jmars808

Hello,

So to start, 6 months ago I had a nice sound system installed. The Amp is a 300RMSx1 to sub and 100RMSx2 to components. Running a 4 gauge wire. A few days after install, I noticed my batt light would flicker on while driving. I had it tested by a shop. they said my ALT was bad. I ordered an upgraded new Bosch 130amp ALT over the stock 70 Amp ALT to help support the system. Got the ALT on eBay from a shop with many good comments and 1 year warranty.

Now, 5 months goes by, my batt light is on flickering again while driving. Took it to a diff shop to have checked out, they said I need a new Battery (batt was 3 years old). I put in a new battery and after 4 days the batt light came on again.

Took it to where I got the battery and they said my ALT is bad! Had a new one shipped out from the ebay place in Cali BNR AutoParts since it was under warranty after I had to give them a $100 deposit until I return the old one.

Bring the new ALT to the shop to install now they say it's making noise and dropping in Volts! Ugh...Could this really be two bad ALTs or is there another problem here??? The shop is checking it now fiddling with the stereo/amp to see if that's the issue and what not...UPDATE: The shop just called and said they think there is something killing these altenators. They are trying to find out what it is.

Any ideas? Thanks.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

crappy alternator.

and how hard do you bump your system?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

could be crappy alternators. most are not made like they were used to and if they work too hard, they burn out. if the alt is a good one, then you may be pushing too much power from the stereo, which is killing the battery and in turn causing the alt to work non stop to try and charge it. on our cars, any aftermarket electricals added will be "invisible" to the ecu. basically that means the alt will still cycle on and off depending on the ELD and various factors, rather than stay on constantly. this eventually leads to battery drain and failure, which can then cause alt failure. you need a voltmeter in the car to see what's happening in real time.

jmars808

I usually bump it pretty good. Ok. They are running all those tests for me now. If It turns out that this 2nd ALT is bad should I just have them put in a stock 70 amp ALT and try to not play my system on "loud" all the time?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

that and watch your voltage. check it 4 hrs after you stop driving. if it starts slipping below 12.6v then you have a problem and the system is causing too much drain that the alt cannot recharge.

jmars808

Ok. Thanks Gearbox. Well, after two days they said it's the New ALT that was bad. They put in a stock 70 amp ALT and it ran fine.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

there was another OEM alternator that fitted our cars. i believe it was the honda odyssey but someone needs to confirm this or google it.

mikey1

its simple....

your system, when "bumped pretty good" is drawing more power than the alternator can produce/provide, when this happens your car will start sucking power from the battery to compensate, which is what eventually killed your battery,

you have to remember that 130 amps is powering your entire car, not just the sound system,

you might want to install an amp meter in your car, this would show you when you are drawing too much power, anytime the needle drops below 12v

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

on these cars that wont work. they routinely drop to 11.5v when the ELD kicks off the alternator. i would estimate that the alt is not charging for over 50% of your driving time. when you are pressing the gas under most conditions, the alt is not working. adding aftermarket accessories will not been seen as an extra load, so the problem becomes even worse. honda originally did this as a fuel saving feature, but it should be disabled when running sound systems.

jmars808

I was also told to add a CAP to the sound system. Would this help with the problem?

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

nope, caps are completely useless and only draw more power from the system to constantly recharge themselves.

kbook

Before I sold my civic 04, I still missed my car!! It's fuel saver!!.... Okay, I remembered driving with the batt light coming on. I went to the shop and they found that the alternator was bad. They replaced it however the appearance didn't look like OEM alt so I am very skeptical. The light came on again after driving.

I went back to the shop. The service manager blamed my Autozone Duralast GOLD that it caused alt to collapse. He claimed that sear battery (I forgot the trade name) caused similar thing. I don't believed him at all. My duralast gold was less than 1 year old. It think that it also matched the OEM spec ( gearbox help me ei ei)

I had to drive back to autozone and begged them to replace the batt for me because the guy at the shop use my car's alternator as a hostage. After, batt was replaced that shop agreed to put the new alt (Thank god, it looked like OEM this time) and it worked great.

I did research on the remanufactured alternator. They did not change every parts in there but they replace the worn out parts and keep the rest. Buying remanufactured alternator, you will have to bet on your luck.

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