heading to a party in the barely street legal CRX, I was on the freeway
when i hear this short rattle than something hit the floor pan...

Next, my battery light kicks on.

Pull over to the nearest street light on the freeway (at night) and pop
open the hood...

I find my alternator is being held onto the car by the belt only and
ripped a slit in the driveaxle. Both the upper bracket bolt had found a
new home along with the lower bracket bolt....

It being 11pm on a Saturday night, I figured it'd take a tow-truck a good
hour to get to me. So, I rip a bolt out from my camera mount and bolt the
top part of the alternator to the upper bracket. The alternator is pretty
loose and I don't expect to get very far on the battery alone.

So, I begin my trek back home (20miles) thinking the battery will die in a
few minutes and I'll be stranded. I turn off everything I don't need (vtec
controller, HUD, gauges, etc).

Lo and behold, the damn car made it back home. I was freaking surprised!
The battery had still juice to start the car this morning.

Things I learned:
- ALWAYS save bolts from previous project cars/engines. You never know
when you'll need a bolt.
- ALWAYS carry some bolts in your car.
- tighten everything twice.

 

hahah yea...my dad was a helicopter mechanic for the marines and i find bolts, nuts, etc. off of helicopters when im looking for that stuff!!!

 

Man, my alt belt broke and I drove for a whole day with the battery light on. I listen to my engine so much that I had the radio off... I must've driven 50 miles without a belt. I didn't know what the light meant, and everything seemed fine... I guess I was just used to weird car problems.

I called the shop after I ran my errands, to find out what he light meant. Whoops.

I replaced the belt, cranked the car, and my battery still had juice ready to go

I love my Civic

 

I only have 1 word for you

zip ties, zip ties, zip ties

those things will save your life!

 

isn't that a general item that belongs in any modified (especially Hybrid) car?

zip ties, duct tape, and cellphone.

 

Considering the number of things I'm holding together with zip ties, I really need to keep them in the car from now on.

 

My zip tie replacement guide:
8mm bolt- 1 zip tie
10mm bolt -2 zip ties
12mm bolt-3 zip ties
17mm bolt- c'mon now!
Battery hold down- 9 zip ties (linked!)
Front bumper- 6 heavy duty ties
How come I have so many bolts leftover every time I work on my car? Don't ask!

 

Hehe, no number of zip ties is gonna fix your car now buuuuuuuddy. ;-)