My battery light and the interior dash lights are intermittently coming on. The alternator was bad so I replaced it. After the new ALT was installed the light continued to come on every now and then. The odd thing is that it will only come on if I have the headlights OFF. Once the headlights are on again the problem goes away. I thought it might be the new ALT so I decided to have it tested along with the battery. They both checked out fine. WHAT could be causing this?? PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!! Thank you for any suggestions.

 

i had a problem like that once before and that day the light just stayed on,when i got home, pop the hood,my belt had snapped.check your belt for any wear and tear you might need to replace it.also if your running the a/c i suggest running your accord without the a/c for like a couple of minutes,like your warming up your car.take a look under the hood and touch your belt,if it is to hot to the touch your a/c compressor clutch could be worn thus not turning the belt properly.hope this helps you out...
i also dont know what kinda honda you have,next time put your signature for future help
one more thing---try resetting your ecu here is the link

http://www.hondaaccordforum.com/m_59717/tm.htm


Modified by honda671 at 6:25 PM 11/13/2007

 

Thank you for your suggestions. I did fail to mention that last month I had my timing belt replaced and at that time i elected to change the alternator belt, I believe that's what it was. All I know is I had all the belts replaced. I know this is going to be a tedious job to find where the source of the problem is. I will take your advice and check the belts again. Could this be a bad alternator even though all the tests I had passed? The alternator is suppose to brand new from Advance Auto and it's only 2 days old.

 

I've checked all the belts and they appear to be in good shape. I've also reset the ECU. I took the car for a test drive and same problem still exists. Like I said earlier it's odd that these lights only come on whenever the headlights are off. As soon as I turn them back on the lights go away. I'm thinking about taking out the alternator and exchange it or possibly get one from the dealer. Also could there be a short somewhere in my dash that could cause this mystery?

 

it could be a slight break in the cable that runs from the alternator through the underhood fuse panel and into the battery......use a multimeter and check the voltage readings at them all and shake the wires slightly to see if something came loose....its a long shot but something stupid that could be easily overlooked

 

Did you ever figure out what caused it? I am dealing with exactly the same problem. I suspect it has something to do with Honda's two charging rates, low when there is a light electric load and high when the load is heavier.