Battery Light Refuses to turn off
 

First let me prefix this by saying I have already searched and read every thread in regards to the Battery Light staying on. It just turned on Sunday mourning.

I took my car to my mechanic and he first tried to turn if off but could not.

I then took it to Hersons Honda who also cant seem to figure out this damn Battery Light problem.

First let me explain what we have tried:
1.) Checked the volts on the alternator and there are fine. They measure 14-14.2 Volts. This was measured by both the Honda tech and my mechanic.
2.) Battery was replaced twice. I replaced it 3 weeks ago first. Then on Sunday I went back to Advance auto parts to change it again just in case something was wrong with it.
3.) We checked the alternator fuse and it’s ok.
4.) We checked for bad grounds and can’t seem to find any. I took out all the extra grounds to my negative terminals battery cable (about 5 or 6), and the light still is on.
5.) Alternator Belt is not loose. It is on tight. Alternator belt/power steering belt/timing belt where changed in February and never had a problem.
6.) My mechanic took out the ECU Fuse under the hood, but the light came back on. Honda tried to reset it and they said the same thing.

I gave it to Honda to Diagnose and they are charging me $56 but still are trying to look at what’s wrong. They think it MIGHT be a problem with a short on a cable from the ECU to the Dash board, or the ECU to the alternator or battery.

I think there just fishing for answers because they have no clue what’s wrong with it. They said that to pull the dash apart and check the above recommendation would cost $350.

I told them to hold off.

I also ran the OBD Reader but no codes were returned. I just did this for good measure as there was no check engine light anyways but i wanted to be sure.

What could it be?

Thanks again in advance.
Oren

my money is on a short in the gauge cluster wiring for the icon, since its not a real problem with the charging system.

What would be the best way to check to make sure its the wiring in the gauge cluster?

thank gearbox.

This is a long shot but worth a try.

#10 Fuse in under dash box = 7.5 Amps
# 4 Fuse in under dash box = 10 Amps

CraigW,

Can you please be more specific. Do you mean test the amperage with an ammeter of fuse #10 and fuse #4, and make sure they equal what you stated above?

Thanks

I'm sure he meant to check both fuses if any are blown.

CraigW,

I checked every fuse under the dash, and all fuses up to 30 amps under the hood and they are all good.

I'll try to find wiring diagrams mentioning the dash console, and battery light to hopefully trace the wires and find a short.

Thanks

Quick Question.

I read in another thread about the battery light being on that you could test your alternator by starting the car and then disconecting the negative battery terminal and see if the car still remains on.

Is this true? I tried this and once I disconnected my negative battery terminal the car shut off right away.

Here is the information from the Honda Dealer enclosed. It seems the alternator is fine as is the battery.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9620/test0du.jpg

Thanks.
Oren

thats a great result. idk what the problem is. disconnecting the battery shuts off everything because there is no ground for any electric component. car cant stay running without computers, sensors, etc. When my battery died and i got jumped, the car was having a hard time driving to the auto place. lights keep dimming like crazy, engine felt funny, so the batt has alot to do with how the car runs. its like a filter for electricity before it gets sent out to the electronics.

Just an update.

We replaced the alternator to try and see if that was it.

No luck. The damn battery light is still on.

I think you first prediction was right gearbox. It’s probably a short in the gauge cluster wiring.

I have the diagrams and guess I will have to trace them out.

Hopefully it’s not a problem with the gauge cluster (instrument panel) itself. It looks like it would cost $210 for the gauge cluster.

ARGH!!

Electrical problems suck.

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6424/gauge2ij.jpg

Thanks again everyone.

Oren

put e-tape on it and chill

I was waiting for the correct answer, +1 for you:tup:

okay then next time something really breaks, you have a nice surprise :)

Re: Battery Light Refuses to turn off
 

Thread revival...
Any update on this???

Re: Battery Light Refuses to turn off
 

Dude, really?

this is 9 years old,

the member is probably long gone,

they have not posted here since 2008

:_doh:

:lock:

Re: Battery Light Refuses to turn off
 

I found out the main problem with battery lights not turning off on my Honda’s took many years to find out the cheaper Alternators from O’Reillys straight out of the box test bad they pass to test and fail the rest don’t but the Remanufactured pay a little more and buy them new When they remanufactured they don’t replace all the parts they get remanufactured in Mexico only by the Duralast ones the new ones not the Remanufactured
you can aslo change the voltage regulator in the fuse box under the hood it’s a brown thing in the fuse box that has a bunch of screws

Re: Battery Light Refuses to turn off
 

im pretty sure you’d be looking for a blown fuse and not a short. Fuses don’t short. They turn black inside when they’re blown. Also, it could be a sensor causing the issue. I think it depends on the year and model