# Battery Woes

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** caravan, batteries, dodge, driving, lights\
**Created:** [August 16, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632 "2010-08-16T17:16:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leahksb2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@leahksb2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/leahksb2)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632/1 "2010-08-16T17:16:51Z")

</div>

The Battery Light came on yesterday and then again today while I was driving… what does this mean and how much time do I have…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632/2 "2010-08-16T17:27:33Z")

</div>

Most likely your alternator is failing or your serpentine belt is slipping. Bring it to a mechanic for a check of the belt and the charging system.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leahksb2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@leahksb2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/leahksb2)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632/3 "2010-08-16T17:30:01Z")

</div>

would the serpentine belt slipping make a weird sound too… because that is something I forgot to mention… a whining sound…  
Thank you sooo much…

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632/4 "2010-08-16T18:37:00Z")

</div>

A slipping make makes a loud squealing sound.

A whining sound could be a mechanical faiure in the alternator itself.

Don’t waste time having this checked. An alternator that stops functioning will strand a vehicle quickly.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![leahksb2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9f8e36/32.png) [@leahksb2](https://community.cartalk.com/u/leahksb2)\
**Post date:** [August 16, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-woes/53632/5 "2010-08-16T18:43:50Z")

</div>

I was afraid of that… Thank you sooo much for your response.