I have a '95 Ranger w/ 2.3l. My battery light came on last night, then my battery ran out of juice. I took out the alternator and had it checked...sure enough it was fried. Not too bad for an alternator with 298000 original miles on it. I replaced the alternator and then had the battery fully re-charged. I put everything back together, it started right up, and the charge gauge went back to normal. However, and here's my question, the battery light will not go out. Is this advising me that there's another problem, or that I didn't actually fix the original problem at all? I'm limited in my mechanical knowledge, so I need some help trying to figure this out.

 

It's possible that the battery is on the way out. Draining them that way is really hard on them, but doing it just the one time shouldn't hurt too bad. Possibly an undercharged batter and it's still being brought into normal range? Someone will correct me in due time though!

 

The battery is only 1-2 years old. I took the battery to an auto parts place to have it recharged. Hopefully you're right and they didn't actually charge it all the way back.

 

the battery could be bad or the regulator inside the alternator is bad....we have seen them both ways at the shop i work and we specialize in rebuilding starters and alternators.

check and make sure the alt is putting out 14v, and have the battery load tested

 

I sure hope the alternator isn't bad since I just bought it. I guess I'll find out when I drive it to work tomorrow I'll have to see if the charge level drops or if the alternator maintains the charge on the battery.