yanirita911

IO have replaced the battery with a brand new battery and the battery light still shows up and then all of a sudden the car shuts off

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

The light is indication that something is wrong with the charging system as a whole. You may want to start by having the alternator tested and/or making sure the whole circuit is properly connected/grounded.

yanirita911

Ty so much I was looking at alternators from auto zone they say life is like 30k to 40 k on it. But others on youtube videos say they have 1 yr replacement free of charge. What do u think? Should I go for original part like on ebay? or stick to free replacement?

Tyson

its not a battery light. its a charge light and only means the alternator needs replacing.

get any replacement. the lifetime replacement ones are crap, sometimes they dont work "new". but theres not many other options. you learn to replace them quickly.

- see i'm friendly.

24TEN

iTrader: (2)

I can vouch for learning to replace them quickly. Those autozone ones are hit or miss and I'd lean on mostly miss. I will say the very last one I installed on my car has been on there for a few years now.

acmoc

I have a lifetime replacemrnt onr from kragen. Works fine. Can be swapped out through the wheel well

yanirita911

hey guys, hope everyone is well. Sooo since the negative ground battery was full of acid and all full of corrosion i decided to chop it and make a whole new line to the battery. I went and did and my civic turned on asap after a jump. I let it sit for like 10 minutes while the needle moved up to get the car warmed up. then i drove like 3 miles i went to reverse into my driveway and the battery light came on and the car shut off. What do u guys think? is it still the alternator?

sumdewd

Have you checked the charging voltage with a multimeter yet while running? Should be ballpark 13.5-14.4. I don't have my service manual right now but anywhere in that area. Your battery probably needs to be recharged again since it died. Note that charging voltage is only part of the story, and having a store bench test the alternator is much more comprehensive.

Yes we're still leaning toward the alternator. It's not too hard to remove. Two years ago I had a solid battery light but the alternator tested fine at Autozone. Eventually they just replaced it under "Customer satisfaction" after I wouldn't leave, since it was the second time I've had it out for them to test. It also murdered my battery that had 1 month of warranty left (lol). Worked fine since.

When you replaced that ground wire, did you connect it to the chassis below the battery tray, then to the end of the transmission? Have you checked the rest of the ground wires?

Tyson

can you jiggle the terminals off the battery? there should be no movement.

unfortunately the original terminal clamps stretch over time, and need to be shimmed to be tight.

that being said, if the car is shutting off while running, its not the battery. the car does not need the battery once its started.

like mentioned, you really need to check the voltage at the alternator. if it is anything less than 14.5V, its a bad alternator. 13.5V is not within spec.

agreed, the ground is important and if you replaced the wire or the original terminals, it needs to be exactly like it was before and clean.

sumdewd

Well, crap I learned something new. I've been driving on low voltage for years on different alternators. Do the USDM Civics actually have the voltage regulators in the fuse box? I could never find the concrete answer online and I don't have a USDM FSM.

Tyson

the voltage regulator is integrated in the alternator and is often the reason for a failed alternator.

it seems that when they "rebuild" the alternator, they dont replace or check that its failed and only the bearings and brushes are rebuilt. which is why bad "new" alternators are often sold.

there is an electrical load detector located in the engine fuse box. rarely it fails, but they can and do and are really the last thing to check. but i always suspect the alternator, and just replacing it doesnt mean its good.

yanirita911

ok guys im back. It was a struggle getting that alternator out of there. The best thing I love is that its is only 4 bolts to take out! This was a great experience even though i finally made it by 314am and got it done since working on it since 11 pm at night. I was afraid and clueless but followed youtube videos to guide me. Im so proud of my self. Anyways, I finally placed the new one and i drove it for a little bit today and drive like 40 minutes or so and the needle started going up and down and the car was over heating but no smoke. I just know its over heating cause it was going into the "H" section. So, Someone on the highway said it may the fans. or a fan relay? I need guidance here my friends

Tyson

no question about it overheating.

should be easy to figure out if the fans are coming on, they make a loud audible noise.

do you see any white smoke coming out? smell sweet, coolant smells sweet and means head gasket is leaking which is typical but expensive repair.

check the coolant level. fill it up, take a guess how much it needed to be full.

obviously look for other kinds of leaks.

i would not continue to drive on an overheating engine, thats a sure way to destroy the head gasket if its not already.

yanirita911

ok ijm back autozone. they said it may be a censor, the thermometer ext... i can drive like 40 minutes or so n it will go up. if i drive at under 40 miles an hr it will go down. no smell, no white smoke, its just the gauge keeps going up and down. also i turn on the lights n the needle goes up, i hit the brakes the needle goes up. idk...

Tyson

uh, well thats different.

you have a bad ground behind the gauge cluster.

check the black wire on the connector.

its not too difficult to get to with a philips screw driver. theres two screw covers near the windshield, and two under the front bezel near the far corners.

yanirita911

hmmmmm. when i swapped the battery and the alternator i did get some advice from someone in the store to check all other ground cables. I was lol wellum i thought there was only one ground cable lol. be mindfull im not a mechanic but i can do little things ob my own

Tyson

grounds are important.

did you check the tranny ground.

theres also an important ground behind the thermostat.

yanirita911

where is the gauge cluter? what is the gauge cluster? sorry for the many questions but im mommy on a budjet and dont have much.

Tyson

the gauge you see... temp gauge is part of it. behind the wheel.

yanirita911

hm. i think this is more difficult than i thought.

are there any videos online on youtube that i can watch someone doing this?

yanirita911

idk wat to do after i pull this screen out

acmoc

can you post photos