Help Battery Light On
 

On October 8 My battery light came on and turned off about 15 min drive. This also happeded on October 9 and 10. It was only happening when I would turn on my car in the morning and the rest of the day the battery light never comes on.
On October 11 morning my battery light was on and as I started driving my power steering turn off, ABS turned off, brake light flashing. I drove the car back home and turned it off.
I needed to charged my battery and I drove it to walmart and bought a new battery.
On October 12 morning my battery came on again. I took in the car to Mazda but by the time I got there the battery light turned off. I paid for a diagnostics test and they said nothing is wrong with the car.
On October 13 morning again the battery light turned on againand turned off about 10 mins of driving. I called Mazda and told them my battery light was on and they made an appointment to see the car next week.
On October 14 morning the battery light was on so I decided to take the car back to Walmart and get a new battery. Walmart changed the battery, but the light never turned off after the new battery
On October 15 morning the battery light came on again and as I was driving the car started loosing power steering turn off, ABS turned off, brake light flashing. I made a u turn and went back home and I turned off the car.
I called Mazda and they told me to bring in the car. I charged to battery and headed to the mazda dealership. On the way there the battery light came on and I stared loose power steering turn off, ABS turned off, brake light flashing and the speed dial went to 0the car never shut off and the the battery light went off and the car started running again perfect.

Has anyone had a simmilar issue? I left the car at Mazda for them to look at


Thanks

the alternator in the car is "smart", meaning it's got external inputs from the computer and whatnot to tell it how to charge. So either the connections are bad, or the alternator itself has some issues preventing it from charging. It sounds like a classic bad alternator / low charge problem... basically it's not able to charge with enough current to get the battery up to voltage quickly (thus batt light) but able to charge some which eventually turned the light off.
I'd ask if some of those times if it was night so the headlights were on, keeping the battery more drained than other times... but in any case, i'd vote it's the alternator.

My 2006 M3 is having same battery light warning followed by electrical power failure after driving a while as above. I also have whining noise from alternator area at idle. (I have no electrical mods.)

Has your problem been diagnosed and fixed???

BTW... I have replaced battery and a volt meter on leads at local part store showed normal alternator output.

Thanks.

hi, i am also having the same problem with my mazda 3. i have the 2006 model with the 2000cc engine with vvt. my battery light comes on in the morning, stays on for like 10 to 15 mins then goes off. i was driving the car like this for a week now.

on some evenings the light comes on as well for about 10 to 15mins then goes off. this problem only started recently. i took the car and it was tested and i was told nothing was wrong with the car.

can some one help me as to why this is happening?

Sounds like internal bearing noise within the alternator, or drive belt idler pulley bearing. If it's directly from the alternator, replacing it is the only solution. Good or Bad.

~Mud

I've seen similar problems on other vehicles. Where did you get it tested? If at your local auto parts store... it's hard to really tell sometimes.

1) Have you checked the Voltage of the battery before you drove it and after? Was a "Load" put on your charging system?

2) It also could be an internal regulator issue being intermittent and may take some time before your battery light is always illuminated.

~Mud

I hope you figured out the problem is your alternator is "about to die". Yes, my alternator tested normal twice. I ended up changing alternator (was easy to do at home) and problem solved, over a year now. Apparently the alternator will go in and out for a while,(possibly made worse by the electrical draw from a weak/old battery (made also need replacing)), before it completely fails. It will test normal during this time. When it really fails you will start loosing all electrical components while you are driving... including power steering, which is scary on the road. Good luck.

yes, the same thing i experience.. the battery charging indicator is turning on and off... i bought new battery, same thing happen, i drove from my office to my residence and stall right before our driveway... i am planning to bring it tomorrow to the dealership

Alternator
 

I also think that it's an alternator issue. Hope your dealer gets diagnose the root cause of the problem.

I have been having the same problem for the past 13 months now, i also changed my battery two times but the problem is still there. Did you find the solution? if you did you can share with me.

You may have a problem with the alternator. Have you done any testing? Put a meter across the battery terminals while it is running. You should be getting 14 volts.