Red Battery Indicator light Appears On Occasion

[GTB-R]

Drove to S.A on the weekend, within a few kms from home I noticed the battery indicator show up on the dash then turn off again.

Until my return to Melbourne I didn't see the light appear again.

Yesterday I noticed it appear again (even though intermittently) again at the start of the journey.

I searched & found someone who has a power steering issue at the same time, my car is not acting up at all (other than the light appearing then vanishing)

The belt to the Alternator 'looks' fine visually.

Could it be the alternator is about to give up the ghost?

[Manaz]

Check your battery too.

[RX25SE]

Could it be the alternator is about to give up the ghost?

Most likely.

Sounds like the brushes are worn out.

[GTB-R]

The battery is less than a year old. I assumed the light was indicating not enough charge 'going to' the battery?

Is I possible an alternator could fail on a four year old car?

Still seems to occur only in the first ten minutes of driving the car from the car being cold.

[jp928]

Put a meter on the battery (via the cigar lighter will do, with care), and check it while its running. You should see 13.8 to 14.1, maybe as high as 14.3 max. If its much outside this range, there is either a battery or alternator issue. I had a 3 month old battery die on me once, so it could be the battery - see if you have a receipt for it, and what its warranty is. Take it back to the supplier and ask him to test it, you might get lucky. If the battery tests ok, and measured voltage is in spec...mystery. Remove and clean the terminals on battery (shiny), and insides of connectors, smear with Vaseline or grease, reassemble, see if anything changes. my original battery lasted 4 years before it began failing to hold charge.

jp 08 gtb 6mt wagon.

[RX25SE]

The battery is less than a year old. I assumed the light was indicating not enough charge 'going to' the battery?

Is I possible an alternator could fail on a four year old car?

Still seems to occur only in the first ten minutes of driving the car from the car being cold.

The light will only illuminate if the battery is not being charged.
If the battery is faulty, the alternator will still charge it (light off) but the battery will not be able to absorb the charge.

[GTB-R]

Yes it's my impression also that if enough charge isn't being sent to the battery THEN the red light appears on the dash. I was just hoping to know if anyone else had had a similar experience.

& again thank you both for your help