Long story short,
a coworker changed out my battery and in the process grounded the crap out of it to the point that sparks went flying and some smoke came up.

We tested the alternator and the output was not acceptable, so I got a new one from Acura. This was installed over the weekend. The car runs fine on the street, however this weekend was supposed to be spent on the track. After the car had seen about 4 to 5 laps on the track the motor would cut out for a few seconds and then come back online (either full power or nothing)

We basically figured this has to be the distributor, so I have a new Distributor King on the way. Problem now is, sitting at a traffic light yesterday at idle and the AC on, the battery light started flickering / coming and going, but the idle did not change any.

What else needs to be checked or replaced? Could a relay have been damaged, or what else could have been effected by the grounding out?

I pulled the datalog from the ecu from when it was acting up, and there were only a few very brief voltage drops (14 to 12), but that could have been due to the AC cycling on.

Help me out guys

 

I really need some help with this.....

New info:
A datalog with the S300 reveals alot of crazy stuff going on. At idle, the voltage is 11. something but then all the sensors and readings go haywire.

Who has any ideas?

 

Well, if none of the fuses are blown, I would have to guess relays. I cant imagine anything breaking without the fuse popping first....right? I know you are a DIY'er but maybe taking it to the dealership to get it analyzed wouldnt be a bad thing in this situation. Good luck

 

Migs,
what I am afraid of is all the modifications.
I am positive that they have never seen a supercharger on a Honda before; and the same with Hondata, wire harnesses / OBD conversion, and different ECU.

I am going to throw my ecu / hondata on my friends GSR and upload the GSR basemap to test it out. If I have the same problems on his car as mine, then I know I have a bad ECU or Hondata.

If the ECU checks out, the car is going to Honda for an electrical diagnostic.

 

Are you sure the battery connections are not loose? or possibly the ground screw stripped?

 

I am sure that it is fine / connected good.

As a precaution, I am going to replace the ground wire anyway.

Are there any fusable links on the car that could affect anything like this? If so, what are they and where?

 

UPDATE:

The battery light now comes on every time the car idles. The slightest touch of the gas pedal makes the light go away until the idle settles all the way back down again. A data-log at idle shows VERY sporadic behavior. All the sensors and readings are screwed up. (however, the car is running fine) Smooth idle, acceleration, and operation overall.

 

You need to take your ECU to the nearest ER. Sounds like its sick.

 

I sure hope not

Other than the ELD relay, 15amp fuse in the dash fuse panel, alternator, battery, short in wires, and ecu, what else is there to look for?

 

i think you may have toasted your ecu, or the electronic load detector is screwed.

 

man i hope you figure it out.

keep us updated!!

 

no updates

 

The ECU and Hondata have tested good on two different occasions in another car.

However, putting both back in my car made the problem come back the first time. The second time I no longer have any odd stuff happening. I suspect that it is an intermediate problem that is going to be a bitch to diagnose.

I replaced the distributor, alternator, spark plugs, and wires.... so I have eliminated alot of things.

In short, I still don't know what is going on

 

Sucks to be you!!!! At this point, since somebody else is more than likely footing the bill take it to the stealership.

I feel your pain... literally because my back is still stiff from replaceing that damn alternator.

*note to self. Never work on a JRSC equipped car again

 

Since our shop manuals are for different years... is there a relay that we are over looking?

 

damn man i hope you figure it out,

i am having the same problem

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by advert &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">damn man i hope you figure it out,

i am having the same problem </TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you have an S300? I did some poking around and I know that NepTune systems have been known to show errors such as this when the datalogging speed is set too fast... Perhaps I will give Hondata a call and ask about that possibility.

 

BUT that wouldn't explain the battery light would it?

I am begining the think you got a defective alternator. Yes it works but it is sending faulty info to the ecu.

 

Well, I don't think that the alternator is defective.
Although, I am not ruling it out.

Once the alernator was replaced is when it started, but has not come back since the ecu was reset. That makes me think that it is ecu related.
But, at this point I have no real idea as to what is going on.

And John, Now I have a weird noise that sounds like it is power steering related. The first time I have turned the wheel the last couple of times that I have moved the car, I get an awful screeching sound for about 2 seconds. It is very loud.
I guess I will take off the belt and get rid of the PS for good this time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITR 1102 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Do you have an S300? I did some poking around and I know that NepTune systems have been known to show errors such as this when the datalogging speed is set too fast... Perhaps I will give Hondata a call and ask about that possibility.</TD></TR></TABLE>


i am on crome right now waiting for neptune, but am afraid to get it tuned cause of the problems.

but anyways i dont want to thread jack

free bump.

 

Well, I just solved my problems today!

As it turns out, if I enable onboard datalogging and use the laptop to datalog, it goes crazy. As long as I use one or the other everything is A-OK. This was a real load off my shoulders once I figured it out and disabled onboard datalogging.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ITR 1102 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, I just solved my problems today!

As it turns out, if I enable onboard datalogging and use the laptop to datalog, it goes crazy. As long as I use one or the other everything is A-OK. This was a real load off my shoulders once I figured it out and disabled onboard datalogging.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I had the same thing happen about 2 months ago on my GSR w/ S300. Put an alarm in my GSR and ended up re-pinning the backup battery backwards. Car ran fine for about a month with the same symptoms you described (odd sensor readings in datalog), then wouldn't start. Come to find out, I blew 4 capacitors in my P06.

Long story short, I now keep an extra ECU laying around incase I decide to do any more drunk wiring. I'd pop the top off the ECU and see if any of the capacitors are leaking, especially the large one at C14 (220uf 35v, I think).

 

make your that the new alt is working ive installed brand new ones from a dealer and it was defective...
next would be make sure all your connectionson the alt are tight and belt is tight and no grease on it...

now did your friend get all the sparks cuz he hit the ground and postive togehter or jus tthe ground... i want to know exactly what caused the sparks

 

the wrench he was using to tighten the positive cable was touching the battery tie down, basically sitting on it for a couple seconds.

The battery light has not come back on at all. I have checked the tension on the belt and it is fine.
I know that the alternator is not bad because I have used my volt / ohm meter several times to test the output at idle and while reved.
The light coming on COULD have been due to a poor ground connection which has since been replaced.

 

I will need you to explain why this was an issue on the track someday in the future. Are you doing laps with a laptop hooked up?

Now I have an electrical issue. I popped the ECU fuse on the way home tonight. Normally that means a sensor is shorted somehow.