helpmycivic

i am in need of DESPERATE help with my 96 civic ex.at first it started blowing the # 15 fuse(alternator\spedo) and it would just keep blowing fuses when i put new ones in. i read about the wireing harness rubbing through on the intake manifold bracket and tore everything apart and didnt see any wires rubbin through! i took the bracket off and put it all back togather and it still did the same thing. had the alternator tested and it seems to be fine? its not blowing the fuse anymore but its still not charging the battery, i put a new battery in it and the car runs fine until it goes dead again. this car is the only transportation i have except for my motorcycle but the weather is crap right now so i dont got any transpo. need to get my car fixed ASAP, if anyone has any ideas PLEASE let me know. if anyone is close to everett washington i would be willing to pay someone if they can fix it! my email is chrisfoster88@yahoo.com and my phone # is (425)737-2618. if you think you know whats going on with my car please get ahold of me and let me know....thanks alot

chris

bart2546

The entire situation still sounds like an alternator. Honestly, since it's testing good, either find one cheap or if you could get one from a junkyard and swap it in to see if that changes it, other than that, make sure of course the positive terminal and negative terminals are secure. Check to make there all wires are connected in the circuit.

EDIT**Another way to check the alternator (if you haven't done so already) is to get the car running, and then pull the battery cables off. If the car stalls out, it's gonna be the alternator. If it continues to run, then it's alright.

helpmycivic

ive checked all plugs and wires and cant find anything wrong in that area. the alternator tested fine at schucks but when i pull the batt cables off it DOES DIE! so i will see about getting another alternator and seeing if that fixes it or not. if not what else could be the problem?

MasterKwan

Well, pulling the battery cable off while it's running probably just killed your perfectly good alternator. It's a stupid technique and whoever told you to use it owes you an alternator.

Don't pull a battery cable on a running engine. Use a voltmeter instead.

ttru98ex

I seem to be in the same boat, my 98 is acting the same way, new battery, new alternator but doesnt charge, just runs till the battery goes dead. Although i havent had to change a fuse under the dash, just the main one under the hood. Ive seen the replys about the wire bundle behind intake, guess thats my next check Anyone have a diagram for the 98 under dash fuses??

helpmycivic

masterkwan- well i have used that tecnique for a while now and have never hurt anything i dont think it has any affect on my(nor any other) alternator!

ttru98ex- well sorry to hear about your luck as well, i dont have a diagram of the fuses but the #15 fuse under the dash is the one that keeps blowing on mine, its the alternator\speedometer fuse. i guess the wire harness that runs along the intake manifold bracket rubs through and grounds out, its not the case on mine but you might want to check yours out... there are a few other forums that have more info, just do some looking around on the web and im sure youl find something. if you find out whats casuing your problems let me know it might help me out with mine. ill also do the same if i figure mine out....thanks

ttru98ex

Problem solved!! In my case, i have a 4-2-1 header and the bank 1 O2 sensor is right before the flange to the cat. I crawled under the car origanlly looking for that wire bundle to be grounding out or something, like yours mine was fine. But i did notice all 4 wires to that O2 sensor were rubbed bare in spots, i fixed the wiring there and now everything is fine. It seems that 15 fuse is also for the O2 sensors, mass air sensor and speed sensor. Hope this may help

helpmycivic

im glad you figured out your car. i also figured mine out 2 nights ago. mine ended up being the secondary O2 sensor right after the cat converter. one of the wires rubbed through on the heatshielding for the cat and grounded out! taped up wires and all is fine!!!!!! i guess thats two civics back on the road.....thanks alot to all the good knowledgable people here on honda tech.....anyways thanks for the help and good luck to all you others guys having problems with your honda.