loss of electrical power... short somewhere?
03-26-2005, 05:45 PM
#1
Honda-Tech Member
Thread Starter
loss of electrical power... short somewhere?
ok, so this is related to another thread i started, but the problem mutated. heres the original thread - https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1187497.
anyway, brief overview. bad wiring job i did and i was shorting out my ignition somehow by powering my gauges from a fuse tap located on the ignition fuse. i removed the bad tap, and the car started fine. at this point there were no electrical problems.
ok, so next, i remove both gauges, remove the wiring associated with the gauges, and reconnect my cluster. car starts again, but i notice that my battery light is on. strange i thought. my vafc is reading about 12.0 volts on the battery while running. hmm, lower than its supposed to be. so i decide to drive it for a short distance, and as i drive, the voltage is dropping more and more, like a tenth of a volt every few seconds. not good.
so by the point of the voltage reading about 9.0 volts, everything electrical is dim. im on my way back home cuz i dont want it to die on the road. luckily i get it back into the driveway when its around 8.0 volts, and by that point, it stalls out.
needless to say, theres an electrical problem. but im not sure what it is, and im confident its NOT the alternator. its something with the wiring, even though i removed the wiring associated with the gauges. this is really baffling actually, just for that fact that all wiring looks normal. it seems symptamatic of a short somewhere...
i know this is broad, and it can be an assortment of things, but any ideas?
anyway, brief overview. bad wiring job i did and i was shorting out my ignition somehow by powering my gauges from a fuse tap located on the ignition fuse. i removed the bad tap, and the car started fine. at this point there were no electrical problems.
ok, so next, i remove both gauges, remove the wiring associated with the gauges, and reconnect my cluster. car starts again, but i notice that my battery light is on. strange i thought. my vafc is reading about 12.0 volts on the battery while running. hmm, lower than its supposed to be. so i decide to drive it for a short distance, and as i drive, the voltage is dropping more and more, like a tenth of a volt every few seconds. not good.
so by the point of the voltage reading about 9.0 volts, everything electrical is dim. im on my way back home cuz i dont want it to die on the road. luckily i get it back into the driveway when its around 8.0 volts, and by that point, it stalls out.
needless to say, theres an electrical problem. but im not sure what it is, and im confident its NOT the alternator. its something with the wiring, even though i removed the wiring associated with the gauges. this is really baffling actually, just for that fact that all wiring looks normal. it seems symptamatic of a short somewhere...
i know this is broad, and it can be an assortment of things, but any ideas?
03-27-2005, 06:27 AM
#4
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Re: (2lua)
when the battery light turns on in the dash that means that there is more voltage on the battery side of the regulator, so in plain english your alternator is not working it is not producing voltage greater then the battery so if your at 9v already your alternator is out.
If you have a short the best way to check is to obtain a AMmeter and check to see if you have excessive current draw with your key on. Honda has a spec for what it should be but if you have a short somewhere then your going to either blow a fuse or melt a wire.
If you have a short the best way to check is to obtain a AMmeter and check to see if you have excessive current draw with your key on. Honda has a spec for what it should be but if you have a short somewhere then your going to either blow a fuse or melt a wire.
03-27-2005, 09:50 AM
#5
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Re: (BatuKing)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BatuKing »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you have a short somewhere then your going to either blow a fuse or melt a wire.</TD></TR></TABLE>
yea thats what i was thinking and nothing of the sort happened.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BatuKing »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your alternator is not working it is not producing voltage greater then the battery so if your at 9v already your alternator is out.</TD></TR></TABLE>
even though i ruled it out before, thats what im leaning towards now.
thanks for your input fellas.
yea thats what i was thinking and nothing of the sort happened.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BatuKing »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your alternator is not working it is not producing voltage greater then the battery so if your at 9v already your alternator is out.</TD></TR></TABLE>
even though i ruled it out before, thats what im leaning towards now.
thanks for your input fellas.
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