I figured I ask my Honda-tech fam, before I bring my car to the shop.... When I am idling or driving the battery light will light up, from as little as a quick flash or stay lit for 2-3 seconds max. This just started happening last week. Since I recently installed a radio, I checked that first. I disconnected the radio from the factory harness and it is still blinks. The hatch is a 89 Dx. The previous sooner replaced both the alternator and OEM Honda battery in late 2008. I am going to check all the bulbs to make sure that is not the problem. This car barely has any power features so it shouldn't be too difficult. Any suggestions/ ideas? Thanx....

 

Are you battery terminal clean and tight?? Also have your alternator tested. It could be going bad.. also a bad if both of those things check out ok make sure the wire going from the alternator to fuse box under the hood is tight.

 

same thing was happening on my four door and i tested the battery and alt. and the battery was a little low so i replaced it , a month later the alternator went out , have both tested .

 

its not a "battery light". it has nothing to do with the battery and doesnt signal anything regarding its condition.

its a "charge warning" light. its saying your charging system is dropping below 14.0V.

basically, you need a new alternator, since the alternator IS the charge system on the car.

 

Like I said in the original post. The alternator was replaced a little over a year ago. I know these things can still fail. I was hoping maybe those LED plate bulbs were causing the problem or maybe a bad ground wire. The first thing u notice when u POP the hood are the new battery and alternator. Hopefully it is something else. I know electrical problems can be hard to diagnose.

 

this happened in my freinds EG. If i was you best bet is go to O'reileys or autozone for a full check even tho you have had them replaced. ive seen new alternators or referbished alternators and batterys go bad real fast.

 

Drive car to a parts store to have charging system checked,your alt could have gone bad even if it is only about a year old.

 

Have your alternator tested/replaced before you ended up stranded on the highway....Ask me how I know. I let mine blink for 6-8months as I was not going to spend the money until I had to. I can tell you now what that "battery light" is really saying when it comes on

 

if you have a multi meter you can do a lil test on ur alternator. hooking the black to a known good ground and the red to the output post on the alternator. it shuld be close to 14 volts. while your at the alt you can check the plugs and everything to make sure its all tight

 

Alternator "rebuilds" are notoriously unreliable. I'm not even surprised to hear you changed it recently.

Get used to swapping it out.

And yeah, all it takes is a quick reading with the voltmeter. It should read 14.5 +/- .5 V.

 

Please listen to Tyson he knows what he is talking about and I agree with what he is saying. I bought a "new" alternator it made it 8 hours and died, then the "new" one I made them test and it was bad. Finally I found one that was working properly. Lifetime warranties typically mean they are a crappy part from what I have experienced.

 

I had thought the same on my Honda a long time ago. My cat was clogged and the car was having such a hard time running that the battery light would come on because of the load it was creating to keep the car idling. Gutted the cat and never had the issue after that. (Cat was glowing bright cherry red lol, that's how I found out)

Could be the alternator. Would get it tested before I would condemn it

 

Welcome to the world of LIFETIME alternators. Mine last about 12 - 15 months on average.