My battery recently gave out on me, so I replaced it..

Since the installation, Oil pressure light, Coolant light, Check engine light, ABS light, and Battery charge light comes on.. it will go away and come back, no real rhythm to it.. not sure what could be the cause of the problem.. I didnt touch anything else but the battery..

It didn't affect the way the car ran or anything either, still runs smooth, just lights bug me!!

Not sure would could be triggering this..

<<rookie with electronical equipment..

 

Sounds like an alternator to me.

 

yuh huh, check that

 

It's your alternator as the other guys said. You probably replaced a perfectly good battery!

 

yeah i had the same problem
it was the alternator
when all the lights go on it means your battery is dying
and if you rev or drive the car the lights will go away
meaning your battery is being drained constantly because of a bad alternator.
if you changed the battery already, that means its the alternator for sure

 

Dying alternator, I've been through 3 since I got the car (4 years)...

 

Agreed. I took it to the local AutoZone and PepBoys w/ the same symptoms. Both told me my alternator was fine and that I needed a new battery. Well, it turns out it was the alternator.

 

a thing to check as our cars start to get older is that the alt is getting a full 12v to it to begin with. batt cables get old and bulid up resistance due to age heat and acid. checking the voltage drop of the poss feed to the alt is a good idea when probs come up. only takes a minute. healthy car should put out ~14v at idle

 

ah i see, cuz i took my car to an auto parts store, and they said i needed a new battery, hmh sucks for me..

edit: p.s. they told me it wasnt my alternator, and besides .. my car wouldnt start anymore, and after i replaced the battery it started again.. and battery has been around for a good while.. could it be both alt and batt?

 

No, your dead alternator drained the battery, and that's why it wouldn't start. Probably nothing too much wrong with the battery to begin with.

 

Your car can start and run with a dead or DYING alternator for a while, but eventually it'll take its toll on the battery. When my alternator died on my daily driver (and the FD was down for winter), I drove to and from the auto parts store WITHOUT the alternator hooked up. 30 minutes each way of nervous acceleration and timid braking for fear of using too much juice to turn on the brake lights. I didn't kill that battery because I brought it home and immediately recharged it when I replaced the alternator. You are using the power of the battery without recharging it correctly. Your electrical system needs to ALL be in correct funcitonal order for EACH piece to function correctly.

 

Saw something today that impressed me. Started a 97 supra then removed the battery. The car continued to run fine. They told me that's the way to check if your alt. is going bad. Once the car starts the alt does all the work. If you disconnect the battery and the car dies then its your altenator. Now i'm not sure about bogging the electrical down with using all the accessories but I defintely watched this car run for 5 minutes with out the battery in it. Go figure.

 

/\ that is a seriously old school "bubba" mech. test from days of alt and generators running not much more than the coil. who wants to be the "1 in a thosand" guy who frags the elec system while doing this. pretty dumb test