Rep Power: 0

My Alternator I thought went out again but the machanic said some component in my computer system is telling my alternator to turn off. ?? This part is like $400. They replaced my battery and I disconnected all my audio (Amp/Subs/Speakers) thinking the drain is causing issues. My original Alternator was replaced and now about five months later something caused my 2nd Alternator to shut down.

I had two 12" Subs and a 400wx4 Amp which powered my two Subs hooked up in parallel along with two front small speakers. It had the original battery BTW. The machanic did replace my battery with a new one (same style, nothing more powerful like a Yellow or anything) but now I am afraid to hook up my audio again. I've had nothing but problems ever since I installed audio.

I am leaving my audio uninstalled and maybe just keeping the radio and two front speakers, no amp! I cannot afford to keep having this thing break down on me. They say my 2nd Alternator is not bad but something is causing it to shut down. I also have an air intake but they said that should not cause problems. Also, my timing belt, AC belt, and PS belt was recently replaced but that machanic (not same machanic) said they wouldn't have caused my last issue. Who knows.

So, just wondering if anyone knows what might be causing my Alternator issues. Do you think the machanic is correct in saying there is a computer component telling my Alternator to turn off or do you think my audio, intake, or something else may be goofing my car up? Maybe my original battery was bad or was going bad.

I can get the name of the component if that helps. For now, I am leaving everything unkooked and I'll see how the new battery handles this. I guess I'll find out soon enough. I'd hate to put another $400 into my car if something else is really happening. At the moment my car is running fine after a new battery. Not sure what else they did besides checking into all the computer stuff.

 
Rep Power: 302

Probably the ELD is bad. The Electronic Load Detector is in the fuse box. It turns the Alternator on and off as needed.

 
Rep Power: 0

This sounds familiar but I have to see if that's what they called it. Is this something easy to replace myself? Also, would my audio have caused this? I wonder what the part costs and if it's something I can do. Hmmmm....

 
Rep Power: 0

Well, my alternator shut down again today costing me another $80 for a tow and another few days for my car in the shop while they look into this component shutting it down. Grrrrrrrrrrrr

This car is raking me! It's the most expensive car (for repairs) I ever owned. I will never, ever, buy another Honda product.

 
Rep Power: 276

yes it is either the ELD or you have another bad Alternator. i have gone through 2 of them already. One at 36,000 and again at 48,000. Good luck

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm no techie, but is everything grounded properly? Were any mods (audiowise) done before the old Alt started acting up? If so have them check out your grounds to make sure their all tight and not corroded due to road salt or chems used to clean the engine bay.

Had a buddy that kept having problems, and found out that he had a ground that would bounce during driving, because the bolt that was suppose to be holding it in place was either never put in after some repair was done or came out on it's own. He had replaced a couple of batteries, a computer module, two alts, one amp and few fuses before the problem was found. One the gound was in place, he's not had another mystery problem since.

Just a suggestion, like I said I'm no techie, but it's a simple thing to check.

 
Rep Power: 309

what year is your car?

 
Rep Power: 0

2002.

I'll make sure the techs look for possible grounding issues while it's in shop. Thanks.

 
Rep Power: 309

if you got the car used at a Honda dealership you should have warrenty on it cuz it was certified... or did you get it new?

 
Rep Power: 0

Bought it new, it's a 2002 with 115,000 miles. Way past any warranty.

 
Rep Power: 309

thats a lot of miles... if this is the only problem you had with the car then i would be happy. or was the car a pain in the *** to own the whole time?

either way, good luck, hopefully its somethign minor.

 
Rep Power: 333

goodluck man. gonna be rough keeping that car running

 
Rep Power: 336

do you have underdrive pulley's?

 
Rep Power: 0

Under who?? Um, guess not. Unless they were factory. Doh!

 
Rep Power: 325

usually....sometimes we dont know what we do..that why you should always get a warrnty an have a prof. install...regardless...what you may call yourself. but get a Yellow. it helped me out a good bit when i got it!

 
Rep Power: 0

Update -

The machanic is now trying to find me another whole fusebox from a junk yard in order to save me some money. If not, they will have to order me new one which is costly. Plus labor! It's getting ugly. I've been driving my mother's car for two days and I expect them to have it the whole week. I told them I need it by Monday!

 
Rep Power: 302

FUSEBOX???? For WHAT????

 
Rep Power: 0

The guy said the part or component that's needed is built in to the fuse box!

Again, I don't have the name of the component but whatever it is it's not letting my alternator know loads are being placed on the system. He said if he turns on the headlights or air there is no voltage signal or drop so the Alternator doesn't know to operate properly and my car eventually dies from the loads. Something like that anyway. All the schematics point to this component no matter how he looks at it. So it needs a whole fuse box for this part he said. Heck if I know. Maybe I'll call Honda tomorrow and ask what they think it might be (just for fun) and ask the question about the fuse box too.

Sometimes these things (electrical) are not easy to trace. Also there are sometimes "hidden" things that you would never expect. I hope this is not the case and they actually find the problem. He did say he was checking for possible grounding issues but did not see anything unusual.

If this component or fuse box is replaced then he said he would know right away if it solved the problem (I asked this question today) by checking the loads after things are turned on. So it sounds like there would be no guessing.

I'll keep ya'll posted on the developments. So if anyone else might know of something that might be causing this please speak up.

To sum it up once more....

About six months ago my Alternator went out. Well, at least the machanic said this. So, they installed a rebuilt Alternator. Last week a different machanic replaced my timing belt, AC belt, and PS belt. This was a maintanence job because my car has 115,000 miles. A week later my car dies acting like the Alternator went bad again. Same thing! So, the machanic who originally replaced my Alternator said the rebuilt Alternator is actually ok, something else is causing it to not do it's job properly. They did put in a new battery (not a Yellow or anything) but are still working on why my Alternator is not seeing loads. Now it's a fuse box they are trying to find from a junk yard to save me money. I guess that's ok with me as long as they warranty it the same as a new fuse box. I'll ask.

To be continued...

 
Rep Power: 302

OK, the ELD is bad. It LOOKS like it's built into the fuse box, but it's not. The ELD can be replaced by itself.

Oh, yeah... the 7th gen is the first car to use this system, so it may confuse a mechanic until this becomes a common feature in all cars. Like I said, the ELD LOOKS like it's part of the fuse box. But it can be removed and replaced if someone just did a little research. It is not uncommon for the ELD to go bad.
My guess is they will get better with next generations.

 
Rep Power: 289

haha.. yeah thats a swappable piece. do a search online can probably find a used one for cheapper then a whole fuse box. and i think this can be DIY installed

 
Rep Power: 0

Well, too late... they already found a used fuse box and replaced it. Anyway, problem solved they say. Now it's all working properly so I pick it up tomorrow. Not sure what this whole mess is gonna cost me yet. They didn't have the thing all figured up yet. Who cares, I just need my car back. I just hope this works for good. Now I am afraid too hook my audio back up. I'm just gonna sell it on Ebay.

Well, my audio experience didn't last too long but that's ok. My next car I'm not messing with the audio. Not worth the hassles. I'm getting old anyway and my ears can't handle the loud noise all the time.

With the new cars the factory stuff sounds pretty decent now. They are getting much better. Yes, the Honda crap sucks but my next car won't be a Honda...

Chow!

(p.s. I'll let ya know what this all cost just for fun)

 
Rep Power: 286

Damn thats horrible

 
Rep Power: 811

ya i've only lost one around 38k.

 
Rep Power: 276

yeah it sucked, the parts people laughed at me, tell how honda was over-rated. Plus it was a bitch to put on.

 
Rep Power: 0

$294 out the door for all my issues. Not bad I guess. I pick my car up today and we shall see how it acts next week. If I have more trouble I am taking it to Honda but hopefully this solved the issue. No audio anymore though. I don't want to take a chance.

Stupid Honda...

I really don't think our cars are meant for Audio upgrades unless we get a bigger Alternator, bigger Battery, or maybe even a second Battery in the trunk. With the stock crap forget it. I learned the hard way. I really think all the draw on my car caused this.

 
Rep Power: 811

yea all i have are new speakers, deck, and a small amp (im talkin 25w rms per channel). Its decent, I save weight in the back, and nothing gets messed up.

 
Rep Power: 0

Problem came back! Grrrrrrrrrrr

Anyone have ANY clue what could be causing this?? It's back in shop again! My car keeps dying and so far I've had two alternators put in, a fuse box, new battery and tons of diagnostics. Honda says it sounds like a bad alternator but the other machanic assures me it's good, something else is causing it not to function properly. The fuse box was used but I can't imagine it having a bad ELD sensor too! This is getting rediculous...

Grounds have been checked and rechecked too! I think the machanic is at a loss. I would tow it to Honda but not sure if they know either and it would cost me a lot more at a Honda dealer I'm sure. At least it's not costing me much at my current machanic because everything is under warranty for the work they have done so far. So I'm kinda stuck here!

Should I start over and have Honda work on it from now on or do I keep letting my current machanic diagnose and test things?

 
Rep Power: 811

hmm well sometimes alternators don't work cause they're refurbished. We picked up a "new" one for my old jetta, threw it on, and it didn't work. We had to go find another and swap it in. So the battery light comes on again for yours?

 
Rep Power: 302

Well, changing the FUSEBOX is a sign to me that your mechanic was grasping at straws.
The ELD can be tested with a meter. It's basically like a big shunt. The more current runs through it, the higher an ouput "sensing" voltage it produces. This voltage tells the ECU how to manage the alternator. The whole thing can be tested by someone with a simple volt meter and a manual. But most "mechanics" don't have a real understanding of "electronics". I frequently solve electrical problems at the shop my uncle works at. They are very good mechanics, but they scratch their heads when it comes to the electrical.

Alternator can be seperately load tested. The only difference is that in our cars, the ECU can turn it off completely by removing power from the field terminal of the alternator. On most cars, the regulator is always active, even when no extra power is needed. So there is ALWAYS 12 volts applied to the field terminal. All you need to do is take a meter and measure the field terminal. If it gets 12 volts with the engine running, but the battery is NOT getting around 13.5 or so, the alternator is bad. If there is no power on the field, it's either the ecu, or the eld. Then you have to measure back from there. I'll have to get the manual to give you the pins to measure.

Or take it to Honda.

 
Rep Power: 811

i think the problem is any audio equipment added WILL NOT be seen by the eld. Maybe thats why it messes with it.