I did the first recommendation and the battery light didn?t come up on the dash. However, I don?t even know what an exciter circuit is or where it?s even located. I apologize if I sound dumb, I?ve just started learning more about how cars function. Also, I just want to mention that I?ve previously already cleaned out all my ground connections in the engine and made sure they were all working.
No shame in not knowing everything. We all start somewhere.
If the battery light doesn't come up, you will likely not have a charging alternator, which means the battery goes dead.
The battery light on these cars is a crucial thing in the charging system.
It must work to excite the alternator.
To "excite an alternator" basically means it needs a short 12v input to start loading the battery after starting the car.
If it doesn't get that input, the battery will not be charged and the car will stall after a while.
The exciter wire is the small red wire at the back of the alternator. It comes directly from the battery light bulb in the instrument cluster.
It is marked D+ here below. It should look similar on your car.
There can be a few things why the light is not working, two main reasons are the bulb is burned out or faulty solder joints at the back of the instrument cluster.