Check engine light is on

removing the battery lead when running is a very good way of blowing the rectifier pack, voltage regulator or line diode
take it in for a charging system check to see what was done wrong

Dear Joyce,
The "battery not charging" light actually will tell you many things, and that one light is affected by several parts of the car.
If your battery is new, then the light is telling you some other part of the charging system is failing or has failed.
The most common part is the alternator.
The alternator, or the voltage regulator which is built inside the alternator, can both fail, and the light is telling you.
Those need to be checked by a repair man. (mechanic)
If you have no corrosion on the battery terminal, or the wires, or inside the insulation of the wires, the alternator should be your problem.
God bless your efforts.

Test the alternator. The battery light is for the charging system. Once the charging system is working with the engine running, the light should go off. If your light stays on with engine running, the alternator may need service or replacement.

To test the charging system, just put a voltmeter on the battery with engine running. The voltmeter should register at least 13.5 volts- alternator is charging. If you only show battery voltage with engine running, like 12.2-12.8 volts, the alternator or charging system is not working. The battery light should be on to signify this.

The BATTERY light indicates that your battery is not getting charged. There could be several reasons for this most probably your alternator, which generates the current to charge the battery when the engine is running. If the new battery is not getting charged, it will eventually drain not start your car. To confirm that the battery is not getting charged and that is the reason for the BATTERY light, put a volt meter across the battery while the engine is running. It should read around 13 volts indicating that current is flowing into the battery. If it reads 11 volts or less, that means the batter is being drained and not charged. Then have your alternator checked.G

open or shorted alternator circuit (control wire)
let your auto store test the alternator charging
on and off the truck.
inspect 3 wire connector for burn or lose connection
disconnect 3 pin wire and start the engine.if the light stay on you have shot to ground.

Hello. Welcome to FixYa. Please allow us to assist you.

The advice that I have to give you is to replace the new alternator. Sorry.

When you removed the negative wire from the battery, you inadvertantly caused an electrical problem in the alternator, which damaged one of the internal components.

The cables should never be removed from the battery with the engine running.

We are sorry that we do not have a better solution, but, in this case, the removal of the cable caused your problem. Perhaps you can return the alternator and get a replacement at no charge.

the wire will go from the post on the alternator the one with the nut to the hot post on the starter then another cable will go from the starter on the same post to the positive on the battery. however if the car died tells me something else is not right because the vehicle doesnt run off of the battery it is merely to start it then the alternator feeds the power while running. you should be able to remove the battery while running and should still keep running

well if the battery light came on that means your alternator is not charging the battery,,you need a new alternator,,,and maybe a new battery if it killed it,,,,that set the check engine light on,,,,,for it not charging,,,,,do not buy a aftermarket alt,,,,only saturn/gm,,as they do not meet gm/saturn specs and you will install it and still have a battery light on,,,,,,you need a factory alternator,,,yes it costs more,but unless you feel like putting a few in and out to find this out,,,,,

It sounds like the battery has gone dead and will need to be replaced due to a bad Alternator. Once you get the car started, check the voltage on the battery, there should be 13.5 to 14.5 Volts. A fully charges battery should have 12 volts with the engine not running and once the engine is running there should be 13.5 Volts with the head lights on and heater on too. If there is less then 12 volts reading on the battery with the engine running, then replace the Alternator. You can pick up a Alternator at Auto Zone and they can give you the step by step instructions to replacing it with common tools and they can also check the Alternator in your car to before you buy the new one. Good luck and hope this helps and insect the wire harness from the battery to the Alternator, look for any sighs of damaged like corrosion and repair any damages to the wire harness.

Check the 'Bat' / 'Charge'/ 'Alt' indicator on the dash panel lights when the vehicle ignition is switched on prior to starting the engine.
This indicator should extinguish within approx 1 second of starting engine.

If the indicator is not operating the alternator cannot provide charge current - check:-
1) the wiring connections to the new alternator,
2) the indicator lamp is not blown,
3) the alternator is properly grounded.

If the indicator light works normally, check the output voltage of the alternator is approx 14.5v when the motor is running.
If its about 14.5v, the battery should be charging.