Sailorman3

I have a 2005 Civic sedan. A couple of days ago my wife told me that the airbag light had come on in the car and by the time she got home the battery light was flashing. I put the battery tester on and the battery was good but the car was not charging. A no brainer. The alternator is gone. I sprayed some wd-40 on the powersteering and alternator bolts and left it overnight to soak in so I wouldn't have any seized bolts and the next morning went out to start the repairs. Checked the charging system again and this time everything was perfect. The car is charging!! I thought maybe the wd-40 may have cleaned up a bit of corrision and got everything working again. I worked last night and took the car. On the way home the airbag light came on again but the lights did not dim. Turned on the ac, the airbag light went off and every time the ac kicks in the lights go dim. Turn off the ac, airbag light back on. I'm guessing the voltage regulato is gone, so I'm back to having to change out the alternator. Has anyone every had this kind of problem or have any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Matt_75

I had this very thing happen to me about 3 months ago in my 02 ex sedan. I would say it's 100% the alternator voltage regulator as long as you know the wiring is good.

I was on the on ramp to the highway to pick my daughter up from pre-school. What I found neat and scary all at the same time is how the ECU started systematically shutting down non-essential systems. First, my after market radio face went off all together, then the ABS light came on, again, non-essential and finally the A/C shut itself off. I managed to make it to pick my daughter and back home pretty much running on the battery as the charge/battery light was blinking intermittently. Next day installed a reman alternator and all was fixed.

You might want to inspect your drive belts if they haven't been changed recently while your there since both have to come off.

Good luck with new alternator. You should be fine.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

have the alt tested at an auto store for free. it can tell you all sorts of things that could be wrong with it like amp output, diode, regulator, etc.

Sailorman3

New alternator did the trick. Thanks for the feedback.

MattyIce

Same exact thing happened to me in my 00 Ex about a week ago. The computer started shutting down nonessential stuff. When I would turn my blinkers on the Rev meter would go up and down and all the other gauges quit working too. Strange things and I had no clue. Luckily the guy at autozone told me the voltage regulator went out. But for some reason after I replaced the whole alternator my battery light still comes on very dim when I turn my lights on at night.