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hello everyone! long time no speak....i havent visited the forums in a long time....so i return in search for help.

tonight, i got in my car, started him up, and the battery light started flashing rapidly and would not shut off....i drove the car for a few minutes, and the light continued to flash. all of a sudden it shut off. i arrived home, shut the car off, started it back up, and the light started flashing again. i tried cleaning the battery contacts and checked the connections on the altenator. so i started the car back up and stoped by a friends house to see if he had any ideas.....we put on my high beams, blasted the heat and my stereo, and the lights didnt dim, so he supposes that the altenator is still charging the battery.

any ideas?!

thanks. mark

 
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welcome back. I can't think of anything other than your alternator. Just because the lights didn't dim doesn't mean anything. On my older car they didn't dim unyil the battery was low (check and see if the eyehole thing is green). Anyway, check the voltage on the battery... 12V when the car is off and around 13 when its running. If it isn't at 13 then it's most likely the alternator or regulator.

 
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Yeah this is just one of those problems that just hard to diagnose on the internet. I know thats not what you want to hear but your best bet is to see if it's throwing a code. Might need new battery cables all together if you battery is good and the connections themselves are good. If that is the case it's not expensive just a bit of a hassle. One of the tools out there tells you if there is a power drain while the engine is off and the might explain why it happens when the car is off for a while. and can get that at any automotive store. Best of luck, keep us updated.

 
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Actually, the battery (charging system indicator) indicates other problems besides the common battery and charging system failures.

You have already started to diagnose the predictable failures and since your car is driving and the battery and regulator appear to be operating properly, then it would be safe to venture a route of failure.

The Honda Civic uses a mulitplex system to control many functions. Many of these functions have a sleep mode enabled which reduces the parasitic draw on the battery. If the charging indicator goes on then goes off after the car is started, this is an indication that a failure in the multiplex system is occuring.

Unfortunately, it would be impossible for you to read the codes from the engine ecu without the proper tools. If your car is under warranty, I would take it to Honda to have it checked out. Any dealer can properly read the fault codes and diagnose the problem.

Please keep in mind that modifications to your cars electrical system will have an affect on the warranty of this claim. If it can be proven that your modification caused the fault or failure, then you would be most likely forced to pay for the repair.

The only thing I can offer is to ask what modifications you have done to the car. Particularly electrical ones, i.e. stereo, alarm.

 
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the only electrical system modifications i have are a small amplifier, 125x4 peak...and i had a set of fog lights installed, i hope that those two items alone would not be enough to rupture the electrical system of the honda. thanks, mark.