working fine. I guess I'm going to have to wait for it to fail and tow the car in. However, everything is working fine now. I guess I'll see what happens.

 

Well I nearly got stranded this morning. I started the car and again saw that the battery light was on and the lights were a dim. I was low on gas and had to fill it up. When went to leave the service station the car started but kept cutting off and the instrument panel stopped working. I have been carrying a battery booster pack with me since this all started and had to give it a boost to get it running again. I'm going to drop it off at the dealer after work. There as to be something drawing power over the night, killing the battery or the alternator is not doing its job right.

 

I talked to the mechanic at the dealer and he is seeing allot of these type issues due to the heat right now. It sounded to him the alternator is on its way out, more specifically the voltage regulator. Anyone else having these type issues?

 

Yes my alternator went out too.

 

Did you have the same symptoms or did it just fail?

 

I started my car and backed out about a yard then it failed. Got a used one on line for $75. The dealer wanted $750....

 

The dealer still does not have my car fixed. Apparently they ordered the wrong alternator and waiting for another one. I find it pretty had to believe it takes two week to get the right alternator. It is official my car as been in the shop longer than at home since I bought it.

 

How so..................please explain.

No, I'm not being a smart ***.

 

Could've gone to Autozone and picked on up for roughly $130.00 if I recall.
Mine did go out last Summer. Changed it out fairly quickly and no issues since.

You got any aftermarket electronics in the car? You could ask the dealer to do a "dark current"(car off) test. Shouldn't be any more than about 50mA by spec.
The classic one here is that the trunk light remains on draining the battery overnight. Look through the trunk passthrough and see if the light is on. Even a shorted out taillight bulb can cause this issue. However.............This whole thing paragraph would be useless if it is infact your alternator.

 

The dealer has the most experience and hopefully could get it done correctly the first time and it's warranty. I've done many alternators on Mazdas as well as others. I got in to it and did what I've done in the past then I had a question so I looked for a DIY there was none. I searched in manuals and they were asking for the front bumper to be removed. What? By that time my back(I'm retired disable) had all it could take and I had to have the wife help rotate it out.



https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/there-no-diy-alternator-replacement-192581/

 

It did forget the disabled part..........my apologies, that would make it a good bit tougher for sure.
Wow.......why the hell would they want you to take the bumper off? Don't worry about answering..........it was rhetorical.
Don't want to threadjack further.

 

I finally got the car back today. Everything seems to be working right now.

 

Sorry.........so it was the alternator?
How much?
Anything else?

 

All said and done it the alternator and the coolant reservoir was replaced. The dealer also replaced the glove box assembly to take care of the rattle I was having, all covered under my extended warranty. I was shocked the glove box was covered. So I all I had to pay was my deductible.

However, when I picked the car up the passenger side tail lamp was full of water. I took it apart this weekend, dried it out and laid a bead of silicone around the gasket. Then put it back together. It rained all weekend and the seal seemed to hold.

I’m really glad to get my car back. Driving around in Chevy Aveos and Hyundai Accents were getting to me.