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Hey guys, ladies too,

Driving an 85 S1500 Hatch, 160k miles, her names "Jane".

Battery light was coming on and off the other night on the highway and eventually stayed on. It was even blinking faster than a blinker some of the time that night. The light has been on a couple of times since then and was on again today. Did an hour and a half trip this afternoon with the light on both ways and made it home and then a couple hours later trying to start it and not enough juice to get it to turn over.

Previously, I had a Alt Belt squeeling when I'd hit a good puddle and eventually it was more frequent. I tightened that belt about a month or so ago and the squeeling stopped. Is it possible I torched the Alternator with the sqeeling?

I took a look at the battery and it does not have the normal removable filler caps that I'm used to seeing, but it's definately been in the car a while. Weve got another battery on the charger and will see if there is any difference...

In the mean time any thoughts?

Scott

 
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maybe take the alternator in to an autozone or something to get tested?

 
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Thanks Josh, I had forgotten about that. I may have found the culprit though.

I pulled my battery out and went to charge it and the charger was acting like it was already charged. I grabbed my Fluke and tested it and it read about 12.8 Volts. I cleaned the battery terminals and the cable ends and reinstalled the battery and she immediately started. I was silly enough to think it was just the dirty connections. Off for a test ride to see if the battery light comes on. 2 minutes after leaving the house the battery light comes on. I keep going 10 minutes or so and end up turning around. The battery light comes on some and it's also off some of the time. (shrug)...

Before I get back to the mobile station, the headlights were getting dim. I actually stopped at the mobile station instead of going directly home. Not such a good choice. I indeed turned OFF the ignition and only then realized what I did. She was not about to start on her own power, that battery was pretty drained. I loosend the battery cables, twisted them back and forth and no luck. I got a jump from the kid working there and headed for home 3 minutes away. The lights were really dim and got worse along the way. I eventually shut them off and made it home. That's a great feeling, pulling into the driveway.

So back at the gas station I found a wonderful thing on the positive battery terminal. There was this one smaller wire that is supposed to be attached into the positive terminal connector. Well it was so loose that it pulled right out. So I'm thinking of starting right there and rewiring that to the terminal. I guess 26 years of being that close to a battery the whole thing corroded into nothing.

I'll post back after I've reconnected that wire. Thanks for the beta on testing my alternator.

 
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Most common problem with alternators is the brushes wear out over time. Seems like most people just replace their alternator these days. If you're cheap like me and not afraid to take your alternator apart you can replace the brushes for about $20. Take the alternator off the car and remove the plate from the back and the brushes should be right there. When you get an alternator rebuilt they generally replace the brushes, bearing and voltage regulator. It's listed as part #3 in this link...

http://www.hondapartsnow.com/Page_Pr...ame=Alternator

 
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Thanks Stock 99,

I looked into changing the brushes but the ones I found were $60 a pair and the reman alt was only $75.

One great side benefit was finding a loose wire on the battery cable. Now my 4 way flashers work...