I think my Alternator died.. :(

[Scott Howard]

I just got back from Kemah and my car can barely turn the motor over to start it. I just replaced the battery last Sunday.:think:

[IP_Andrey]RUS[]

check if battery has enough fluid, is it a OEM honda battery?

[Scott Howard]

RUS[;475013']check if battery has enough fluid, is it a OEM honda battery?

No, it's some battery from Wal-Mart.

[IP_Andrey]RUS[]

No, it's some battery from Wal-Mart.

All so, I had same problem when i went to Russia for a month and the half. My battery got low on water and wouldnt hold charge. So check that and if you good on water then check volts on battery terminal when car off should be ~12.8v and when car is on should be 14. If car has less then 14 volts when its on then u have problem with alternator. Good luck :thumbup:

REMEMBER to wear safety goggles when working on battery, acid is not exactly safe thing to play around with

[repiv]

RUS[;475015']All so, I had same problem when i went to Russia for a month and the half. My battery got low on water and wouldnt hold charge. So check that and if you good on water then check volts on battery terminal when car off should be ~12.8v and when car is on should be 14. If car has less then 14 volts when its on then u have problem with alternator. Good luck :thumbup:

REMEMBER to wear safety goggles when working on battery, acid is not exactly safe thing to play around with

Good advice.

The batteries that Wal-Mart sells here are EveryReady. Although the Energizer bunny makes good alkaline batteries, I'm not so sure the rabbit knows about lead acid batteries.

[Scott Howard]

I knew my useless ricer voltage gauge would come in handy one day at 138K miles. lol

[Schnell]

A battery that dies that quickly may be the victim of current draw while the car is off.

If you've got a multimeter, test for current draw by removing the negative battery cable. Set the meter to read miliamps (or just amps if it's automatic). Put one test lead on the battery's negative terminal and the other on the disconnected negative cable. Anything over about .5 Ohms (500 milliamps) and you've got a draw somewhere.

If the current draw checks out to be high, I'll post instructions on how to narrow down the culprit. Suffice to say, it's usually some kind of aftermarket equipment.

[Scott Howard]

A battery that dies that quickly may be the victim of current draw while the car is off.

If you've got a multimeter, test for current draw by removing the negative battery cable. Set the meter to read miliamps (or just amps if it's automatic). Put one test lead on the battery's negative terminal and the other on the disconnected negative cable. Anything over about .5 Ohms (500 milliamps) and you've got a draw somewhere.

If the current draw checks out to be high, I'll post instructions on how to narrow down the culprit. Suffice to say, it's usually some kind of aftermarket equipment.


I'll check that but my car has 138,xxx miles on it. When do alternators usually go out on you?:shifter:

[repiv]

I'll check that but my car has 138,xxx miles on it. When do alternators usually go out on you?:shifter:

You may be due. I've seen other cars lose alternators before 100K. However, don't go replacing it till you confirm what it is. It could be battery, alternator, voltage load detector, high draw due to short.

[Schnell]

I'll check that but my car has 138,xxx miles on it. When do alternators usually go out on you?:shifter:

The failure of an alternator isn't something that's predictable. Eventually the brushes will wear out, as will the bearings, but it depends on vehicle mileage and the amount of revs you've been pulling. Cars that have high finals drives (like ours) or which get revved high frequently would probably need brushes sooner. As an example, I replaced my 89 CRX's original brushes at 140K.

Since it's so easy, check for a current draw first, then take your car to an auto parts store and have them test the charging system.

[Hondassport]

I recently went through this:
Battery would not crank the car, took it out , charged it, took to AZ and they said it was OK.
put battery in and fired up the car,11.5 volts at the battery not good.
checked fuse in under hood panel, it was good.
pulled alternator, took to AZ, no good.
called Napleton Honda,351$, only two in the country,one on each coast.
took alternator apart, checked diode pack, it was fine.
started to remove brush holder and it looked like one brush was not touching the commutator, tapped it with a screw drive and heard a Ting, it's touching now.
took holder apart and cleaned it.
assembled , took to Advanced Auto for test, putting out 95 amps at 15 volts.
took to Az for test, Good.
put back in car, fired it up, 14.5 volts across battery terminals with engine runningW0000Hooo thumbsup.gif thumbsup.gif
Stupid Brushes were hung up!!!
Just a heads up if you have alternator trouble
At no time did the car warn me that something was wrong...Pete