When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
Recently the battery light in my truck came on. Last night while driving, when I turned on my lights, the radio independently turned off. After stopping, I turned the lights off and the radio turned back on. My truck starts just fine and it has given good performance; I take good care of it. The radio is a stock radio. Do you think that the alternator or the battery are causing this problem with the lights and the radio?
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
Hello. It sounds like the battery and/or alternator is causing the electrical problems that you are experiencing. The battery light coming on in the dashboard is an indication that there is a problem with the battery and low voltage may cause the vehicle to do some crazy things. I would recommend that you have a certified technician, like one from YourMechanic, come and complete an inspection of the electrical system in order to pinpoint the problem.
How to Identify and Fix Common car Problems ?
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An illuminated battery light could be due to a number of issues, including: A loose or corroded battery cable. A problem with the alternator or voltage regulator. Damaged cells or plates inside the battery.
If your battery warning light comes on whilst you`re driving, it means that your battery is no longer being charged by the alternator and is running only on its own charge. That means that your car is only running on battery power that will eventually run out, bringing your car to a halt.
If the warning light illuminates while driving, it indicates a malfunction of the alternator or of the charging system. Drive to the side of the road and park off the right-of-way. Consult an Authorized Mazda Dealer.
If your alternator is failing, its voltage may drop below capacity, causing the battery warning light to appear on your dash. Similarly, the battery light will also appear if the alternator is exceeding its voltage limit, depending on how much stress it is under.
Probably, the most common symptom associated with a bad regulator is flickering, dimming, or pulsing lights. To be more specific, you may notice that the vehicle`s: Headlights fluctuate between bright and dim, without you doing anything. High beam isn`t working as expected.
“If the [battery`s] voltage is low, replace with a new battery or charge the battery to the recommended 14.2 to 14.7 volts,” he says. “Then try to run the vehicle and see if the voltage after is outside of that range. If it is, that`s a sign of a bad alternator.”
One of the most common problems you`re likely to experience with an alternator is a failure in the bearings. There are needle bearings in the alternator that allow the rotor to freely spin inside the housing, and those bearings can break down over time as a result of exposure to heat and dirt.
There are several reasons why the car battery light might come on, but generally, the reasons are: A car battery that`s dying. Ruined car battery connections. Misconnected car battery connections.
HOW TO DIAGNOSE A FAILING ALTERNATOR. If you have a “Check Engine” light on, connect a code reader to the diagnostic port. If you find code P0562, you very likely have a failing alternator (note that codes may vary by vehicle make/model/year).
A bad battery won`t usually harm your starter or alternator, however, since both of those components get their voltage directly from the battery, if the battery is underperforming, both the alternator`s and starter`s performance will be affected as well.
How A Bad Alternator Can Drain a Battery. Contrary to its purpose, an alternator can drain a battery. It`s rare, but it`s possible. A draw on the battery only occurs if there`s a problem with either a component in the alternator itself or connections to it.
If your alternator voltage regulator is working correctly, your battery`s voltage output should cap around 14.5V. If the reading is above 14.5V, you likely have a faulty voltage regulator. If the reading is below 13.8V, your battery is weak and will probably need a replacement.
If you`re hearing a grinding sound in your car, this could indicate that the alternator is going bad. The grinding sound may be caused by a worn-out bearing. Your car can also make a whining sound when the voltage regulator is sending signals to the alternator to charge more than is necessary.
Set your multimeter to DCV (DC Volts) above 15. Make sure your alternator`s positive and negative terminals are clean. Put the multimeter`s black cable to the negative terminal and the red cable to the positive terminal. Look for an ideal alternator reading of around 12.6.
If your alternator fails when you`re far from home, you can typically drive up to 200 miles on battery power alone. That`s assuming your battery is in good shape and fully charged. Of course, it`s best to get the alternator repaired or replaced as soon as you can.
Bad Sensors
One common culprit for this problem is the crankshaft position sensor, which measures the position and speed of the crankshaft. The computer uses the information from this sensor to know when to fire the spark plugs. If the sensor isn`t working, the spark plugs won`t fire, keeping the engine from starting.
Can You Jumpstart a Car With a Bad Alternator? It`s possible that your car will start even if your alternator is bad, but it will probably stall once the battery runs out of enough power to keep things running the way they should.
I did a bit of research and found a battery reset is required to resolve the issue. The message can reset by itself, but the car needs to sit undisturbed for at least eight hours. Perhaps with your work/driving schedule the car doesn`t sit long enough.
I did a bit of research and found a battery reset is required to resolve the issue. The message can reset by itself, but the car needs to sit undisturbed for at least eight hours. Perhaps with your work/driving schedule the car doesn`t sit long enough.
How long can I drive my car with the battery light on? If your battery light stays on while you drive, you`ll have roughly 30-60 minutes to drive with your battery lights on before your car may start stalling.
If the warning light fails to illuminate when the ignition is turned on, there are two possible causes. One is that the warning light bulb may simply have blown. This could be due to old age. The other possibility is a fault in the charging circuit – if the generator is overcharging it may cause the bulb to blow.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
Battery light goes on when I start car then turns off, if I rev engine light comes back until rpms go down. Abs goes comes on/off
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.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
ANSWER : Hello. It sounds like the battery and/or alternator is causing the electrical problems that you are experiencing. The battery light coming on in the dashboard is an indication that there is a problem with the battery and low voltage may cause the vehicle to do some crazy things. I would recommend that you have a certified technician, like one from YourMechanic, come and complete an inspection of the electrical system in order to pinpoint the problem.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
Engine Light and AT light. Car goes into limp mode
ANSWER : Hello. Most of the time this is the result of a transmission failure. It is common for this transmission to have internal pressure problem which will cause these codes. It can also be a voltage problem so I always check that first. I check the voltage going to the transmission and if it is too low I repair that issue which is commonly the ignition switch. If the voltage is fine, then the transmission pressures need to be checked and it will more than likely need to be replaced. I would have a transmission specialist look into this.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
No dash lights, back right tail light is out, no parking lights. Brake lights work though as does head lights.
ANSWER : Hi there. In many cases, when you have electrical problems like you’re describing, it’s caused by multiple electrical component failure. It’s likely that a few electrical relays are not working; especially if you have systems that utilize the same components (such as your brake light and tail lights). I would recommend having a professional mobile mechanic come to your location to complete an electrical problems inspection first, so they can pinpoint what is damaged and recommend the right repairs.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
My dash lights, radio, and gauge cluster on my 2007 Nissan 350z are not coming on when the car is started or in accessory mode.
ANSWER : I see no reports of the issue (in the NHTSA database, for instance) you are describing and so there are no obvious clues. You are lucky, though, that the issue is not now intermittent because all that you need do is use the wiring diagram from the Factory Service Manual to trace (using a volt ohmmeter) even one of the circuits and you will eventually find the interruption in the power source. The fault could be a micro solid state relay, a fusible link (not a fuse), a bad ground, high resistance in a wire, a faulty control module on a printed circuit board and so forth. Regardless of what the fault is, or where in the circuit it is, if you request a diagnostic the responding certified mechanic will simply trace the circuit, per the wiring diagram, find the fault and fix it. The service to request is a non functioning electrical component diagnostic. If you have further questions or concerns, do not hesitate to re-contact YourMechanic as we are always here to help you.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
Low coolant light comes on when AC, defrost or heater is on, but only if the car is in gear and stopped, what’s wrong with my car?
ANSWER : First, you want to make sure your cooling system is full. Check the radiator not the coolant jug. And check it when it is cold. If it needs coolant, add some. Of course, I don’t feel this problem is an actual low coolant condition. I would expect to find an electrical failure in the instrument cluster or from a component or wiring harness that is connected to the instrument cluster.
As a technician, I have access to reports from technicians across the country. I could not find any reports of this problem, so diagnosing this will require an experienced tech as this is not a common problem. In addition, this happens at intermittent times making it difficult to recreate. The most challenging part of this diagnosis will be recreating the symptom. I suspect it has something to do with the brake switch circuitry because it only seems to happen when you have your foot on the brake. I would begin my diagnosis there with a wiring diagram and test light in hand. The brake switch, instrument cluster, and environmental controls all interact with each other. Something is crossed either because of a failed module or damaged wiring in a harness.
Aside from making sure the coolant is full, this will not likely leave you on the side of the road. If you take it in to be diagnosed, be prepared for them to spend more time than usual to figure it out. Since it isn’t a key problem, you may need to live with it until it completely fails making it much easier to diagnose. Either way, I do recommend having a certified mechanic diagnose the warning light to make sure there isn’t anything serious going on.
Good luck.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
Rear brake light, and some interior lights don’t come on unless I’m braking
ANSWER : Hello. Replacing the stop light socket with a new one should have solved the intermittent problem of the stop light not working all of the time. It is possible that when you tweaked the socket, it caused a short to ground. This could explain why the dash lights only come on when you press the brakes.
The first thing that I would suggest is that the stop light socket be replaced. After replacing the stop light socket, if the dash lights still only come on when you press the brake pedal, the wiring for the dashboard will need to be inspected for any shorts to ground or bare wires touching metal that it shouldn’t touch. Since this issue started as a rear light problem, I would start with having your rear lights inspected by a certified technician, such as one from YourMechanic.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
Abs light, emergency brake light, steering wheel assist light, engine light, EPC light, traction control light
ANSWER : Hello, thank you for writing in. The vehicle does utilize a lot of the same sensors for these systems. Are there any other codes that are coming up when this code appears? If so you will want to take these into consideration when processing the repair and making a diagnosis. The module may be bad, and replacing it should fix the problem. The lights should turn off once the main computer recognizes the new module and the sensors sync up. If you believe the sensors need to be cleaned you may do so. Do as minimal as possible to make sure you are not damaging the sensor or disrupting the wiring inside. A bad connection would make the lights stay on. With so many lights that are effected by the module being illuminated, the module is likely bad or does not have a connection. Check the connection first and then resort to replacing the unit. For more help with these electrical tests, contact our service department.
Read Full Q/A … : When lights come on, radio goes off and visa versa
