The car is a 2005 Honda Civic lx, with a 1.7l sohc non vtec engine, and 5 speed manual gearbox. 142k miles. Two days ago, the alternator pivot bolt on my car sheared off, causing the alternator belt to fly off the pulley. The car died and lost all power while going thru an intersection. I had to have the car towed home. I bought a new bolt, and mounted everything back up. However the car seems to be in limp mode. It runs and drives, but poorly. It will barely rev and I hardly have any power. The exhaust smells rather rich as well. The rev counter and water temperature gauge do not work and my cel and immobilizer mil lamps are on. I did a little bit of research as to what could be the problem and I found out that the bolt and mount are what actually ground the alternator. When the bolt sheared, do you think an excessive amount of voltage arched to my ecu, frying it? I have tried resetting the ecu, by pulling the correct fuse (can't remember number) and removing the negative terminal battery cable, but it didn't resolve the problem. Any help figuring this out is appreciated!

 

Have you checked your fuses yet? There are two panels to check, one under the hood and one under the dash.

 

Thank you for your response.. I have checked the under hood ecu fuse. I wasn't aware of an ecu fuse in the cabin. I will check it.

Update: I couldn't find a fuse for the ecu under the dash. I did check the security and alternator fuses however. Both were good. I went ahead and checked the under hood Ecu fuse again to be certain- it's still good. Any other suggestions??

 

Your ECU got fried when the bolt sheared off causing the alternator to move. You need to get a new ECU and have your keys programmed to it.

 

I was afraid of that response, but prepared for it. I know I can purchase a used ecu on eBay for a decent price. Which numbers need to match on the original to the used one? How much does Honda charge to reflash the ecu?

 

Anyone?

 

I've never had a peek at my ECU, so I'm not sure. Post the numbers on it here and I'll see if I can assist you. We wouldn't know your local Honda Dealer's pricing to tell you what they'll charge either.

 

Well, I went ahead and purchased a used ecu. I made sure the numbers matched '37820 PLM A14' but the seller (or whoever) wrote 4DR with a paint pen on it. Will the 4 door ecu work with my coupe?

 

Bump

 

Yes, the number of doors on the vehicle has nothing to do with the engine.

 

Ok, I had the ecu flashed yesterday and it fixed the problem, but now another problem has emerged. Intermittently, while turning the steering wheel left or right, the horn will sound faintly. What could cause this??

 

My guess would be to check the wires to be sure its not grounding out for whatever reason

 

this is happening to my car. same story! ******* weird

 

and my battery light is on too. does your ecu click while its running or having a weird idle?