robjcivic

My daughter called me this afternoon. She lives a few hours from here. She has a 2002 civic with a 1.7 vtec with a manual trans and I'm thinking about 130k miles.

She was driving along and the battery light started flickering when she would stop at a signal and and then the battery light would turn off as she would pick up speed again. Then the gauges needles all fell to the bottom pegs. I asked and she said they did not flutter or shake, they just all went down. She pulled over and checked under the hood. Her battery terminal is corroded. The dreaded blue fuzz. Obviously that needs to be dealt with.

She tried to restart and it just clicks. I driving to help her tomorrow.

I'm thinking alternator and maybe even a battery just to start fresh because she does live away from home.

My question is I've seen some threads with instrument and start issues where people have thrown out suggestions of master relay, ignition switch, battery, grounds, and so on. Nobody ever comes back on and posts what the final resolution was.

One post I read was this: "Civics have a weird harness that controls voltage from the alternator .... I cannot think of the name, but there is another part that can go bad and cause the symptoms you are having... I think it's in the fuse/relay box and is controlled by the ECU. (I may be a little bit off, have never had to personally deal with it, but have heard about it)"

That's pretty vague....

I know nobody can give me a definite answer but does this sound like it could be a simple alternator and/or battery issue. I did read one post on another site that said a new battery fixed the same issue with the instruments. They were not having the battery light come on indicating a problem with the alternator.

My daily driver is a low mileage '70 Dodge Swinger I restored myself partly because I know how complex today's computer controlled systems are in these cars. Low voltage can really mess with them and give unusual symptoms that may seem unrelated.

Any help will be appreciated. She's just out of school and working her first career job so not rolling in cash.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

It seems to me that she's got a dead alternator, and a flat battery as a result of its inefficiency. But, I would definitely inspect engine grounds (there's at least 2 of them, one left of the exhaust manifold, and one down below on the right side of the exhaust manifold) while you're under the hood. They could also be causing a weak connection on the system, making the alternator perform at substandard ratings.

kaivorth

I just went through this last week. Gauges all died. It was a dead alternator. Might as well throw in a new battery as well. I also replaced all my ground wires so I know they have a solid connection.

Bought something similar to this:




Haven't replaced the positive side one yet, I will need to do it soon...Just procrastinating right now.

gmcuajo1

Check battery terminals and ground cable and replace as needed.
Use a multimeter and chec voltages. Charged battery (no connected should be ~12.6 V. Connected (with engine off) a little less. To check alternator, start the engine. With engine correct voltage is ~13.5 V for a good alternator. Bad alternator and voltage will remain ~12. Slighly depress gas pedal and check volltage, should remain ~13.5 V.

Remember to disconnect negative terminal first, before positive, because of safety.