Rep Power: 0

1996 DX:

I was on a highway last night with my girlfriend in the car, when we heard a noise in the engine bay like a snap, followed by

what sounded like a belt bouncing around the engine compartment. This noise was then followed by a high pitched squealing

sound coming from (I think) the driver side of the car; but in the engine compartment. Honestly it sounded close to the fuse

box, but I wasn't too sure - it was pitch black outside and I could only look into the engine bay with my phone!

Drove for about a quarter mile and then pulled over at a nearby parking lot. Checked it out, oddly enough no belts were

broken. Immediately after the noise, my headlights started to dim (thought at this point it was the alternator belt that

broke) and my gauge cluster dimmed as well. I didn't want to run the car any further in case we just died on the road, so I

pulled over.

The next day (today) I started the car, CEL and batt light come on. Strongly (for whatever reason, my car has a tendency to

have a dimming effect on batt light, sometimes it will fade in and out or flicker; this particular occasion it came on very

brightly). The car had enough juice to start up twice on its own. Never needed a jump.

I couldn't see what actually broke in there last night, but I know it was something. These past few days have been pretty

cold - under 32 F - and a belt had been squealing in 1st and 2nd gear when I first started driving it during the day. This

was night and when we left the house, it started making noise like the past day or so, but I just figured it was cold.

The alternator was replaced about 6 months ago, as well as the battery. I was having problems with it back then and a guy

fixed it for me. The problem was not the alternator, but the power going TO the alternator - so he routed a wire from the

fuse box directly to the alternator (the brand new alternator). This solved the problem, and the battery would be able to

charge ... everything was fine.

Right now, I'm stuck thinking it's an electrical issue. Any easy fixes that I've overlooked? I need to make sure the

connection into the back of the alternator isn't loose, but anything else?

Thanks in advance!

 
Rep Power: 813

this almost happened to me. the alternator bolt on civics has a bad tendency to wiggle itself loose. the first signs are a squeaking belt, because tension is disappearing as the belt loosens. this shouldve been your first sign to have it checked immediately. im betting your alternator belt did not break, it just came loose and that first snap you heard was the belt coming off and smacking a part of the car, then turning a few times and falling off. without the belt, there is no alternator and the charging system light comes on. also, since you are only running off battery at 12v instead of 14v+ everything will be dimmer and you cannot drive very far on just the battery before everything starts to die and get permanently damaged. you are very lucky you pulled over or you might be facing thousands of $$ in repairs. you prolly didnt see anything wrong cause the alt belt is down deep in the engine bay and hard to see. take another look. if belt is still there, its a bad alternator (yes, they can go bad that fast. ive gone thru 3 alternators in less than a year on my old car).

 
Rep Power: 0

Gearbox -

Thanks for the fast response. I don't have power steering, so there are only 2 belts hooked up to the engine - the AC belt and the belt for the alternator. I looked down there that night with only the light from my cell phone and saw the power steering pulley, which didn't have the belt on it, and initially incorrectly thought that it was the alternator belt that was missing. Checking it out earlier today, the alternator belt is still attached. I went to a shop today to pick up another alternator belt, which I have, but it turns out that everything is still intact. Could a loose alternator belt cause all this? It doesn't have too much play - maybe a little more than a half inch, but nothing crazy.

 
Rep Power: 813

you didnt notice any difference without power steering?? as for the loose alt belt, yeah its possible, but you still would be getting some charge. i would get the alt and battery tested at auto store, that will tell you for sure if the alt is working properly. should be around 60-70 amps. maybe the alt just died, ive had them go bad in a few months before.

 
Rep Power: 0

if they go bad that quickly, does that mean that its a wiring issue? ie, an improperly wired alternator. im not too sure if the guy that 'fixed' mine really knew what he was doing, but he did get it fixed on the spot.

i dont know what you mean about the power steering. that night that i broke down, i looked in there with my phone and saw that first pulley - the one that holds the power steering belt - and there wasn't a belt on there, so i just assumed that it was the alternator. it was a quick decision, but i was wrong.

 
Rep Power: 813

well without power steering, its really hard to turn the wheel, you need both hands. for the alt, its possible something was wired wrong, but sometimes they just break for no reason. im not sure about your car, but alot of newer civics have a load detector that turns off the alt when its not needed. if it stays on all the time making power, it could burn itself out. i had this problem using an underdrive (smaller pulley). well in 2 months, it killed the alternator cause it was having to work so hard to make the same power as before.

 
Rep Power: 0

thanks gearbox -

it just turned out to be that the belts were too loose. there are still other problems with the car, but it seems to have fixed the issue just replacing the belts. thank you for your help.