Hello everyone, my name is Dave and I'm new to this site/forum and this is my first post, first question so any advise or points in the right direction would be much appreciated.
So here is my Del Sol issue and question....

Whenever my car turns on there never seems to be enough power to fully juice everything in the car. For instance Headlights at only half brightness, stereo system takes a few minutes to turn on, window wipers react very slow, auto windows up and down very slow or sluggish. If I shut the car off and forget to turn the lights off the car is fully dead and needs jumped after about 10-15 min. If its winter and cold out I'm lucky if the radio or lights work at all.

Now with that being the case and so I dont sound completely stupid. Every Honda Del Sol I've owned, has had this same power consumption problem so I am just "assuming" that is just how the car is? but my question is for any of you who also had or have this car, have you had the same problem and what did you do to correct it? Is it as simple as putting a bigger battery in it or new wiring or both? I have tried a new battery and new alternator and that was the simple fix and that has never fixed the problem.

Now that I want to bring the car back to life and its full glory and potential this is basically the first time I will be starting to do some some major work on my car and I figure this is probably the first place I want to start.

I am brand new to this so any help, advice or points in the right direction is greatly appreciated.

 

In order to get serious about electrical problems, you will have to own a volt-ohm meter.

First thing to check is voltage at the battery, with and without the engine running.

 

Thank you, I think I have one of those, is there a certain reading I should be looking for or is there a certain reading it should be? Or is there a certain thread that addresses this issue? Thanks again, still how and where to find answers on here.

 

Start engine and run it at idle, turn everything else off you should have about 14 volts. Idling with the lights on it should not drop below 13. With the car fully shut off it should be 12.5 or more.

It is important to take these measurements on the top of the lead posts that are part of the battery, not on the terminals that are part of the car.

 

How old is the battery? If you're unsure, it's likely beyond it's limitation and needs replacing. Most batteries are good for 3-5yrs tops.

 

Both the battery and alternator are new within the year. I'm going to try to check the readout this weekend. Thank you both. much appreciated on all the helpful info so far.