Intermittent Brake / Batt indicator light

[prginocx]

I had the typical odometer issue where it works when it wants to, so I sent the whole cluster off to get this repaired. Now I've got it back, the odometer works fine, at least so far, but now sometimes the Brake / Batt indicator lights come on together. Not the ABS, the red Brake for the E-Brake. And everything runs fine, vehicle starts and runs fine so far. I mean if the Batt indicator was for real, I'd have some problem soon, right ? Like the alternator not charging or a dead battery or something.

 

I guess they screwed this up when they were trying to fix the Odometer issue ? Where do I start troubleshooting a problem like this ?

 

Sometimes I drive it and they never come one. Sometimes they come on and stay on until they next time I start the pathy. Sometimes they never come on...

 

But they always come on together ? Is there really any connection between the E-brake light and the Batt light ? Uuuugh, I hate this kind of $hit.

[adamzan]

Typically that means your alternator is crapping out. You must have a 5 speed truck, as when you get that on an auto you will get the brake, batt, and AT temp lights all at once.

 

I would check your belt tension and battery connections first. I know for me when I used to splash through a huge puddle I'd get that.

[kiwipete]

Check the level of your brake fluid, I had that issue when the reservoir was getting a bit low.

[prginocx]

Check the level of your brake fluid, I had that issue when the reservoir was getting a bit low.

[prginocx]

Well, I guess the good news is the odometer is working fine. Suppose I have the Brake and Batt light ON when the truck is running, if I jump it with my other truck, won't that cause them to go out ? I mean it puts a good battery in parallel with my " supposedly " faulty system, so the Batt light should go out, right ?

 

BTW, you are correct, this is a 5spd. I just find it very peculiar that the alt suddenly " failed " when I removed / replaced the instrument cluster.

Edited November 2, 2010 by prginocx

[sewebster]

So both light bulbs are on for sure, it's not just one causing the next-door one to appear lit up?

 

You could pull the cluster and see if anything funky is going on back there I guess, but I'm not sure what you'd really find.

[adamzan]

Well, I guess the good news is the odometer is working fine. Suppose I have the Brake and Batt light ON when the truck is running, if I jump it with my other truck, won't that cause them to go out ? I mean it puts a good battery in parallel with my " supposedly " faulty system, so the Batt light should go out, right ?

 

BTW, you are correct, this is a 5spd. I just find it very peculiar that the alt suddenly " failed " when I removed / replaced the instrument cluster.

It might but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't because there is the charge wire, ground wire and a connector on the alternator that goes to the ecu for monitoring purposes. What I would do is check the voltage at the battery with a multimeter. If it is below 13 volts with nothing on (radio, lights etc..) your alternator isn't charging.

 

And I hear you on the suddenly failed thing. I bought another 95 pathfinder to fix up as a work truck and I went to start it one day and it had those lights and the alty wasn't charging. It is 15 years old though, but still sucked

Edited November 2, 2010 by adamzan

[prginocx]

Well, you guys were right, the alternator was bad, so I replaced it with one from Napa. The Batt and Brake light went off and stayed off, so that is a done deal.

 

On a related note, I did the relay / starter solenoid modification, and it seems to be really solid in terms of actuating the starter solenoid every single time that relay closes. I used a relay from NTE and the Part No. is R25-5D16-12. SPDT handles a maximum of 16 amps and only needs 12VDC and .045 amps to activate the coil.

[R3DN1CK]

Check the level of your brake fluid, I had that issue when the reservoir was getting a bit low.

This is what caused mine. Low fluid in the master cyl.