battery not charging light came on

ANSWER : Hi there. What you are describing is common with an alternator failure or problems with the charging system in your Chrysler. The battery is supposed to supply power to the vehicle before starting the car, in which time the alternator takes over. If the alternator is damaged, the car will continue running off the battery and drain it. This is what tends to cause the clicking issue when you turn the key. It is probably a good idea to verify this problem before attempting repairs, by having a professional mobile mechanic come to your location and complete a battery will not hold a charge inspection.

ANSWER : Hi, thanks for writing in. This may be a sign of a failing starter relay. The starter relay is a small unit near the starter that directs power to the starter from the battery. When this fails, it may cause a clicking sound and will not allow the starter to engage the flywheel when you turn the key. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your home to diagnose your starting issue to determine the solution to get you back on the road.

ANSWER : The alternator on this vehicle is computer controlled and if the alternator is not communicating to the computer then it may default to a set charging rate that will show up as good when testing using standard methods. The computer and charging system needs to be tested using a scanner that is compatible that can check and test charging rates. You most likely do have a bad alternator on the car.

ANSWER : I would still recommend getting the alternator and battery tested. The most likely cause would be the alternator. The alternator can have an intermittent failure that causes it to charge and not charge randomly. If this turns out to be the case after testing, I would recommend having the alternator replaced. I would also be a good idea to have the battery fully charged while the alternator is being replaced to ensure that the vehicle starts easily. If you need help testing the vehicle, a certified professional from YourMechanic can come to your car’s location to diagnose the battery light and proceed with the correct repair.

ANSWER : As you may yourself have seen, there are many reports of this fault with the Civic, that is a battery or alternator is replaced only to have the warning light fail to extinguish despite checking every conceivable electrical possibility. Your only recourse is to have a certified mechanic go through that exercise with your car and that involves first attempting to "re-set" the light. If the warning light returns, the alternator output has to be carefully measured both loaded and unloaded. All terminal connections have to be verified including all grounds. Fuses have to be checked for integrity (continuity) and the possibility of shorts, in for example dash wiring, has to be checked. To request this repair, simply request an electrical components diagnostic and the responding certified mechanic will seek a resolution to this.

ANSWER : Batteries can die due to faults in the charging system so ideally a suspected "faulty" battery should be load tested before a decision is made to condemn it. The only exception to this rule is if the battery is already clearly "old" (greater than 5 years) but even then once you put a new battery in, as a replacement for a "dead" battery, you have to comprehensively check out the charging system. Diagnostic Trouble Code P0460 will result in disruption of the dashboard fuel gauge’s ability to accurately report your tank’s fuel levels. The fuel gauge readings may be erratic, or read somewhere off scale. Vehicles equipped with a low fuel warning light feature may also suffer from erratic low fuel warnings in the event of a code P0460. Unless the P0460 code has been reported alongside other trouble code, all of the vehicle’s essential systems should otherwise function normally. I would recommend that you request a check engine light diagnostic to first resolve the fault causing the P0460 code to set. The check gas cap light warning light could be due a faulty gas cap and/or small leaks in the EVAP system.

ANSWER : Hi. If the Battery Light is on, this an indication that either the battery is bad, the alternator is not charging properly, or both of them are bad. Low battery voltage will cause the car to do abnormal things like have no headlights. There are other things that can cause headlights to not work as well, for example, a blown fuse, broken headlight relay, or, the most common cause, blown headlight bulbs.

I suggest you have a certified technician, such as one from YourMechanic, come to your location to determine why the Battery Light is on and suggest the necessary repairs.

ANSWER : Depending on whether your truck came with electric power steering or hydraulic power steering, this could have been caused by failing power steering whether it be hydraulic or electric. To provide steering assistance in an electronic power steering system, an electric motor mounted to the side of the rack housing drives a ball-screw mechanism via a toothed rubber belt. The screw engages a spiral cut in the outside of the steering rack. A torque sensor attached to the pinion shaft signals a control computer when to provide assistance. There are a number of things that can fail with the electronics involved in this kind of a system.

In a hydraulic power steering system, the power steering system is driven by a belt on a pulley that is driven by the motor. Your car has a power steering pressure switch that sends a signal to the engine computer when the steering wheel is turned. In response, the engine computer commands the fuel injectors to introduce a little more fuel into the motor to help to compensate for the additional load that the power steering pump places on the motor. If something in this circuit is not working properly, the engine will not be compensated with more fuel as needed when the extra load on the engine is applied, and the engine will stumble, or stall. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your vehicle.