bporter1972

Hey. Just wanted to say that this is a great and very informative site you all have here, with lots of helpful folks!
That being said... I just replaced the alternator on my GF's 2002 Civic LX. The bearings were pretty much shot when we recently bought the car, so when the "maint req" light came on just 4-5 days before I replaced it, I chalked it up to the alt. not adequately charging the electrical system.
Needless to say, I was slightly dissapointed to see it still shining brightly in the gauge cluster after having the battery unhooked for several hours during the surgery. I took it into Autozone and they scanned it for free and said there is some kind of short/open condition in the electrical system.
I apologize that I can't remember the exact code description, but that pretty much sums it up.

Now, could it be that the code is coming from an inadequately tightened alt. belt? Or is it more likely that it is something totally unrelated to the alternator goin bad/replacement? It just seems like a heck of a coincidence that the light (and the type of code thrown) would pop up right at this very point in time, don't you think?
Additionally, I should mention that the car had just had $800+ worth of certified Honda service right before we purchased it from a close family friend.

Thanks for listening gang, and any and all ideas/opinions are welcomed, and will be entertained.

Bill P.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

the maint reqd light has no bearing on the mechanical condition of the car at all. its just a timer light that comes on every 10k miles or so to remind you to change the oil. most people take it to the dealer and just pay a few hundred $$ to have them turn the light off and change the oil. the icon with a pic of an engine will come on if there are serious engine problems that need fixing. and the battery icon will come on if there is a charging system problem.

to reset the maint reqd icon, hold down the trip meter button on the gauge cluster and turn the car to ON (without starting engine). keep holding the button for 20 seconds. turn car off and let go of button. turn car on and the light should be off til another 10k miles whatever the factory set the mileage interval for. its the stupidest thing ive ever heard of and honda just put it there to trick people to bring the car in for repairs when in reality theres no problem at all.