Aight, well i just got into cali yesterday, and finally got to see my CRX. Its very very nice i must say, but does seem to have a few probs.

First off. When i go to turn it on, and the lights are on, the battery and oil lights will come on, and the car wont start? I turn em off and it will start, and then i put em on and they seem to work ok.

I have alot of white smoke coming out of the exhaust.

The steering wheel is AbNORMALLY stiff, im talking like really really stiff.

A little bit about my car : its a 91 CRX HF with a DOHC ZC engine in it. The radiator has yet to be replaced untill tommorow and the thermostat also needs to be replaced. Please help me out in an way you can. Thank you. Also if anyone knows a hookup where i can get my ZC smogged, email me :

GroundZer0@pbnation.com

Thank you.

 

White smoke coming out of the exhaust? Only thing I can think of is that you may have some engine coolant getting into the cylinders...as for the steering being stiff...the ZC is a heavier engine than the D16A6...and if power steering wasn't carried over in the swap(most CRX's don't have Power Steering anyway) then it WOULD be a little more difficult to turn than if it had a stock engine...those would be my diagnosis...

 

for the lights either you have a weak battery or a bad alternator. as for the others look as PSU's post.

 

Is there a way i can test if its the alternator thats making the lights weak or what not? i think its the battery because it has been sitting around for a while. Also, how can i charge the batter up? When i install my new radiator, how can i test to make sure its working alright? Thank you.

 

To charge the battery you should jump it with another car. Make sure you leave the cables on for a while to let it charge. Then start it up. If you have the new radiator in it you can let it run for a while to charge up the battery. Don't do it without the radiator! After a while you can take off the jumper cables and let it charge itself. If the alternator is working it should run by itself.

 

DO NOT do what he said...jumping with another car is for emergencies ONLY...To properly charge a battery you need a 12 volt trickle charger...as in it needs to charge at 3-5 amps AT THE MOST! Charging a battery with a vehicle's alternator, will fry it...your alt. puts out at least 50-60 amps, which is WAY too much for a battery to handle...when it's in a state of discharge...TRUST ME I know...

 

Well what if i just put some gas in the car, put the rad in, put the coolant in, check the oil and what not, then start the car up and let it run so the alt charges it? Would that work?

 

Yeah, it will work great... for mabye a week, if you are lucky. Ask me how I know You would be best off just getting a new battery IMHO.

-Joe

 

haha, yea true true. But how can i truely tell if its the battery or not?

 

Get your car running.....if its the alternator....then youll know becuase if you car dies after starting up........Turn it on.....and get it running good.....take off your positive terminal at the Battery as long as you have a ground.....your car will run without the battery.....if it still runs.....your alternator is fine.....if it dies...most likely the alternator is on the fritz.

Try turning the pulley on the alternator....if it doesnt moved that means its seized......

And if you want to check your battery buy a 10 dollar volt meter.....and check your battery it will tell you how much power its putting out......
But if your car wont start....and its just clicking over with nothing showing for engine lights....or nothing will come on....its your battery or a bad ground.....

But if you can get the car to turn over......but your windshield wipers are slow....lights are dim...things dont work right its your atlernator.

 

I really hope its not the alternator. How much would it cost to get a new one put it? *sigh* hope its just the battery.

 

just buy one from kragen or pep boys not honda. i believe from kragen there like 40 bucks or so. p.s. they are a bitch to get out with the motor in though

 

It's the battery. The alternator is only used to charge the battery -- it has nothing to do with you starting the car.

 

Well i think its the battery because now the car just wont turn on.. so look like i got another prob. haa need more $