Hello,

I have a 1996 Honda Accord EX 2.7L V6 just so you guys know what kind of vehicle I am working with and it has a couple issues I would like to fix. I was hoping to get some input before I actually order parts just to find out I didn't need them or it was something else.

My first problem I believe to be the alternator, to be more specific I believe its the regulator. When I am driving down the street I will notice the lights on my dash dim for a second and come back just fine. If I hit the brakes to stop at a stop light the lights dim on the dash and the car bogs down for a second and catches itself. Sometimes the bogging down can be unnoticeable unless you are looking for it. I haven't noticed the headlights dim from what I can remember.

My second problem I was told is the catalytic converter. I recently replaced both O2 sensors on the car, because when I first got the car it gave me a code for bank 1 sensor 0 meaning the front O2 sensor and after I replaced it and cleared the codes pretty much immediately I got the code for Bank 1 Sensor 1 so I replaced that O2 sensor as well in hopes my check engine light would finally stay off for more then half a second. Well that didnt happen, the code for Bank 1 sensor 1 came back as if I never changed the O2 sensor. My brother is thinking its probably the catalytic converter.

So before I go and buy these 2 parts I want to try some troubleshooting steps to confirm I really need these parts and I was hoping maybe someone here might help me with this if possible. Thank you in advance guys!

 

I think you are on the right track. You can get your alternator tested at Advance auto, they can load test it on the car and/or bench test it inside the store, I think they can diagnose a bad voltage regulator with their equipment.

 

I fixed the electrical problem I thought was the alternator. It turned out to be the battery was starting to go bad. As for the o2 issue, I am not leaning towards the converter anymore. I am more or less thinking I got a dud o2 sensor for the front. The back one used to give me a heater circuit code, but now it seems to be giving me a high voltage code. I posted pictures of the codes so anyone can see them. The PO141 code has to do with Bank 1 sensor 1 and the PO132 code is Bank 1 sensor 2. My brother told me the code for the rear o2 sensor means there is something wrong with the wiring on the computer side, but I would like to confirm this with some Honda mechanics here. It sounds like unless anyone here can tell me different, the way to resolve the 2 codes is to buy a new front o2 sensor and trace down the wiring problem for the high voltage code on the rear o2 sensor. Would that be a fair assessment, or how would some of you guys tackle this problem?

 

The only job of the rear oxygen sensor is to tell you if the cat is bad. It's possible the cat is bad. You need to get a hold of a good quality temperature gun and check the temperature of the inlet and outlet of the cat to see if there is an increase in temperature. If not, then the cat is likely bad.

For the front sensor, the only job of the heater element is to warm up the oxygen sensor. Normally when you throw a code for the heater element you just need to replace the oxygen sensor but it's possible the wiring is bad. You need to get a hold of the schematic and test for 12v across the two heater element pins with the ignition on. It's possible the connector connecting to the oxygen sensor itself is bad or it is gunked up with oil, grease, or carbon.