# Mazda 3 2012 weird noice and then battery icon **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** mazda3, mazda\ **Created:** [February 11, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306 "2020-02-11T01:51:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zakapar\_163189](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bb73d2/32.png) [@zakapar\_163189](https://community.cartalk.com/u/zakapar_163189)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 1:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/1 "2020-02-11T01:51:57Z")
I was just driving on a city road, suddenly I hear a weird noise as if you were to hit some snow on a high speed but the road was dry. Then battery icon turns on, I googled and saw this: > **[Why Is the Battery Light On? | News from Cars.com](https://www.cars.com/articles/why-is-the-battery-light-on-1420663031640/)** > > May 4, 2017 - The battery warning light means the charging system isn't working, but the fault may lie in something other than the battery. saying: If the car’s dashboard battery light comes on, you might be able to make it home or to a service facility for a repair. The car will continue running as long as some juice is left in the battery… Exactly what happened to me. I decided to drive home - 2 miles drive as as I was approaching home power steering died. Then check engine light came up and I turned off the car by my house. Have you ever had a similar scenario with a noise and then battery icon coming up? What would it be? ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/2 "2020-02-11T02:00:15Z")
Either alternator failed or the belt driving it broke. ---
**Author:** ![zakapar\_163189](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bb73d2/32.png) [@zakapar\_163189](https://community.cartalk.com/u/zakapar_163189)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:01am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/3 "2020-02-11T02:01:59Z")
how much would it be to fix something like this? What belt is it by the way? ---
**Author:** ![old\_mopar\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6bbea6/32.png) [@old\_mopar\_guy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/old_mopar_guy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/4 "2020-02-11T02:07:11Z")
I have no idea of the cost. It would vary by location. Go to [repairpal.com](http://repairpal.com) to get a better idea. It would be the serpentine belt. ---
**Author:** ![VOLVO-V70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8e8cbc/32.png) [@VOLVO-V70](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VOLVO-V70)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:08am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/5 "2020-02-11T02:08:26Z")
Since the actual problem is unknown a cost is impossible to know . Look under the hood and see if there is a pulley that does not have a belt on it. ---
**Author:** ![zakapar\_163189](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bb73d2/32.png) [@zakapar\_163189](https://community.cartalk.com/u/zakapar_163189)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/6 "2020-02-11T02:22:55Z")
makes sense. Appreciate it guys! ---
**Author:** ![davepsinbox\_157004](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@davepsinbox\_157004](https://community.cartalk.com/u/davepsinbox_157004)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/7 "2020-02-11T03:54:16Z")
> [@zakapar\_163189](#): > > Have you ever had a similar scenario with a noise and then battery icon coming up? Yes. The something similar happened both times the alternator failed in my Corolla. In my case the noise was a high pitched sound from the radio but the car had the other symptoms. Yours appears to be a broken serpentine belt though because your Mazda has conventional power steering instead of the electric variety and a failed alternator wouldn’t affect it. ---
**Author:** ![zakapar\_163189](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/bb73d2/32.png) [@zakapar\_163189](https://community.cartalk.com/u/zakapar_163189)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 5:26am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/8 "2020-02-11T05:26:53Z")
Looks like a serpentine belt broke… ![belt](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/a/1/a1a8f7349b63521e6931603344e17adaf0b8d034.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![tcmichnorth](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/tcmichnorth/32/25126_2.png) [@tcmichnorth](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tcmichnorth)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 10:06am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/9 "2020-02-11T10:06:02Z")
Yup. Make sure to check or have a mechanic check the pulleys and tensioner before replacing the belt. ---
**Author:** ![Docnick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Docnick](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Docnick)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2020, 9:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/mazda-3-2012-weird-noice-and-then-battery-icon/158306/10 "2020-02-11T21:38:14Z")
The repair/replacement of this belt is about $50. No big deal. It cost $42.50 om my Corolla.