Battery Issue or Alternator

Ever since I picked the truck up from the body shop, my battery light has been on. It comes and goes intermittently but stays on for the most part. According to the onboard readings, I'm hovering at 13.3-4 when it's on and sitting at 13.7V during the times it goes off.

I hooked up the multimeter once the battery set overnight without anything connected to it and got a reading of 12.69V. I hooked up a load tester and it showed 11V under load. When I reconnected everything and left the load tester hooked up, then started the truck, I got this (under load):



So, what says the jury on my verdict? Do I need to replace a 3 year old Northstar or go alternator shopping?

 

I would replace. Batteries these days seem to last about 3 years, any longer and you are lucky. Cost is negligible so Id replace it and see where that puts you. Probably the battery at that age.

 

It's still under warranty which is why I'm troubleshooting

 

I use the Interstates from Costco, solid 5-6 years outta of each one them on all my cars, consistently.

 

I bought one of these in case I ever need it. I haven't used it yet.

 

Since you picked it up from the body shop, hey? Front damage? Any paintwork done around the body ground area of the inner fender? You can’t have paint on that connection. Grounds tight? Battery cables all tight?

You’re getting some charging, but not near enough. But so far, my answer is “neither” to your original answer.

 

No, no, yes, yes.

 

Ok, so much for that idea…

Do a quick little test for me. Run the engine, put your voltmeter on AC volts. Yes, you read that right. AC volts. Put the leads across the battery posts, and post the reading.

 

Hey brother if you need my TIS laptop you can have it to troubleshoot.

 

If the battery is under warranty, best case scenario is to replace the battery. I've already replaced a 6 month old Interstate battery from Costco. If it ever died at the body shop and they'll probably never tell you, that battery is pretty much gone.

 

I sent numbers over to the place I got it from and they've been responsive but so far they think it's still in normal operating range

 

Maybe put a charger on it to top it off and see what happens?

 

I see, but If I had to give you something for free, I'd tell you its in normal operating range and wait until its out of warranty and sell you a new one. IMO... I had an issue with a dead Optima yellow top where Pep Boys refused to swap it under warranty, because they stated the warranty started from the sticker's date on the side of the battery, which was already a year from when I purchased it. After speaking to the manager, I got a new battery, but warranty starts at purchase not when the battery was produced, or no one will buy a battery with a 6 month warranty, lol...

 

I've trickle charged it 3 days in a row already. It topped off, but when I hooked it up again, the indicator showed a battery charged on the lowest setting.

 

100% agree with ya, but it's their sandbox and I'm playing in it...

 

It's your money, I'd tell them I took it to autozone and they said its a bad battery. 2 can play that game.

 

Are the insides of the terminals clean? Give it a good scrubbing.

 

Very clean. These AGM batteries don't corrode like conventional (least in my experience)

 

They have rejected my claim for a warranty on the battery. They said it looks fine but that it could have minor "sulfation".

Impact Battery out of Richmond, KY. I'll never buy another battery from them again.

 

Customer service is crap these days. Take a look at some of the Noco chargers. They have desulfation capabilities. Worth a shot. I have this one but they have a couple of smaller ones as well.

 

Shady AF. Looks and performance are 2 different things...

 

I'm done spending money on this battery. I'll buy a new one and toss this experience to a lesson learned.