This past weekend I had some electrical issues w/ my Accord. Took the car to Autozone and had them check the battery and alternator. The meter said bad battery bad regulator. We did some other tests and eventually replaced the alternator. Upon replacing the alternator, the battery light and ABS light went off (they were on). I did not replace the battery because I figure it was due to the alternator. Few days later I noticed the battery light quickly flashes once and stops and won't do it again. I went over some train tracks and saw it quickly flashed. I'm sensing a loose cable?? I check the battery cables and they are nice and secure. Could it be the alternator plug?

 

Alt plug loose or the main cable (single wire under the black cap)..all connections should be clean and tight.

 

Tell me more about this main cable? Where is it located? By alt plug....??

 

What I meant by that was the single wire connection at the alt(8~10mm nut-the one that sends the power back to the bat, via the fuse box)...there is the "plug" and a single wire-under the black(?) boot...those are the only two elec connections at the alt. Sorry for using the wrong term.

 

Chances are that the alternator you bought from AutoZone is bad if it was an inexpensive remanufactured unit. The voltage regulators usually aren't replaced in the cheaper remans from chain parts stores, which results in a large percentage of these alts being bad straight out of the box.

What sort of voltage is the alt putting out loaded and unloaded? If you're seeing less than 13.8V under load, it's bad. Most good alternators will churn out 14.4V-14.6V unloaded and 14.2-14.4V under load.

 

Well it cost $115 w/ exchange of the old alt and has a lifetime warranty. Not sure if this price tag makes them the cheap ones??

 

Do you remember what brand it was?

 

You got a cheap one. That aside, since it puts out power it is working so you got lucky.

You have a loose connection. Most likely it is not the alternator itself. Carefully check the wiring harness and the spring tension of the female connections. Connections should be clean, and some contact grease applied to keep moisture out and maintain good contact. Check the seals on the connector, these connections must be sealed tight.

 

Duralast

 

Okay, I will check the connectors, clean them out, and apply contact grease. The contact grease would be the same grease that's applied to the battery terminals correct???

 

Have you checked the voltage output under load yet?

That's not really the case.