Hi all havent been around in a million years...( not that my HHR has not given me problems all the time lol)

2007 LT 2.4L auto all stock...69,953 original miles ( I don't travel much lol and half of those miles were in the first 4 years)

so oddly earlier this week I went to go pick up food and when I went to leave, Battery was dead .. Jumped it off with a jumpbox had started fine before I left... got home Battery was at 12.10V at idle was only giving 12.21... so got bro to rev it up only hit 14 once when car hit about 5k RPM... so Alternator was toast and I guess I had been driving on the battery for a few days it finally went I'M DONE... I put in a new Alternator and drive belt tensioner and belt just to catch all... now I am getting 14.75 at Idle...

So my question is should I not have gotten a idiot light or something when the alternator died and the battery was about dead????

Thanks

 

No, when my battery died, there was no lights or warnings , just the test alarm beeping and the key stuck in the ignition. A fresh battery resolved the problem

 

How old is the battery? You might want to do some testing.

 

The alternator output varies from 12.5 to 15 depending on need. Sitting idling with no accessories and a fully charged battery it might be at 12.5, turn on the high beams 15.
You didn't mention the state of the battery. Is it from 2007? Ever been load tested? Big box parts stores will check the electrical system for free. Stock battery is an 8 year battery, anything past that is borrowed time.

 

Battery was a year and 5 months old.. my question was pretty dont these cars have anything to let you know if there is an issue with the electrical system being they have no voltage meter on dash etc... I did a lot of testing I actually have a useless technical degree in 12 volt electronics from back when I had a car stereo biz I went to a specialized school to get master certified and etc back when I had a car stereo biz and built very expensive car stereo systems for sound off competitions etc..

 

See above reply but the battery was less than year and half old .. I load tested, it was DEAD.. the alternator prior to this had always put out 14+ even at idle so knew it was a bad alternator... Now I am getting 14.75 at idle and 15+ when revved up and AC on...

 

When my alternator went bad, of course the battery started discharging, and I got the battery warning light on the dash. Got it to AutoZone within probably 2 miles, and the alternator tested bad. Put a new OE alternator in, no more problems. This was a few years ago.

The thing is, if they both test bad, which went bad first? A bad alternator will kill a battery, and a bad battery can kill an alternator.

So to answer your question, yes there is a warning system. Does the light on the dash momentarily illuminate when you start the car?

 

Reading Oldblue's response, perhaps the warning light illuminates for a lack of charging, but not for a bad battery?

 

Let's see what the Owner Manual says. Link in my sig if you want one.
Just the answer, no help.