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Alternator or ECU or something else?

Old Apr 10, 2013
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Alternator or ECU or something else?

Hi all,
I first noticed something when my car would go to idle on stops or in park that my battery symbol would come on but as soon as i went above idle, it disappeared.

Later on, I was on my way to pick up my brother from work. As i was driving, with no warning lights at all and no batter symbol, all my gauges turned off, deck turned off then on. Didn't freak out, tapped the gas and car was still running with no problem, then thought alternator, just not enough juice from the battery to power my electronics, well most of them.

Got to my brothers work place, and surly enough when i tried to start the car again, it just made clicking noises as to a dead battery and for sure we thought it was the alternator.

Got it towed by my uncle, get to my house, uncle tells me to start the car, and sure enough it starts, no problem, everything works, and the is alternator charging the battery even as the RPM's dropped to idle. Now i'm really confused.

BTW I drive a 2004 Honda Civic Si with an EM2 Chassis, everything bone stock, except for an aftermarket head unit.
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Old Apr 10, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

Check your connections, clean your battery terminal and ensure all your grounds are good, should be a chasis ground to make sure it is tight. A loose connection could cause the same symptoms as it being bad.

You should also test your alternator with a multimeter, see what charge it is putting to the battery.
could be an early warning its going bad.

Last edited by Gunner; Apr 10, 2013 at 10:33 AM.
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Old Apr 10, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

Originally Posted by Gunner
You should also test your alternator with a multimeter, see what charge it is putting to the battery.

agreed.....this should be your first step
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Old Apr 10, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

you might have a weird short in your battery when bouncing around.

taking a voltage reading does help but your best to take that battery to a local auto parts place to get a load test on the battery.

also, even though these batteries are "maintenance free", pop off the covers and make sure you got fluid in the cells.

i'm with gunner though. bad connection somewhere or your battery is hosed or on it's way to the grave yard
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Old Apr 10, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

A very good friend of mine, very skilled with anything automotive, told me to check if my alternator was working by taking the negative lead off the battery while the car was running and if the car still runs the alternator was fine. Did this and car was still running. Also tested with a multimeter and battery was being charged at around 13.8 to 14.5 volts. i was thinking the same thing that the battery was causing the problem. Car is sitting at my Uncle's mechanic shop. going to get the warranty info for the battery from my sister-in-law today and see if replacing the battery works. Thanks for the replies, i'll check back with what happens.
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Old Apr 11, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

tuned in for the updates..
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Old Apr 11, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

Check the fuse under the dash for ALT.

I know it's silly, but happened to me.
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Old Apr 13, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

Took it to the mechanic, diagnosed it for free, know him, and we figured out it was the alternator because it wouldn't charge the battery when the car would go to idle and checked everything else and it was good. Replaced it and the worn belts, now she runs good without a problem. Took around an hour and a half to do and cost around $150, so all in all it's was a good day. Thanks for all the suggestions and have a great day everyone.
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Old Apr 15, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

Glad to hear its fixed.
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Old Apr 19, 2013
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Re: Alternator or ECU or something else?

Thanks, and it was fun to drive my brothers G37 for 2 days while fixing it.
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