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I have a 2004 Ford Escape Limited on which the battery light has been coming on randomly for varying amounts of time while the vehicle is in active operation.

I have checked the battery cables and fuses, and the only thing I can see is that the light comes on by itself sometimes. It will occasionally stay on for an hour on a long trip, and other times only come on for 30 seconds, then not come on again at all during the rest of the journey.

What cause(s) can there be behind the light? I'm trying to get a feel before heading to my mechanic.

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As a Ford mechanic in the past, escapes came in all the time for the battery light, but it was actually a low coolant light. What color is the light? Are there one or two bumps on the top? – Drake Clarris Dec 10 '12 at 1:57
I have exactly the same situation with similar readings. My car is a 1998 Town Car with just over 100K miles. Until I get a drop in the voltage when the light is on, I'm going to suspect something other than the alternator. – Jim Jan 20 at 17:54

4 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

Have you tried putting a multimeter across the battery terminals? The battery light simply means that the battery is not charging, which usually means the alternator is not giving enough charge.

On a car of that age, it is likely that the alternator is coming to the end of its life, as they can often only last around 8 years before needing refurbishment/replacement.

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I have not - but can check that later today ... thanks for the pointer – warren Dec 7 '11 at 14:40
up vote 3 down vote

Like the previous poster said this is most likely an issue with your alternator. I'm not sure where the alternator is located on your car but in many cars they are very easy to get to and it's just a matter of loosening a few bolts and releasing the belt tension to get them out. If you are comfortable doing this, you can take both your battery and alternator to NAPA auto parts and they will test it for you for free.

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Same thing happened to me with my 2001 Ford Escape. We replaced the battery & then they said alternator that is placed only where a mechanic can get at it. A year later now, I am having the same problem. I found out it is the radiator fans!!! They are using too much power and draining the battery and you would only notice it if on long trips or using the a/c more. The kicker is it is NOT a recall or warranty job that Ford will replace for free even though they know about the error.

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This seems unlikely, too much current would cause the fuse to blow. The Battery light means that the alternator is not charging, not that the battery is dead. – Larry♦ Jul 3 '12 at 2:37
I'm not sure if newer vehicles have more advanced ways of detecting alternator function, but on older vehicles, the battery light just means the main voltage is below 13.5 volts or so (i.e. in the range the battery outputs rather than the range you need to charge it). It's conceivable that, under high load, the voltage would drop that much, but like Larry said, I'd expect that much load to blow a fuse. If something's wrong with the alternator, however (even just a corroded connection to it), voltage could easily drop... – R.. Dec 9 '12 at 2:47
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The battery light on my 2001 escape iraticaly turns on, first noticed this about 4 months back. I intended to replace the alternator, but the car never had an issue starting or running. so I connected a meter to the aux power plug and watched the meter when the light was on. whehter the light was on or off the meter read between 13.5 and 14 volts. it varied slightly with lights, a/c, blower fan, and cooling fan. but the batter has never run down. car always starts fine and runs well. there is a tsb for the cooling fans causing the battery light to come on but my escape has already had both cooling fans replaced per the tsb. I drive betwwen 50 and 100 miles per/day and some days several short trips others 1 longer trip. I ahve also driven 200 miles plus straight several times. the light turns on and off with no observable cause, and the volt meter never reads lower than 13.5 with engine on. The light usually doesn't saty on for more than 5 minutes straight, and stays off most of the time. but has no corrilaton with the voltage on the meter. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any. thanks

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Did you intend this to be an answer or a separate question? – Mark Johnson♦ Dec 11 '12 at 1:55

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