It's winter here. I mention that because it was cold out and my car was not plugged in, so I don't think my battery is bad. Earlier this evening I went outside to my car, got in, turned the key and the engine cranked over and fired up right away. I let the engine run for a few minutes like I usually do. I turned on my heat, my lights and my factory stereo then backed out of my driveway. I get half a block, stop at the sign and hear a ding. I look at my dash and my battery light has come on. I drove my car a couple of blocks and was going to go home, but as I sped up the light went off. So, I decided to try to drive to the city, approximately 12 miles away, thinking that if the light came back on I'd turn back home. Well, I went about two miles and then heard the bell and the light came on again. I turned around and was driving back, when suddenly the warning light went off. I also noticed that the headlights and all my dash lights suddenly got a lot brighter. At this point I was hoping that the system wasn't overcharging and would possibly fry my PCM. I made it home with no further incidents.

When I got home I left it running and quickly grabbed my multi-meter. I connected the meter to the battery boosting terminals under the hood and measured 13.8 - 14.2 volts with the engine idling, the headlights on and the cooling fan cycling. So, in other words, normal voltage. I guess the headlights just seemed bright because they had been too dim earlier when the warning light was on. So, there is an intermittent problem.

I didn't check anything else, but I plan to tomorrow. I know that I should check the terminals at the battery, but because of the battery location in a Sebring, I'll check connections under the hood first, at the alternator, etc. If I don't find any issues there I'll check at the battery. I am wondering if there are any connections or components under the dash or inside the car that could cause a no charge condition or do I just need to check under the hood? Is the voltage regulator part of the alternator in an '05 Sebring?

 

Voltage is controlled by the computer. You can't adjust it or control it separately. Check all the connections. If everything is good, have the alternator checked. It might be beginning to fail.

 

Thanks dcotter0579 for your help. Today I checked the battery voltage after my car had been sitting over night, before starting. It read 11.6 volts. I checked all the charging circuit connections under the hood. I didn't find any problems. I left my multi-meter hooked up and started the engine. It fired right up. I let it warm up and watched the meter. While the engine was idling I turned on the heater, the stereo, the headlights and the rear window defroster. I turned each of on and off several times. Then after the engine had been running for around 15 minutes I gradually increased the rpm to 2000, while switching all of these accessories on and off again. I noticed that today my readings never went above 13.75 volts and never dropped below 12.8 while the engine was running. Last evening I was getting readings as high as 14.2 volts. In the 20 minutes or so that I ran my engine the battery warning light did not come on. I decided to take a chance and drive into the city. I put a total of probably 40 miles on today. The warning light did not come on and I didn't have any problems.

The alternator has had some bearing noise for some time. I was going to try to replace the bearing and brushes, but I guess I'll replace the alternator.