hondapwr

Ok, so I noticed that when I started my car this morning my speedometer and A/F gauge, and Oil Pressure gauge weren't working. The light bulbs for all the gauges seem to work when I turn the car to accessory but, no needle movement.

The car acts perfectly normal at first when idling and going in reverse, but once you move forward the alternator starts SINGING.. Whee whee whee whee whee whee, and then the whole car pulsates with each whee.. The headlights pulse, the motor pulses, gauge lights pulse.. everything pulses to this noise.. I tried unplugging the VSS, but that did nothing. To make it ever weider, the speedo will now jump around to random positions!

Any ideas??

JDMlyfestyle

Satan has taken over your car!!!

SL!M

What was the last install you did on the car? How long has it been? Did you get into any water situations? Just throwin out ideas.

hondapwr

The transmission was replaced recently, it also rained but only lightly.

hondapwr

Whee whee whee whee whee whee. I think it's the alternator making the noise, but I'm not sure. I wonder if there's a short.

hondapwr

Whoops, it was actually the backup light switch that I removed.. I'll try disconnecting the VSS now..

Westsideboy

I would suspect it is the voltage regulator circuit inside the alternator itself. In order to verify this, you will need to attach a multimeter to your battery leads, and then rev the engine to reproduce the same effect (which will be difficult if you actually have to be moving in order to reproduce the effect and not just idling). If you see the voltage bounce back and forth between voltages (IE - 10 volts to 16 volts) in sync with engine revolutions, then the regulator is shot.

hondapwr

I can make it start pulsating by moving forward, then stopping. Once stopped after moving, the alternator will continue to sing and sing.. (If it's the alternator making the noise)

Luserkid

So your belt is on to tight and the Alt. is going out. Take it to Autozone to get a free reading.

hondapwr

Ok, now the starter doesn't function anymore...

Removing the VSS plug from the transmission didn't help.

The voltage at the battery definitely pulsates, but it doesn't go above 14v at idle.

I hope the extra voltage didn't kill my starter, and 3 gauges...

hondapwr

Do I really need to remove the driveaxle to get the alternator out? What size socket do I need to get the axle nut off?

SL!M

I wouldn't think so. What engine is in the car?

JDM-EJ1

Yeah, definitely sounds like the alternator is going out. Take it Schucks, Autozone (local parts store) and get a free reading of it.

ncskate

just an opinion if ur altenator checks out good check the transmission to body ground because in my delsol when i got finished with a clutch swap mine ran good for 2 or so days then started having similiar problems to what ur explaining and i realized the tranny ground wasnt tightened and alil corroded so i sanded it up and tightened it, worth a shot...

hondapwr

I replaced the alternator and tightened the tranny ground strap, and it seems to run ok now but my speedo and air/fuel gauge are still dead..

hondapwr

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SL!M &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wouldn't think so. What engine is in the car?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's a B16A in a 96 LX, and I did need to move the driveaxle out of the way to get it out.