Battery Light Comes On And Off

[jonlwowski012]

I have a 2006 Ford Focus and the battery light has been coming on and off for the past 8 months. I am going on a long road trip so I feel I really need to address this issue. I had my battery, alternator and started check and they are all fine. Also the light comes on for what seems like a every 20 minutes or so for a couple of minutes. Another thing is that I feel like it starting happening after getting an aftermarket stereo installed.

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[jeebowhite]

check the earth connection is good

[Dan62]

The wiring from the back of the alternator to the ECU is known to cause this issue, Depending on your alternator you should have either a 2 or 3 pin connector with 2 or 3 thinish wires coming from it. Check along the cable as much as you can, anywhere where it flexes or bends it is possible that the wire has fractured inside the insulation.

[jonlwowski012]

The wiring from the back of the alternator to the ECU is known to cause this issue, Depending on your alternator you should have either a 2 or 3 pin connector with 2 or 3 thinish wires coming from it. Check along the cable as much as you can, anywhere where it flexes or bends it is possible that the wire has fractured inside the insulation.

Is this an issue to worry about or should I be ok for my road trip?

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[jeebowhite]

It should be sorted. The battery could be drained in 20 minutes on the road leaving you stranded. Most breakdown recovery parties would refuse to come out to you more than once unless the issue has been rectified or at least attempted rectification

[jonlwowski012]

It should be sorted. The battery could be drained in 20 minutes on the road leaving you stranded. Most breakdown recovery parties would refuse to come out to you more than once unless the issue has been rectified or at least attempted rectification

I drive 40 minutes on a daily basis and have no problems. Do you think an 8 hour road trip would be a bad idea

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[jeebowhite]

I suggest get a code reader and a battery health check then go from there

[BOF]

I have a 2006 Ford Focus and the battery light has been coming on and off for the past 8 months. I am going on a long road trip so I feel I really need to address this issue.

So, address the issue. If you can't do something about it yourself, pay someone else to do it.

Also the light comes on for what seems like a every 20 minutes or so for a couple of minutes.

If that's what it does and keeps doing, you can probably survive that in daylight and if you are careful. On the other hand, there is no guarantee that it won't get worse and come on for 20 minutes with only two minutes working in between, and you won't survive that.

Another thing is that I feel like it starting happening after getting an aftermarket stereo installed.Another thing is that I feel like it starting happening after getting an aftermarket stereo installed.

Did you install the stereo, or did a professional do it? Do you know what wiring might have been disturbed?

Is this an issue to worry about or should I be ok for my road trip?

There is no evidence that you will be ok. You might get lucky. Or, not. How bad would it be if you broke down?

I drive 40 minutes on a daily basis and have no problems. Do you think an 8 hour road trip would be a bad idea

Well, you can only guess, but, if it was bad, it could be very bad.

Why not get it fixed? If you break down on a twenty minute trip that's one thing - you are always reasonably close to one end the other. Eight hours is different.

Do you have any voltage readings? Currents? How old is the battery? Do you trust the people who said that your battery and alternator were ok? What testing did they do?

PS: this is not a 'General Site |Request'.

Edited September 22, 2014 by BOF