2000 Infiniti G20 Battery and brake light on

KMLC

MEMBER
2000 INFINITI G20
AUTOMATIC
118,000 MILES

The battery and brake lights went on last week. I had it towed to my mechanic who said the alternator and valve cover gasket needed to be replaced. I replaced my alternator and two days after driving it (~80 mi total), the same lights went on again together.

I bought the car from a used dealer six months ago and don't know how old the battery, etc. Are. Could this mean the battery is bad? Or the connections? I'll have the car checked again this week but I'm wondering if it is dangerous to drive. I'm a new driver and don't know what the battery light could signify.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,700 POSTS

The battery light should only come on if the alternator isn't charging the battery. A weak battery won't turn it on. However, if the alt is not able to charge the battery due to an issue within the battery itself, that can turn the light on. What I recommend is this. Remove the battery and fully charge it. Take it to a nationally recognized parts store and have them load test the battery to see if it is good. They should do it for free. Once we determine if that battery is good or not, then we can move onto to charging issues.

If you can't get to a place to test the battery for you, try this test but make sure the battery is full charged before doing it.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-battery

Once you know the battery is good, do the following test:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-to-check-a-car-alternator