I have a 1990 Accord LX Automatic. It has about 146K miles on it. About 2 days ago, my battery light goes on for a second or 2 then it goes off. I took the car to Kragen and they tested both the battery and alternator and both were good. We did found out that the car needed 550CCA and the battery was only 530CCA. The battery is about 3 years old and it's an Interstate green battery.
Tonight while driving home from work the battery light goes on and off again but once it did stayed on for about a full minute then it goes off then that is it.

If the battery and the alternator is good then what could it be? Please help. I am afraid it would be some thing else.
I never had trouble with starting or any electrical equipment in the car. Also while the battery light was on, my headlights stay on strong and not fading like a weak battery or any thing.
I did recently put in 2 amps for my car. One is about 180W and the other 70W bridged.
When the battery light goes on, I turned off the stereo but the light still stay on.
I don't know what it could be. Some one at Kragen said it could be a sensor, but which sensor could it be?

Thanks.

 

Could any one help me?
Thanks.

 

Be sure all of the connections on the battery and alt are clean and tight. Not sure if the amp's you installed could be causing this? Not a radio expert at all.

If the connections are clean/tight. If you have a volt meter, what is the voltage at the alt? Check under no load and under full load (lights, radio, blower, ac).

 

Thanks. I'll check as you have suggested. Is there a DIY some where to help me save time guessing how to get the alternator off and on easier for my model? My downloaded manual didn't have this portion some how.
In my case, how long would the alternator last before requiring a replacement? My problem is I don't have any time until next week.

Thanks,

 

I checked all wiring and they are nice and tight. The battery light stay off until the car warms up and then it goes on again.

 

When it comes on, what are you "seeing" at the alt or bat as far as voltage? When it does this, have you turned off the amp's??? Sorry, never owned a 4th gen so as far as help in replacing-if needed-the alt I can't help.

 

When the light is on, the alternator is giving about 14.3V to 13.8V.
This is with or without the amps on. I disconnect the main amp power cable at the fuse. I even remove the stereo.

 

the regulator in the alt is bad, you can still get full voltage but only in sperts, and it really easy to get the alt off, lossen the 12mm nut under the alt, loose the 10mm tensioning bolt towards the front of the alt, and then remove the big long 14mm bolt off the top, remove 12mm nut and then remove belt, alt comes right out, then disconnect the wires, also disconnect the batt before taking the alt off

 

I loaded the system fully with all accessories on including the AC and it still idle at 12.8V stably. According to Eric the Car guy, fully loaded system should be around 12V or higher at idle. So do you still think it's the regulator? I already ordered a used OEM one from Ebay to change out.

 

yes i do, the reason i do say this is because i had the same problem, but i took an old one from a wrecking yard and had it rewound to put out 150 amps, cuz i'm running a big stereo along with two air compressors for the air suspension, but when i had the prob, it was an original alt and on its way out, i put in only one amp and it did the same thing

 

Did your car still drives fine at night? I won't receive the one I ordered probably until next week. But I still got to go to work.
When you say did the same thing, do you mean the dash battery light goes on? When you had your rewound, was it the old bad one or the new one you got from the junk yard? Where can I get mine rewound?
Thanks.

 

both, first was the one from the wrecking yard then had the stock one done for a back up, i live in the desert in cali, but any auto parts store can tell you where a shop is that can do that for you, and yes it would drive fine, but the light would flutter at times

 

How much did it cost you each to rewound? 100 more amps would make that alternator tight inside. Would it put more stress on the regulator with that much more current? Does it effect any of the car system?
Thanks.

 

Also, if you increase the alternator capacity, do you need to increase the main fuse of the car from 80A to higher?
Thanks.

 

This morning the light stays off for a long time then come on again when the car really warm up. It goes off when I press on the accelerator and goes off when I remove my foot, is this a classic sign of a loose or bad belt? Or should I still need to replace my alternator?
Thanks.

 

take the light out of the dash?

 

This.

Replace the alternator.