I was driving today and all of a sudden, the BATTERY, BRAKE, and all DOOR indicator lights come on at the same time. I immediately stopped and listening to the engine and a weird rotating sound came from where the belts are. I was able to drive home for the next 10 miles with no problems but i know something is wrong. Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to anyone or does anyone know what the problem might be?

 

My first guess is the belts.

2nd guess is the batt. conections

 

Your alternator needs to be replaced. The same exact thing happened to me a few months ago. Make sure you get it checked out.

 

Sorry to be the one to break the news to you, but you have a Delphi alternator on that car. It's nothing for a Delphi alternator to fail in 70K miles or less. I guess the Denso alternators were too reliable, so Honda had to throw a GM part in there to keep things interesting.

 

I called the Honda dealer and described my situation and the guy also thought the alternator was gone. The weird thing is, i've been driving normally for about 50 miles now and the car seems fine now. Is the alternator thing a problem in which the car will work for a while but eventually it will drain the battery?

 

welcome to 6th gen V6 accord hell.
hopefully the tranny doesnt go next.

 

I don't know.

If it's time to change it, you might want to just go ahead and do it.

If your alternator goes out when you are, say, on a vacation to Walla Walla Washington or Nome, Alaska, you would be kind of far from home to be able to do anything about it and a bear might come out of the forest to eat you and drive your car off.

Prudent to just get the change done.

Yes, it is the alternator. Any auto electric shop can change it for you. The Dealers get their supply of alternators from the local auto electric shops. So, don't go to the dealer. Just go to a reputable auto electric shop.

 

snikwad,

What did you mean when you said, "welcome to v6 accord hell"? Is their something about v6 accords that i should know about?

Also for everyone, if the alternator goes, is the car drivable for a while or absolutely none at all?

 

Honda has a serious problem with their automatic transmissions, but your '98 should be okay. Honda extended the warranty for:

1999–01 Odyssey – ALL
2000–01 Accord – ALL
2000–01 Prelude – ALL

Some of the more common problems with the 6th generation Accords include: EGR valve, bypass solenoid and automatic transmission. And in your case, Honda made a deal with GM to use their cheap-*** alternator on a few years of American built Accords.

But overall, Honda has one of the best built, if not THE BEST, 6-cylinders in the world. The same cannot be said about their automatic transmissions.

 

Just a FYI My mom has a 98 V-6 amazingly the GM alternator made it to 90K, when it went I drove over to pep boys and picked up a remanfactured one. THey are redone by Bosch, I would trust their parts anytime over "honda" parts when it comes to this specific alternator, PLUS you get a lifetime warranty, so if it should fail again, you just go back and get a new one...P.S. Skyline you sould get it replaced it's a Cake job to do yourself. Just a few bolts two connectors and viola a new alternator. Easier to replace on your time rather than when it decides to quit on you. Just my .02.

To anyone who knows what are some common things to look for in a 98 v-6 auto tranny if it's shifting harder than normal and the 3-2 downshift is borderline whiplash material? Thanks in advance.

 

Yeah some of the alts make it far, most dont. Dont be suprised if you go through liek 3 of them. im on #2, on its second rebuild.

GTR, what i meant was the potential "crap on you when you least expect it" POS GM tranny thats in the V6 accords.
on of the best ways to keep it going is to install an auxillary tranny cooler, total cost shouldnt exceed $80, about 1/2 that if you install it yourself. and/or a external filter, since the OEM filter is actually a magnet.

ive heard of people with under 70k miles and are on their 3rd tranny, i hit 125k today and i am on the original tranny. i had the auxillary cooler put on about 111k. i bough it with 108k.

The EGR was most likely fixed under warranty, with the previous ownerbut you may end up doing the PCV yourself.

be sure to become a member of http://www.ahm-ownerlink.com to see if your eligeble for the Honda extended tranny warranty.

 

Snikwad: what size tranny cooler is recommended? Any particular brand--I've used B& M before. I have a 4cyl--same thing? I assume installation is easy--right in front of the radiator? I've thought about putting one in just to prolong my tranny here in hot, hot South Texas. Thanks.

 

I have a 11" x 7" x 0.75" i think, its been a while, but yeah i just had a universal one installed, its an exact replica of one of the B&M models. the brand doesnt matter really, just place it in a good spot, and dont make the hoses cring, yes, in front of the radiator. a little ways beside my fog lights.

I seriously doubt your 4 banger needs one tho, i have never heard of a 4 banger Honda auto crapping itself, only when the miles were just ridiculous and the damn thing just gave up.

EDIT: Here i found something...
Mine...


Also some possible options....

http://www.performancecenter.c...hange


Modified by snikwad at 1:08 PM 9/23/2004