zigzagzen

Hey everyone. I am back. You where all very helpful 3 months ago when my alternator died and left me and my family stranded on the NY Thruway. I have a new issue involving my alternator. I had the orginal replaced ( and battery ) 3 months ago and all was fine untill about 2 weeks ago the battery light started flickering very randomly. If you blinked you would miss it. I took the car back to the shop that did the work and they hooked it up to a machine to check the battery and alternator. According the report printout everything was running fine. The service manager asked if I hit any big puddles recently because water can cause this. It was a very rainy day. Either way, the test showed everything working fine. 2 weeks later the light is still flickering but with more frequency now... should I have it re-tested? Do you think the alternator is going again?

Thanks in advance for your help

j.lu

Yes re-tested is the alternator

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well if the alternator is bad, the light should stay on. i think flickering suggests something wrong with the circuit, or maybe the ELD. the light comes on when there is insufficient voltage available, so since its flickering it means the alternator or battery (or both) are not able to keep up with the car's requirements. something is wrong with the charging system, have you checked your grounds for corrosion? stock grounds get destroyed within a couple years to the point where they would need to be replaced. you can change them with 4 gauge thick wire and gold plate ring terminals. but it seems like your voltage is not smooth like it should be. do you have a voltmeter you can hook up, cause that will show you whats happening and you can see how low it goes when the light flickers again.

zigzagzen

I am a real novice - how do I hook one up and run it?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

well a volt gauge would work, just hook to the battery + and - then when the car is off it should be around 12v and then with car on around 14. i think you can do it with multimeter. you need something that will give a real time (constant) readout as the voltage is changing so you can see if there are spikes. you could goto radioshack and maybe theyll know what you need.

zigzagzen

Car died again on the way to work. Had to get a tow. My mechanic has put in yet another alternator but said the charging system isn't working as well as it should. Again, it is working - just not well. He doesn't want to charge a ton in diagnosing fees and thought it might be better if I bring it to Honda. I called the local Honda Dealer and they won't even look at it untill I get the remote starter out of there!
So.. more appts are ahead of me. Has anyone had a problem with remote starters? I find it hard to believe that the problem will be that since the starter has been in for over 2 years and this problem is only 3 months old.


Any advice?

chickenbuster

Before I had my command start put in my car, I checked with the Honda dealership and they said that it would not affect the warranty at all. I have had no problem with my dealership.

Turbo351

I had a blinking voltage light at idle, and fine at any rpm above idle. Battery voltage was normal, over 13v at idle. It was like this for about 6 months and then the voltage went crazy. Battery voltage was 16-18v. Changed the alternator and all is good, no more blinking light either.

darklegacy540

iTrader: (1)

I had the same issue when I ran the stock alternator after a couple years. The light would blink periodically. I checked my voltage with the car running and at best, my car was running at 13.2 volts instead of the 13.9-14.7 it SHOULD be. I replaced my alternator and battery with Stinger components and all is fine now.

zigzagzen

and had a bad alternator replace my stock? 3rd time should be the charm?

Normally I wouldn't worry to much but with winter coming I don't want to have the car die on me on a cold day with the baby in the car.

by the way, this forum is great!

zigzagzen

The Honda dealer is telling me that the AC Delco alternator isn't as good as a Honda and my car should be running at 63 peak amps but my 2nd new AC Delco alternator is only running at 19. Does this sound right to anyone ?

Does anyone know where I can find what the peak amp rating should be on the car?

Thanks,
Rich

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

When I looked at the autozone site they were showing 70 amp replacements, the figures Honda gave you are probably correct or close.

I have never had ANY good luck with any re-man or re-built alternators or starters.

xylamic

I personally would check the ground cables like someone else recommended. I believe a flickering light is a sign of a connection fading in and out (loose).

Also, the remote start thing is stupid, just try another dealership where they aren't ****s.

teampointless

iTrader: (10)

Run to Autozone and have it tested. It takes us all of 3 minutes with it on the car.

zigzagzen

My original mechanic and I have been thinking something other than the alternator is the root of the problem but he didn't have the proper diagnostic tools for it. I went to Honda where they said it needs to be a Honda part. I went for it to the tune of 500 bucks with install. Today Honda calls me to say after further review they have also found that the load distribution box isn't functioning properly and needs to be replaced. 30 dollars and no labor charge. I said go ahead and do it. A few minutes later, the bells went off in my head.
I called back and asked if perhaps this box he spoke is the reason each alternator I put in is defective.. maybe it isn't the alternator at all. He then said " well, to tell you the truth - we replaced this box yesterday with the old alternator already in there and the box worked fine but the alternator didn't, so the alternator is also a problem"

I feel like I was just taken for a nice 500 dollar ride for Honda... Any thoughts ?

xylamic

Yea, that sounds a little funny to me. I don't think theirs much you do about it though. You can try yelling at them.

smyrna

Hi. The same thing thing happened to me, except I had to get my alternator replaced four times before someone guessed it might have to do with the fact that these new alternators were not Honda-specific--and he was right. A lot of times, mechanics just replace a damaged Honda alternator with a generic alternator, which don't fit as well, resulting in the battery light blinking/flashing and the eventual death of the car. You need to get a Honda-specific alternator. Problem solved.

poeticrain

I just bought a 2002 Honda Civic EX and the first time I test drove it the car had no power and the guy said it needed a new alternator. After they replaced it, it seemed to be fine but after a few days the battery light was flickering. I'm thinking maybe I am having the same issues as well.

Shmudda

Just today I had the alternator replaced on my 2002 Honda Civic. Again, like all the rest on here my light was flickering until the car just died. It was replaced with a Honda unit made by Mitzubishi. Should I be more aware of potential problems down the line with this as others have had??

Craig

kbook

Damn... I am having the same problem. After got the alt changed, I saw the battery light randomly blinked. I think I need to go back and ask the service clerk about the alt spec then.

2002civic1.7

lol this happens to me too, only when its PISSING down rain, when i hit a big puddle, or ALOT of slush.... so check the wires maybe, i pulled over when it was raining under an over pass and pushed on the rubber protectors and it fixes mine, maybe the wire is worn out gettin rusty, bunch of broken strands on the wire, i never really looked hard into it, i avoid big puddles and slush now so it doesn't happen much to me...

kbook

I think I just walked the same path like zigzagzen did : (

I think I will try to replace the ELD then...

86civicGLmanual

hey i got an 86 civic GL with similar problems of a blinking battery light. Also when the battery light comes on the headlights get brighter but it feels like the engine lugs a little. and for some reason it keeps blowing my high beams on me even though its a single bulb setup, i had replaced both with new lights, and one blew out on the way home from putting it in. Then when the battery light turns off my lights get pretty dim and like i said blown highbeams. . i have changed a cracked battery post thinking it might have been the problem, i have tested my alternator and it is working except when the battery light comes on and i am in a lower gear, going slow, i can hear a whirring noise coming from the alternator, but i had replaced it recently with a new one. some times the light comes on in neutral and sometimes it comes on in any of the gears i am driving in
if anyone has any idea wtf is going on i would much appreciate it as this is a good little car that still runs good with this problem and i would like to extend its life

kbook

Went back to the shop change to another new rebuilt alternator and now the belt makes squeaky noise now. : )

So far, there is no battery light coming up now.

sonofaphrodite

hey im new here however ive been looking on this forum for a while ever since i had to replace my alternator in my 2003 civic ex manual, however today i have a new problem. i replaced my alternator around thanksgiving so roughly 2 months ago everything was fine till today when my battery light would blink when ever i was in gear accelerating knowing this was a problem i made it home as fast as i could. on the way home my abs light when on for some reason, i replaced my battery around around august. you guys have been a huge help so far but any ideas on what i need to do? i tried to jump it and it turned on but then i turned it off and tried again and it started but barely, now it wont start at all. please help - chuck

Matt_75

After market or OEM alternator? If it's a cheap after market alt it's probably already going bad. I made the same mistake and went after market and mine failed a few months down the road with similar symptoms. I ended up killing my battery as well. I learned my lesson and went with an OEM reman. That was three years ago.

The ABS light coming on is the ECU systematically shutting down none essential functions. The ECU sounds like it was doing it's job.

sonofaphrodite

not an oem one just picked it up at autozone and installed it with my brother and alrighty thanks a ton ill take a look into buying a new oem one - chuck

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

My Honda mechanic suggest factory rebuilt units for better pricing, and to avoid 3rd party re-man trash.

ezone

Operating voltage that is too low or too high can cause all sorts of weird problems with electronics.

Worth mentioning:
If the alternator mounting bolts were left loose, or the battery ground cables to the engine and trans have problems, you can FRY the PCM.

The PCM controls the voltage regulator and the red battery (charge) light, and some of the gauges and warning lights.

blackceasar

Ive been having the same problems the past few days. today ways my first day of since it started and I worked on it most of the day. I started with cleaning and sanding the ground points on the engine compartment. test drive and still.... light flickered and came on. I ended up getting frustrated and tapping the alternator with a breaker bar 3 good times while the engine was running and batt light on. the engine bogged down after the first tap, almost died then ran fine no light and peppy as can be. 04 civic s1 3dr


I don't know if it helps anyone else but I have been pulling my hair out. I spent $130 for a new batt. the guy that had this car before me abused it. ive been fighting through all kinds of problems due to the guy driving on muddy dirt roads with no fender wells.