I've got a problem with my 97 prelude.

original thread: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1999580

I initally figured it was either the alternator or the battery since the light was on.

So i got a new alternator. car still has the e-brake light on (very dim) when its not. battery light is on (also very dim) until i pull up the e-brake (bright as normal)
speedo still isnt working although while i was driving earlier it shot up to the speed i was going for a split second and went back down. tach works.

vtec doesnt engage. no CELs.

turns out both the alternators check out just fine at autozone. i have my battery checked too and it says bad battery; which i kind of expected since this battery has died on me a couple times and i had to charge it. however, i purchased a new battery...put it in and what do you know? the same damn problems.

i dont even know what to do now.

i just replaced the negative battery terminal too since it was loose. same problems.

 

possibly wireing? have u checked ur rear brakes lately..sometimes when ur rear brakes are really low, the e-brake light comes on...ur speedo has to be workin up to 5-10mph for vtec to engage

 

Weak connection or a poor ground.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ekb16 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">possibly wireing? have u checked ur rear brakes lately..sometimes when ur rear brakes are really low, the e-brake light comes on...ur speedo has to be workin up to 5-10mph for vtec to engage</TD></TR></TABLE>

rear brakes are nearly brand new

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hybrid96EK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Weak connection or a poor ground. </TD></TR></TABLE>

both battery terminals are solid. i havent checked the other two grounds yet.

 

maybe its the vss since the speedo and vtec are dead

 

Check the thick white wires at the alternator, the starter, and the underhood fuse box. Check the big fuses. Check the other grounds besides the battery ground.

 

did you check the grounding for the dash?

 

okay. so i've figured out that something is eating the battery and its doing it very fast. in about a days time the battery is dead from sitting. car off. i havent touched anything as of late...so any ideas on what is still on while the car is off thats using up all the power?

 

Hook up an amp meter and measure the draw. Remove power to things slowly and find out what causes the draw to drop. Thats the best/easiest way to pinpoint this issue. I would start with aftermarket items like amps, stereos, alarms, etc...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hybrid96EK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hook up an amp meter and measure the draw. Remove power to things slowly and find out what causes the draw to drop. Thats the best/easiest way to pinpoint this issue. I would start with aftermarket items like amps, stereos, alarms, etc... </TD></TR></TABLE>

but the problem is that something is still on while the car is off and its something strong.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by . M i c h a e l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

but the problem is that something is still on while the car is off and its something strong.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Did you read what I wrote? HOOK UP THE AMP METER and it will show you HOW MUCH of a draw you have... From there, you can REMOVE POWER from items and WATCH THE AMPMETER to verify when you have found the problem.

 

easiest and best way to take care of this.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hybrid96EK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Did you read what I wrote? HOOK UP THE AMP METER and it will show you HOW MUCH of a draw you have... From there, you can REMOVE POWER from items and WATCH THE AMPMETER to verify when you have found the problem. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah man, I got that...but I really dont understand it too much. The one thing I dont get on cars is wiring/electrical.

AMP Meter....I know I got a multi-meter is that cool? You want me to turn the car on and turn on everything? Lights, wipers, radio, etc and then check what? The alternator? The battery?

I dont get how seeing how many volts something uses while the car is on can show me what is on/being used while the car is off.

Forgive my ignorance, there's just some things I dont get.

 

to measure amps; you always connect them in series. Dissconnect the negative battery terminal; and place the Multi-Meter in series with the negative ground curcuit. Turn the multi-meter on in AMPS; and check the amperage. Leave the car off as if you were going in for the night. Remove each fuse one at a time to see what lowers the amperage draw which is killing your battery.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cooper. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to measure amps; you always connect them in series. Dissconnect the negative battery terminal; and place the Multi-Meter in series with the negative ground curcuit. Turn the multi-meter on in AMPS; and check the amperage. Leave the car off as if you were going in for the night. Remove each fuse one at a time to see what lowers the amperage draw which is killing your battery.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This advise should come with a caution. Most multimeters only can handle 10 amps. You can't do this with the car and accessories running because you'll be way over that.

Since something is obviously draining your battery with the car off, theres no need to have the car on anyway to pinpoint the problem. You obviously have a partial short somewhere in a circuit that has constant power, such as the radio or ecu backup, horn, lights, etc.

So do the test with the key out of the ignition and start pulling fuses. While you're at it, make sure none of the fuses are rated too high.

 

Exactly; as stated

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cooper. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">to measure amps; you always connect them in series. Dissconnect the negative battery terminal; and place the Multi-Meter in series with the negative ground curcuit. Turn the multi-meter on in AMPS; and check the amperage. Leave the car off as if you were going in for the night. Remove each fuse one at a time to see what lowers the amperage draw which is killing your battery.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

so i'm doing the underhood fuses, what about the underdash ones? How can I check the stereo?

anything else besides these things that i should check the amps of in case neither are it?

 

Do whatever you can untill the amperage reads .01 im almost positive but I cannot recall exactly.

 

okay so i took my multimeter and put it to DC-A. I put it on the battery and it spiked all the way. I took off every underhood fuse and it stayed spiked. I had the negative terminal disconnected and the multimeters connectors on the positive and negative of the battery.

Thats what I'm supposed to do, right?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by . M i c h a e l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">okay so i took my multimeter and put it to DC-A. I put it on the battery and it spiked all the way. I took off every underhood fuse and it stayed spiked. I had the negative terminal disconnected and the multimeters connectors on the positive and negative of the battery.

Thats what I'm supposed to do, right? </TD></TR></TABLE>

My gosh.. Hell no thats not what you do. Listen.

Remove the NEGATIVE batter cable
you have TWO leads from your meter
Hook one to the NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE
Hook the other one up to the NEGATIVE BATTERY POST

Make sure the meter is set to amperage and the leads are in the correct terminals for reading amperage.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hybrid96EK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

My gosh.. Hell no thats not what you do. Listen.

Remove the NEGATIVE batter cable
you have TWO leads from your meter
Hook one to the NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE
Hook the other one up to the NEGATIVE BATTERY POST

Make sure the meter is set to amperage and the leads are in the correct terminals for reading amperage.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Leave the positive on. Do ^^^ and pull all underhood fuses.

Will report back here shortly to get further yelled at

 

Well I did it like I was told. All underhood and underdash fuses were pulled. The multi-meter stayed pinned all the way to the right not budging for anything.

What else do I check now?

 

pinned all the way to the right on what range?

did you pull the fuses that have screw fasteners as well?

assuming your multimeter was hooked up correctly, you have a short in the main somewhere.

check the big cable going to the starter and make sure it is insulated.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sackdz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">pinned all the way to the right on what range?

did you pull the fuses that have screw fasteners as well?

assuming your multimeter was hooked up correctly, you have a short in the main somewhere.

check the big cable going to the starter and make sure it is insulated.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

will have answers with pictures tomorrow.

On another note...my fender liner got ripped off recently and the wires got exposed due to rubbing on the tire. I got under there and electrical taped every exposed piece...so yeah I'm thinking that wasnt enough now.

 

Are you sure you have it set on AMPS?