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I have a Mustang that the battery light stays on.

I changed the battery and the alternator was checked by Autozone, they said it was good.

I need help

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  • Did you car by any chance leak inside the cabin area?
    – user10301
    Commented Apr 28, 2015 at 21:37
  • my 04 mustang gt had the same thing but after while i checked the alternator by removing the -cable while the car is running but unfortunately the car switched off,that means the alternator is not charging the battery, then i realize that my cables is damaged , so now I'm cleaning the cables and i will connect everything back and check them twice and i will give you my feedback.
    – user14977
    Commented Feb 11, 2016 at 9:45
  • It would be helpful if you included the year of the car. That is likely to impact the way the charge light is sensed/wired and thus where you'd look for the solution.
    – dlu
    Commented Aug 18, 2016 at 21:24
  • I’m having the same issues on my 05 mustang GT, both lights came on changed both Alternator and battery and the lights are still on, I’m lost now cause I thought that would be the issue, it’s driving well but the battery gauge needle move a little to the low side and then moved back and fourth for a minute and went track to normal
    – Sergio Lopez
    Commented Mar 21, 2020 at 2:44

6 Answers 6

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First off, you may want a 2nd opinon on the alternator. If both battery and alternator are good, then its either a wiring or ECU problem. Check the contacts on the battery terminals/connectors to make sure they're not loose, dirty, or corroded. Then follow the ground wire (the black one) back to the chassis of the car to make sure it has a solid ground..

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The battery light works by connecting the battery's plus side (through the ignition switch!) to the alternator's positive output. It's probably the oddest piece of circuitry in a car, but that's why it glows when either isn't working. And why it has to be an incandescant globe (but you could use two LEDs to indicate which has failed).

It sounds like a wiring problem, but not necessarily with the light itself. I'd check the engine, alternator and battery are properly grounded (though that should create ignition problems) and that the charging cable is whole. If the alternator is failing to charge the battery, you will probably notice the engine note drop sharply when you turn on something high-current, such as the headlights.

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In most cases, the red battery light in the instrument panel is fed a voltage sense through a yellow wire that is part of the alternator connector. Seems a lot of aftermarket and remanufactured alternators fail to provide a charge sense signal (i.e., alternator output) and the result is the instrument cluster illuminating the warning. The regulator in the alt is responsible for this and a factory replacement is the only sure fix.

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I have a 2007 Ford Mustang. The red battery symbol appeared along with the check charging system and soon after my battery was completely drained. I charged the battery and then had the alternator tested. I replaced the alternator and the car has dtiven like new ever since.

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I'm surprised nobody has mentioned checking the fuses in an answer or a comment.

I had the charging system warning light on, on an old Opel Vectra. Battery? Just fine. Alternator? Just fine. It was the fuse! And the fuse apparently burned because it couldn't withstand the high load I put on the electrical system of the car by connecting a Peltier element based cooler to the cigarette lighter socket. I'm somewhat surprised this caused a fuse that affected the charging system to burn instead of causing a fuse of the cigarette lighter socket to burn, but that's what happened.

So, if you know it's not the alternator and not the battery, I wouldn't start from wiring or ECU. I would start from the fuses!

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Information only:I have a 2008 mustang gt300 an the check charging light came on. After getting it diagnosed it was said that it was the alternator or computer, but I didn't by that since the alternator was new. I installed the new alternator myself and thought maybe I didn't install it correctly, so I checked the connection and discovered that the plug that plugs into the alternator was not engaged due to plug being to short I cut off plug and went to an auto electric company and bought a plug with longer wires . I rewired and reengaged plug and check charging system light went out. I ran systems check and all w was ok.

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