as some of you know..i've been having electrical problems.

i tested my battery/alternator per instructions of my chilton book.

said to use a multimeter...test the voltage with car off no load..car on, 1.5k rpm and no load, and 2k rpm will full load (lights, wipers,etc)

here are my results:

12.5 (brand new batter)
15
15

it said it should rise at least 0.5 volts above the first reading..and no more than 2.5

both times it went to 15..the book says this is overcharging.

this sound correct? any way to test it at home without bringing it to a shop? car isnt really driveable since it continually shuts off.

 

There is an old method that ive heard from alot of old mechanics. ill see if i can remember it.

You either disconect the negative or positive battery terminal. If the car dies then the altenator is bad. If it keeps runnning the its good. I cant remember which terminal, maybe someone can chime in and help if they have ever heard of this.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by scottishdave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There is an old method that ive heard from alot of old mechanics. ill see if i can remember it.

You either disconect the negative or positive battery terminal. If the car dies then the altenator is bad. If it keeps runnning the its good. I cant remember which terminal, maybe someone can chime in and help if they have ever heard of this.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i've read something on this recently as well...but cant seem to re-find it. thanks for the jog of memory though

 

yeah thats a for sure way but keep on dong it youll damage the diodes then youll need an altenator. other signs...your battery light. or while driving your interior lights starts to dim

 

if you disconnect the negative and the car continues running your alternator is ok.

but after reading the other threads you made about this i'd say change your alt. or have it rebuilt.

 

and did the car run fine before you hooked up that remote lead


https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1446034

so the car was acting weird, then after you played the system it went crazy.
the alt. was probably close to gone than after the increased load that just finished it off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGDC2CIVIC &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and did the car run fine before you hooked up that remote lead


https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1446034

so the car was acting weird, then after you played the system it went crazy.
the alt. was probably close to gone than after the increased load that just finished it off.</TD></TR></TABLE>

those two things are unrelated. i finshed hooking up the system a couple weeks after the power thing started. although the alternator i'm picking up should fix all.

 

bring it to midas, they'll do a full system test with the scan-tool for free and pretty much narrow your problem down as far as if its in the chargin system. I know, I work there.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ProjectLSVTEG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bring it to midas, they'll do a full system test with the scan-tool for free and pretty much narrow your problem down as far as if its in the chargin system. I know, I work there.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i'd love to do that..but my car wont make it down the street before the lights go haywire and the car cuts off

 

Remove the alternator and battery. Have a friend take you down to Autozone/Advance Auto and they can test them independantly, free of charge.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Muckman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Remove the alternator and battery. Have a friend take you down to Autozone/Advance Auto and they can test them independantly, free of charge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, do what he said, lol

 

yup. sounds like the alternator. watch your check engine light.when mine crapped out on my my engine light would flick on and off for short periods, then when it died everything slowly dimmed and crapped out. radio, lights, dash, everything. ALSO CHECK YOUR FUSES! in my engine bay after i installed the new alternator nothing would start up. i found a blown fuse..which happened to be the fuse that gives my entire car power from the battery. between my radio and my alarm system my car'd sucked so much juice after the alternator crapped out that it not only drained the battery but also blew that fuse. almost missed it because my friend overlooked it as a relay when in fact it WAS a fuse.

 

I had a bad alternator fry a new battery by overcharging so dont let it go too long.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by tcrider84 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yup. sounds like the alternator. watch your check engine light.when mine crapped out on my my engine light would flick on and off for short periods, then when it died everything slowly dimmed and crapped out. radio, lights, dash, everything. ALSO CHECK YOUR FUSES! in my engine bay after i installed the new alternator nothing would start up. i</TD></TR></TABLE>

holy **** thats EXACTLY the problem i've been having. one time i was driving down the block and the CEL came on..threw two codes and once the car was shut off it hasnt done it again..nor had it done it the previous month i owned the car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Muckman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Remove the alternator and battery. Have a friend take you down to Autozone/Advance Auto and they can test them independantly, free of charge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yup. for everyone here who said to disconnect the battery while the car is on, ive never had a problem with doing that either, but i stopped when my buddy whos an ase tech learned that you can seriously fry your electrical system like that... so get it tested at a parts store

 

start the car..let it run...now take off the positive terminal if motor still runs its your battery if dies your altenator.