Starter problem

[jcoogs]

I have a 2001 Olds Alero. It has been having intermittent problems starting- sometimes it would work and sometimes not. Yesterday it wouldn't start after 2 hours of trying until we banged the starter with a long pole while turning the ignition. Therefore I thought I needed a new starter. So I replaced it today. It started up fine, but there's a new problem: first, there now seems to be a squeal coming from the starter area for a few seconds after the engine starts. I'm not too concerned about that since it dies away after a few seconds. But now the battery light on the dashboard comes on and won't go off. Could anything I had done with the starter have affected the battery?