battery light and brake light on at startup

Post by **komete** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:48 am

Hello all, Looks like my ageing 240sx decided to give me a new problem. When I first turn it on in the mornings the Brake light and the Battery light comes on but if I give it a little gas it goes right out. They both started the same morning. I don't see how these 2 could be related but when I give it a little gas both go right off. Does anyone have any ideas on this one?

Post by **180fan** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:43 am

usually those two together indicate an alternator that's gonna give out on you soon enough.

Post by **tonynalli** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 1:04 pm

i think that works on a z32 but not a 240. anyways changing the alternator will do nothing for that. ive tried it. but i wish i had an answer for the problem

Post by **XTCshri2222** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:42 pm

check your imput wire harness, if it came lose it'ed trigger your brake light with the battery light. check corrosion, and then take it to advance or autozone and have then load test the altinator.

Post by **tonynalli** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 3:33 am

when you say input wire harness, do you mean the plug that connects in the ecu or where???

Post by **DRFT(kinda)** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 4:54 am

I had a problem that took me awhile to figure out. The brake light stayed on when ever the car was on, I later figured out it was due to low brake fluid (i think cause i filled it up and it went away). I think you have a different problem.

Post by **XTCshri2222** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 5:20 am

you should have a harness wire running to your altinator, it's a grey clip, if it's contact is loose you'll have brake and battery light come on, it's the wire goin plugging into the altinator.

Post by **komete** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 7:43 pm

XTCshri2222 wrote:you should have a harness wire running to your altinator, it's a grey clip, if it's contact is loose you'll have brake and battery light come on, it's the wire goin plugging into the altinator.

I'll deff give that a go. Funny thing is it dopesn't happen after the car is warm. Only on cold starts.

Oh and Sup TONY!!!

Post by **benemorius** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:28 pm

180fan wrote:usually those two together indicate an alternator that's gonna give out on you soon enough.

The answer stops here. Acquire a multimeter and test your voltage if you want to be sure before replacing the alternator. If it's not the alternator, it's wiring somewhere, but since it goes away after you rev the engine it's more likely the alternator. It could also be a really crappy battery, but you'd probably notice other problems if that were it.

Don't ask me why Nissan linked the brake light to the battery light, but they did. The battery light cannot possibly come on without the brake light coming on. Look at the wiring diagram and see for yourself. I know I had to to believe it.

Post by **dee240** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:16 pm

I had almost the same exact problem except for mine would make an annoying buzzing sound and then the lights would go off.. it started one day after i made a right around a corner and hit a pot hole with a ton of water in it.. i never figured out what it was and my car eventually died 2 years later.. just wouldnt start up one day after i got out of work. let me know if u have that buzz or if u did something similiar to make it start

Post by **benemorius** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:01 am

Was the buzzing coming from somewhere behind the driver side of the dash? You probably had a fuse blow in the fuse box under the hood. At the moment I can't recall exactly which one. I think it's a 10 amp, though.

Post by **dee240** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 12:21 pm

it was coming from the lights themself in the dash. and it would happen everytime i would drive. the lights would come on and when i press down on the accellerator they would buzz and go off

Post by **benemorius** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 12:47 pm

The lights can't buzz. It was the bulb check relay that was buzzing. It's behind the lights and down a bit.

Post by **Crucial** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:25 pm

Hello everyone

Found this topic in researching a similiar issue I'm having with a Nissan 97 Hardbody pickup. Both my brake and battery lights came on at the same time while driving home one night. The brake light is full lit, while the battery light is half dim. Lights stay on at all times and have been this way for approx 2 months now. I had Autozone check the alternator and battery, and both checked ok. Couple weeks ago, I had a nissan certified mechanic check it, and said alternator was bad. When put under load, the voltage was showing low. I replaced the alternator and nothing has changed. Last week, while going into work, my fan belt broke which the alternator is on also. (I'm guessing I may have had the tension to tight.. ) I noticed when the belt broke, the brake light went out completely while the battery light fully lit. Once new belt put on, both lights back to the way they were before.

Any ideas on how I should troubleshoot this further? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

James

Post by **benemorius** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:44 pm

Check all fuses everywhere. It sounds like the same thing as I described above with regard to the 240. It seems odd for the wiring to be so similar between an older 240 and a newer hardbody, but the symptoms sound to similar to ignore. With the 240 it was a 10 amp fuse under the hood (at least I think it was) but it could be different on your hardbody. Of course it might not be a fuse at all, but I'm betting it is. It's either that or a broken wire or bad connection somewhere. The blown fuse seems more likely.

Post by **Crucial** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 7:53 pm

Will do. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks for the help!

Post by **Crucial** » Tue Sep 12, 2006 3:52 pm

Good news! You were correct benemorius! Turns out it was the 15amp E.C.C.S System (Engine Control) fuse, located in the cab fusebox. Once the blown fuse was replaced, both lights went out and truck is running a lot smoother. Can't believe I never stopped to check all the fuses. Thanks a lot for the help!

On a sidenote, Also found the shift lock fuse blown. When I replaced it, it immediately blew again. Tried one more new fuse, and same result. Got a short somewhere to find.

Post by **benemorius** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 3:05 am

Cool beans. I went months without checking my fuses. I just assumed the bulb check relay was going bad as it was buzzing all the time. Good luck with the short.

Post by **dingofarmer** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:41 pm

I was so happy when I fixed it that I had to open an account,this thread helped.

Ok so I washed to engine bay to get rid of alot of oil from seals and gaskets that I replaced. Went on with my day and around lunch, noticed that my brake light was solid. Never heard the buzz, cause I was jamming out.

Got home and went inside. About an hour later I went to start my car. It started but then stalled, tried it again, same thing, this time I pressed the gas for a few seconds and it stayed running, but was running funny, and the brake light was solid and the bat light was dim. Drove it around the block thinking that the bat was low. The bat light would only come on after an annoying buz from the dash, followed by the solid brake light, they would then go off, and cycle every few seconds. Came home and restarted the car, still stalled. Opened the hood and looked around. The o2 sensor braket was off of the header and the wire was laying on the header. Oh crap, I looked at the wire and it had melted some of the insulation. I left the car alone, as I had a meeting to go to.

The next day, I cleaned the bat terminals, as they were a bit corroded, reatached the braket with a new bolt and reinsulated the o2 wire and checked to make sure that it was connected. Looked around and traced a few wires also. Started the car, and it worked, however when I tried again, It stalled. I got it running and drove to advanced auto and had the bat and alt checked. 72amps, bat good. Weird.

Got home and pulled most of my hud out and panels thinking that maybe, there was something arcing. I finnaly got tired and decided to do a google search, finnaly got to this thread. I then went out and started going through my fuses, which for some reason I overlooked,frustration. Eng Cont 10A, was blown. Replaced it and voila, it started perfectly, no lights or weirdness. What I think hapened is that the preasure of the water was enough to knock off the aready loosened O2 bracket. THe header melted the wire just enough to make contact with the lead, which probably blew the fuse.

I overlooked it cause I had tunnel vission about some mysterious wire causing the problem.

John

Post by **benemorius** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:58 pm

Success story FTW!

I'm glad to hear we helped you out. Hope you stick around and join the family!

Post by **LostFreak** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 6:45 pm

Well guess i hate to bring back an old thread, but i also had this same problem and after about 2 months of searchin and findin the same info of the alt being bad i decided to take a chance and pick up a junkyard one.

After pullin my old one out(factory alt with over 200k miles) i compared the 2 and just spun them.... the old one made a grindin/ scratchin noise while the "new" one spun smoothly, after seein this i thought this should finally fix my problem, well installed the junkyard all crossed my fingers and fired her up.... to my suprise no change. i was extremly upset to say the lest

after this i decide to come on here and try one last search and came upon this thread after readin threw it i got hope again... after i finished readin it i ran outside and poped the hood(its 11 at nite and about 30 degrees out) and what did i find.. just like dingofarmer the Eng Cont fuse was blown replaced it and went for a drive.. no lights nor buzzing.

I cant believe after all this time and trouble it was as easy as a blown fuse

I just want to say thanks to dingofarmer and to nico for helpin me fix this problem.... I feel like the happest guy alive tonight lol

Post by **redtop91** » Sat Dec 09, 2006 7:23 pm

I have the same problem but on my SR and it only has 46k miles .

Post by **Naja002** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:52 am

Hi Everybody,

Read this thread a couple of times and checked a few things, but my Brake and Battery lights are still on. I could really use some help on this one. Here's the deal:

1998 Nissan Frontier--ran thru a small "River" in my front yard from a heavy rain. Both lights came on and are staying on. I've checked the fuses in the cab and they are all ok. The battery has full power and is charging. I removed the grey plug from the altenator and started the vehicle and the 2 lights go out, but when I plug it back in the lights are on again. Been riding with it like this for several days now. There is moisture inside the grey plug--I'm hoping it dries out and the problem goes away. I currently don't have any means of getting down into the plug with air or anything to try to dry it out. I tried with paper towels and a screw driver, but no luck. Anything I can use to get rid of the moisture like rubbing alcohol or brake fliud, etc? There are 2 En. Con fuses inside the dash (They are fine)---would there be another fuse under the hood also? If so, where do I start looking for it?

Any help would be Greatly Appreciated!

Thanx!
Modified by Naja002 at 1:40 PM 3/19/2007

Post by **Soravia** » Mon Mar 19, 2007 2:42 pm

I have Brake Lights lit on my red coupe too. I'll see if it is fuse because the Alt was absoultely fine the last time I had it running. (Over 190K)

Post by **Q_Qmore** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:06 pm

i had a similar problem in the fact that my batt light was on with my brake light, i thought it was my alternator also, but then one day my car just wouldn't start and when that happened i smelled a funny burning smell coming from somewhere while i was driving before it wouldn't start. I replaced that ENG. CON. 10A fuse which got rid of the brake light / batt light, but my car still won't start (don't ever replace that 10a fuse with a 15a one >_< , hence that funny burning smell). I'm thinking maybe somehow ENG. CON. is linked to my solenoid? Maybe my alternator needs to be changed? Anyways i'll keep updated on what's going on.

Post by **purple2via** » Tue Jan 19, 2010 9:16 pm

DUDE!!! I just degreased my engine bay and rinsed it with a hose and i have the exact same problem now half dim battery light and full brake light, and when i start the car it stalls right away, unless i rev it above 1,000 rpm, im gonna check for blown fuses tomorrow!!!!!!

thanks, NICO MEMBERS!!!!!!!! yeah!!!!!

Post by **AATA** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:21 am

I just bought a 97 HB for cheap because a friend of a friend couldn't get it smogged with the brake light and battery light on. Deal was I could have it for cheap if I can get it smoged. I figured it's a battery light and brake light, how bad could it be? Smog place really only cared about the battery light. As stated above, it has a bright brake light and dim battery light. Now that I found this forum I'm thinking I got an even better deal. If I can fix this for the cost of a fuse, I will be stoked. I can't wait to get home and check the fuses! Hopefully it fixes the problem! He already put a new alternator thinking that was the problem, so that's ruled out.

Great info!!! Thanks everyone!

Post by **iamanonymous** » Sun Aug 08, 2010 9:46 am

I have the buzzing and lights in my 89 240sx. Also my brake lights are not working when I hit the pedal. Its not the switch because I put the clutch one in the brake connector. The fuses are not blown. Where is the brake bulb relay? I heard its white or green, which is it? I need to get this figured out. If the brake bulb relay is bad, will the stop lamps not come on? Also the brake light is on pretty much all the time. The batt light is on at varying levels at different rpm. The buzzing is constant as well

battery light and brake light on at startup

batery light and break light on at startup

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (komete)

Re: (tonynalli)

Re: (XTCshri2222)

Re: (180fan)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (komete)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (dee240)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (benemorius)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (dee240)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (komete)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (Crucial)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (benemorius)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (benemorius)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (Crucial)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup(SOLUTION)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup(SOLUTION) (dingofarmer)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup(SOLUTION) (benemorius)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup(SOLUTION) (LostFreak)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup(SOLUTION) (redtop91)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup(SOLUTION) (dingofarmer)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (komete)

Re: batery light and break light on at startup (purple2via)

Re: battery light and brake light on at startup

Nissan Forums

Infiniti Forums

Datsun Forums

Technical Forums

Classifieds / Marketplace

Nissan Motorsports

General Forums