i have had voltage issues for a while now and i cant seem to figure it out. my volts will not go up to 14 like they should i start the car. they will stay low around 12 and consistenly go down as im driving. then for a few seconds, sometimes it will jump up to 13. but hen go back down. ive had the car die on me a few times and im tired of dealing with this crap. i have had the alternator tested and it works. the battery was replaced back in the summer and it didnt fix it. to me it seems like i have a bad ground somewhere or something?

 

MM&Y of car would help.

It sounds to me like a connection issue, possibly a grounding connection. I would check all the main power and ground connections, starting at the batt. and working out from it. 94

 

make sure the metal the battery is grounded too is bare no paint that could sometimes cause faulty grounds.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fcm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">MM&Y of car would help. </TD></TR></TABLE>


x2.

 

95 gsr

 

Pay special attention to the alt. to under hood fuse box and the main fuse(s), and the batt. to chassis and chassis to motor ground. 94

 

battery to chassis is good. so are the underhood fuses.


Modified by patrick4588 at 4:58 PM 1/27/2008

 

How about chassis to motor, and yes there in an under hood fuse box, next to pass. side shock tower.
You realy did not know your car had an under hood fuse box????? 94

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by fcm &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How about chassis to motor, and yes there in an under hood fuse box, next to pass. side shock tower.
You realy did not know your car had an under hood fuse box????? 94</TD></TR></TABLE>

i said the fuses are good. ????

 

Sorry reading too fast, thought it said "so there is an under hood fuse box"
I think I have been on here too long today, getting bleary eyes.
Is the main fuse(s) screwed down snugly? 94

 

When was the last time the alternator was replaced?

 

i replaced the alternator 4 days ago. i tightened down the ground strap going to my frame and it seemed to help some. although the issue is not gone, it has higher volts and doesnt jump so much.

 

its possible your eld is adjusting your voltage. if you can find the flowchart from honda for your eld it may help you determine if thats the problem or not. in my civic i just leave my climate fan on 2 most of the time and voltage will stay around 14v, if i turn it to 1 or off, the voltage will drop back to 12v and stay their. but normally the eld has to see a 10 amp draw, engine speed above 3500rpm and several other criteria for it to tell the alt to put out 14v otherwise it will keep switching it back to 12v. if your car is tuned on various programs such as crome, there is an option to turn the eld off. i did this in my other civic that is tuned on crome and now it stays at 14v the whole time its running. this may not be your problem but it is a possibility. good luck with it.

 

i dont think its the eld, im chipped on crome pro and i think everything like that is disabled. just to try it though, i turned my climate fan on all settings and nothing changed. engine speed didnt seem to make a difference either. thanks for the tip though, wish it would have worked

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by patrick4588 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i replaced the alternator 4 days ago.</TD></TR></TABLE> Why was the alt. replaced, same problem? 94

 

What voltage are you getting now? Have you tried tested voltage AT the alt and then at the fuse box? Are you running stock pulleys?

 

yeah i replaced the alternator thinking that was issue. i have not tested the voltage AT the alternator, and ill do that today. im running stock pulleys, but the power steering and ac has been removed.

 

Yeah see if there is any variation from the voltage at the alt itself from the voltage inside the fuse box. Are you using all stock wiring still as well?

 

the wiring is stock except for a few wires i have ran from the battery for my gauges and a system. the voltage issues im having were before the system went in, and lately i have had my radio completely off and still suffer the same symptoms.

 

bump for some more possibilites

 

i took my car to autozone today and they said my alternator is not charging the battery at all. what could cause this other than a faulty alternator since i know thats not the case. is there a chance my connector is messed up? would that cause it?

 

Grab a Helms and do the alt troubleshooting for the ALT. It covers checking all the wires.