BIG PROBLEM!!!
Alright TEchs.... I have a 2000 Honda Accord Ex Manaul 2dr Coupe with about 150,xxx miles on the car. I got the car from the dealership... recent problems were car was not starting in the morning when it was cold but when i play around with the fuse box then it will start up fine.... Yesterday i was driving on the freeway normal speed and like about 60-70mph... all of a sudden my speedometer keeps turning on and off on and off but my car was still running... shortyly afterwards i noticed the car wasnt accelerating any more so i pulled over. Once i did the car turns off completely. I wait a couple min and try to crank the starter. The car doesnt turn over but makes a really fast rapid clicking noise... its a weird nose and its not like the cranking nose u get when u try to turn the car on... its just a really fast rapid clicking noise. There is no power to the car either. The lights dont work and the windows dont go down nothing.....I dont even know where to start to look for the problem... any suggestions would really help. The car is bone stock except for some cheap aftermarket short ram intake that the previous owner had put on.. besides that the car is completely factory....REALLY NEED ALL THE ADVICE, SUGGESTIONS, AND INPUT AS POSSIBLE... THANK YOU AHEAD OF TIME

 

There are several things you should check
Batt Fuse (80 Amp)
Ignition Fuse (50 Amp)

Recharge the Battery and see if the car will restart.
Check the Battery Voltage (12.0 - 12.5 volts w/engine off)
Check the Alternator Output (13.8 - 14.4 volts w/engine running)

I suspect your Alternator S...T the Bed, and you ran on battery voltage until it dropped below 9.5 volts.

P

 

Sounds like you have a dieing alternator. While you were driving your battery was running the electrical systems in your car and not your alternator; this drained you battery. That is way your car wont start and the window (and other stuff) did not work. Or you bad ground somewhere


Modified by LookingForVTEC at 12:45 PM 2/21/2006

 

I agree with him, the clickin noise sounds like it could be a starter possibly?

 

sounds like............time for a different car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mmmsushi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">sounds like............time for a different car.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sounds like..... you need to quit posting your stupid comments all over the forum.

 

Hey thanks alot for everybody comments... will work all my options and start crossing things off... really appreciate all the help and feedback

 

If anyone else has any more input i would really appreciate it a lot

 

P_Adams already covered the most likely problems. (P_Adams is also one of the most knowledgeable on this board.) Check over the things he has suggested, and you still can't figure out the problem, come back and let us know.

 

Check and tighten all of your grounds as well. A ground wire kit may not hurt either.

 

Kool.. Here also what i observed

Alright guys i havent worked on my car but i went yesterday to go get some stuff from it.... When i went to go see it the alarm worked, the radio, the clock, everything....but when i tried to start up.. it still made that rapid clicking noise... its weird because yesterday when it turned off on me there was no power watsoever... now all of sudden its all back...someone told me it could be my alternator dieing out and my car running on just the battery voltage alone.... can this be a case... if so how come the power comes back on the next day because if the alternator was dead wouldnt the battery wouldnt get charged to get any power at all..?

 

i still agree with Padams, there may be enough voltage to power some of the light loads but it seems that there is not enough current (amperage) to turn the engine over. The smaller "loads" (alarm, clock etc.) draw ver little current and will work down to very low voltage. My personal experience the clock will work down to 6volts. It is still a good idea to check the physical security of your grounds as a stated in an earlier post. Good Luck let us know if you find something definitive.

 

The rapid clicking is most likely the starter. The solenoid is "clicking" on and off trying to engage the starter, but then doesn't have enough juice to try to turn the motor.

Given enough time to "rest", a battery can regain a small amount of power (key word: SMALL). In this case, it was enough for the smaller things to work again. Keep in mind, a LOT of power goes through the starter when you try to start your car.

 

Alright.... will go home and check the grounds and have one of my mechanic buddies test the voltage on the battery and alternator... thanks alot everyone.. will keep everyone updated

 

Alright guys over the weekend i took out my old alternator and got a replacement. Car started up but i also had to charge the battery because of it being drained from the previous non working alternator. So i drove to work this morning....... and the same problem occured. Speedometer starting going on and off again so i pulled over on the side of the road and the car once again turned off. I let it sit again and tried to turn it on again and the same rapid clicking noise. Clueless to what the hell it could be... any more suggetions would really help....

 

Yesterday i went home and removed the fuse box. Good enough the contacts to the car was really loose. So i had my mechanic friend tighten it. Car started up and drove around for about 30 min.. Everything seems good now ...but im not going to jinx it.... but thank you to all of you for the suggestions and knowledge... will keep everyone update if anything else happens afterwards.. thank you

 

im kinda late on this one but i was reading your post and just wanted to post this for future reference on alts.

Im not saying this is the best way it is just a good way to test if the alternator is going bad or what..

If your car wont start then jump it, and then while it is running disconnect the battery adn then if the car just shuts off or dies out, then your alt is bad, if it runs fine like that for a bit then the alt it still good or still ok (not saying it is still perfect) . Just thought id say that just. Again im not saying its the best way to check a alt. (i belive advanced auto parts does a free alt. check and starter check, but i guess if your car doesnt start u really cant get there )

good luck and keep us posted

 

kool right on... well keep that in mind for future reference.. turned out the problem was a bad alternator.... bad fuse box connections.. bad battery terminals... ...but thanks to all the help on here ive been succesful in getting my car running again.....

 

I just LOVE happy endings

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ’00Accordster &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I just LOVE happy endings </TD></TR></TABLE>

is it me or isolated terminals owning alot of people lately? haha. got me twice on cars this week.