System not charging
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 15
Likes: 0
From: Charlotte, NC, USA
System not charging
Strange one here.... 
I've got over 200K miles on this '92 Civic LX auto. Each time the alternator would start to crap out over the years, the batt light would illuminate/warn prior just as it should. However now, she's now exhibiting signs & symptoms of a dead alt, but my batt light isn't coming on. Huh? All fuses are good and the batt light does come on upon boot-up (starting engine).
I have to charge the battery via a jump. After that, multimeter readings show that no amt. of revving my stock engine kicks on any charge, so I've been driving on pure battery power the last week or so. The alt, battery, and all belts are less than 1 year old. The alt's got less than 4K on it, as does the batt.
If the alt's bad, why won't the daggone dash light illuminate like always? What else should I troubleshoot? The batt connections are tight. So far this has been a less-than-fun exercise of discovering the precise multi-meter rate of battery depletion that comes with each electrical draw (lights, defrost, radio, turn signals, etc), lol.
Please advise.
Thanks!
I've got over 200K miles on this '92 Civic LX auto. Each time the alternator would start to crap out over the years, the batt light would illuminate/warn prior just as it should. However now, she's now exhibiting signs & symptoms of a dead alt, but my batt light isn't coming on. Huh? All fuses are good and the batt light does come on upon boot-up (starting engine).
I have to charge the battery via a jump. After that, multimeter readings show that no amt. of revving my stock engine kicks on any charge, so I've been driving on pure battery power the last week or so. The alt, battery, and all belts are less than 1 year old. The alt's got less than 4K on it, as does the batt.
If the alt's bad, why won't the daggone dash light illuminate like always? What else should I troubleshoot? The batt connections are tight. So far this has been a less-than-fun exercise of discovering the precise multi-meter rate of battery depletion that comes with each electrical draw (lights, defrost, radio, turn signals, etc), lol.
Please advise.
Thanks!
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 80
Likes: 0
From: IN, USA
My battery used to go dead in my ef, it was because i had a short...a simple way to see if you have a short that's draining your battery is to just disconnect your negative battery cable, then put it back on the terminal, if it sparks when you're putting it back on you have a short..it helps to do this when its dark...
Junior Member
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 565
Likes: 0
From: Burlington, Wa., U.S.A.
Re: (jbfw)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jbfw »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My battery used to go dead in my ef, it was because i had a short...a simple way to see if you have a short that's draining your battery is to just disconnect your negative battery cable, then put it back on the terminal, if it sparks when you're putting it back on you have a short..it helps to do this when its dark...</TD></TR></TABLE>
Don't think that is his problem, and that is not the correct way to do that test, that will lead you down the wrong road in a hurry.
It sounds like the altinator is unplugged or the ignition signal wire to the altinator (same as the battery light wire) has a open in it.
Don't think that is his problem, and that is not the correct way to do that test, that will lead you down the wrong road in a hurry.
It sounds like the altinator is unplugged or the ignition signal wire to the altinator (same as the battery light wire) has a open in it.
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 2,817
Likes: 5
From: Kansas
Re: System not charging (Hippo393)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hippo393 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Strange one here....
I've got over 200K miles on this '92 Civic LX auto. Each time the alternator would start to crap out over the years, the batt light would illuminate/warn prior just as it should. However now, she's now exhibiting signs & symptoms of a dead alt, but my batt light isn't coming on. Huh? All fuses are good and the batt light does come on upon boot-up (starting engine).
I have to charge the battery via a jump. After that, multimeter readings show that no amt. of revving my stock engine kicks on any charge, so I've been driving on pure battery power the last week or so. The alt, battery, and all belts are less than 1 year old. The alt's got less than 4K on it, as does the batt.
If the alt's bad, why won't the daggone dash light illuminate like always? What else should I troubleshoot? The batt connections are tight. So far this has been a less-than-fun exercise of discovering the precise multi-meter rate of battery depletion that comes with each electrical draw (lights, defrost, radio, turn signals, etc), lol.
Please advise.
Thanks! </TD></TR></TABLE>
Dash light will not come on if the voltage produced is acceptable (13.0V or less should kick the light on) Your alternator can produce 0A or close to it and the light will not come on. (that is normal at idle for current to be 1-5A with no load) Revving the engine does not load the electrical system, it loads the engine. Turn the headlights, blower, and stereo to a fair volume. That should cause the voltage to go up. Only way to know if the alternator is producing current is to load test it on a machine, Honda's do not have ammeters in the dash.
Reman alternator? Read the below post, my posts will give you a good guideline as to what causes an alternator to fail, and how to check it.
https://honda-tech.com/zero...53851
I've got over 200K miles on this '92 Civic LX auto. Each time the alternator would start to crap out over the years, the batt light would illuminate/warn prior just as it should. However now, she's now exhibiting signs & symptoms of a dead alt, but my batt light isn't coming on. Huh? All fuses are good and the batt light does come on upon boot-up (starting engine).
I have to charge the battery via a jump. After that, multimeter readings show that no amt. of revving my stock engine kicks on any charge, so I've been driving on pure battery power the last week or so. The alt, battery, and all belts are less than 1 year old. The alt's got less than 4K on it, as does the batt.
If the alt's bad, why won't the daggone dash light illuminate like always? What else should I troubleshoot? The batt connections are tight. So far this has been a less-than-fun exercise of discovering the precise multi-meter rate of battery depletion that comes with each electrical draw (lights, defrost, radio, turn signals, etc), lol.
Please advise.
Thanks!
</TD></TR></TABLE>Dash light will not come on if the voltage produced is acceptable (13.0V or less should kick the light on) Your alternator can produce 0A or close to it and the light will not come on. (that is normal at idle for current to be 1-5A with no load) Revving the engine does not load the electrical system, it loads the engine. Turn the headlights, blower, and stereo to a fair volume. That should cause the voltage to go up. Only way to know if the alternator is producing current is to load test it on a machine, Honda's do not have ammeters in the dash.
Reman alternator? Read the below post, my posts will give you a good guideline as to what causes an alternator to fail, and how to check it.
https://honda-tech.com/zero...53851
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
rattlecannedEF
Honda CRX / EF Civic (1988 - 1991)
12
Apr 2, 2009 06:53 AM
BigMoose
Honda Civic (2001 - 2005)
7
Jul 14, 2008 06:18 PM
