Will the alternator still charge if the dash battery bulb is broken?

 

yes

 

I have got different answers on this one.. So I guess I have to try it to day. I have a 3 wire connector to the alternator and the the old clusters and dials has been switched out to a AIM dash and LED´s. The alternator does not charge. It has ignition voltage and I have it in the back of my mind that it wont charge if the dash battery bulb is broken.. .

 

I remembered wrong it turned out.. I got it to charge today.. And I had to try and cut the wire to the dash and it charged fine when started again..

 

The answer is no for a 96-2000 Civic. I recently learned this the hard way. I had water splash into my VSS. The VSS receives power from the circuit that is fused by fuse 15 in the under dash fuse box in a 96-2000 Civic. Fuse 15 also provides power to the battery light in the dash, and to the alternator activation input wire (as I would word it). If you pull up the Honda service manual, and search for Charging System Troubleshooting, the first question asks if the bulb turns on. It says if not, replace the bulb or repair the wire.

The alternator has to be 'activated' upon engine start. Then it will charge. After that, you can cut power to fuse 15, and it will continue to charge.

I had to put a 10amp fuse in, start the car, the fuse would slow-blow because the VSS was grounding out, but it lasted long enough to activate the alternator, and let me keep driving avoiding a tow. Good thing I keep extra fuses...

 

my answer wasnt wrong bud
this is the 88-91 civic section on honda-tech
so the civic thats being worked on is a 88-91

the info you gave is right and useful but just not in this part of the website

 

I wasn't trying to correct, just adding extra info. Some people have swapped stuff, and I don't remember if 3-wire alternators need it or not, but it may be useful to add

 

I have a generator from a eropean civic from 97 that has a b18c4 same as your gsr. It is a OBD2a electrical system. I have that alternator in my civic from -88 with a b-series turbo swap and aftermarket ecu. The alternator has a 3 pin plug to the genrator and it seems as it is the same as the canadian models. The us versions has 4 or if it was 5 pins. So there are differenses. My alternator with the 3 pin plug needs ignition signal and a 12v signal from ecu to charge full power. The stock ecu and the electric load sensor ELD senses the electric load in the car and ground the ecu signal to the alternator and it charges about 12,5v. When the signal is high,12v it charges full power. I tested mine with and without the dash charging light and it made no differens. I shut the car off between eatch test and it made no differense. I only testet the full power mode though.

 

The ALT-C wire, or alternator charge wire, is a different activation. That tells the alt to charge in high instead of low, as you know. On the newer civics, you have to 'prime' the alternator before it spins. Weird