firecatf7333

98 civic 170 k

So I started my car and drove 1 mile down road to the store. Shut off car and then it wouldn't start. I had it jumped and it went about 5 minutes and then shut off again. Battery reads 12.48 when off and then it's losing volts when running until it will shut off.

Also the belt was smoking a little be a use the car will sit for a week at times. It's smoked/ squels a little before and then it runs down the road and stops.

Could the belt be bad and not allowing alternator to Charge? How do I check this.
Or is it just the alternator?

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Is the light that looks like a battery on?

The belt could be slipping and not spinning the alternator enough. You can have the alternator tested at parts store.

ezone

Alternator could be perfectly good yet not charge.....due to slipping belt, blown fuse, disconnected wiring, etc.


If the belt is loose, tighten it and see if the problem improves

RobertD

suggest removing the belt and making sure all pulleys (besides the crank pulley) spin freely. usually if you see smoke from a belt, something is locked up.

firecatf7333

The belts feel tight.. the battery light doesn't come on after car is started. Fuse 15 is good. This main ground doesn't look good. also I noticed the speedo skip before the car shut off.

GolNat

iTrader: (7)

Bad ground could cause those problems!!

Fix that it looks like crap!

ezone

"feel tight" isn't good enough if you don't know how tight a belt must be, in the first place.


If it's squealing and smoking (signs of slipping) especially after you first start the engine, it's probably not tight enough.

firecatf7333

I changed the alternator and both belts. The battery is charging now at 14.3 volts but now the battery light is on... The battery light actually wasn't on when the old alternator wasn't charging?????

ezone

Unplug the 4 wire connector from the alternator.
If the warning light then goes out, that means the new alternator is faulty (likely bad or incorrect regulator)