Tad

EDIT FOR SEARCHERS: It turned out to be my transmission ground wire(that attaches to the starter) was not tightened down securely!!
Man I went through alot of stuff to figure that out, but in the end, i'm happy.
A note for future problem hunters, dont just visually check your connections,
givem a wiggle too
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Hi,
do you guys have any tips on troubleshooting/diagnosing the charging system?

basically I drive around and my battery just looses juice the more I drive.
gauges go haywire.
it acts as if the car warms up REAL quick, then starts to overheat,
but engine seems to be normal temperature. And if I turn my lights on/off I can watch the temp gauge go up/down,
I've replaced the battery, replaced the alt with a good-known one,
checked that everythings plugged in.

It all started when I had an oil leak, out of the pcv valve, and down allover everything behind the motor.

I cant figure it out, and dont want my battery to die.

Basically any tips on discovering the source of the prob would be appreciated.
thanks in advance


Modified by Tad at 4:13 PM 7/31/2004

white ex

get a voltmeter and check the car while its running,( i know you said you just replaced the alternator but you never know ) it should read around 14 volts. if its down to like 12 then you most likely have a bad alternator.

chad

what car do you have??

if you have a 96 up civic check fuse #15.....if it is blown....that is why your battery is dying...

Tad

its a 92 civic cx,
with a jdm d15b vtec engine.
what is fuse 15? is there an equivalent on my car?

Do you guys know which wire sends power from the alt out to the rest of the car?
My batt reads in the 12's when the car is running, and it drops the more power I use(lights, radio, etc).

I hooked up my multimeter to the single wire on top of the alt(its screwed on and with a rubber boot). It either sends power TO the alt, or FROM the alt to the batt.
It was reading 12.38 running, I checked the batt right after, also 12.38.

Tad

can someone enlighten me as to what the different plugs/wires going into the alt do, and where they go to from the alt?

thnx

civtegra_hybrid

check your ground strap, the one one the trannz, if you don't have the eng. grounded right, your cluster will go off the way, rpm and temps. every thing, I think that's your prob. but i KNOW FOR SURE THAT IT HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH YOUR GROUND, if it don't have it, add some more ground wires, it won't mess it up more then it is, the more grounding you do from the eng. to the frame/body, it will make your car run better and your lights briter. and fix that cluster prob.

Tad

thanks,
the cluster prob isnt just a cluster prob,
its just a symptom of my overall charging issue,
i need to fix that.

but your right, and thanks, grounds are important,
I will go over them, once I can find a clear diagram of where each is located.

Tad

nocturnaldragon

Bump whats your e-mail i have a quide to checking your charging system in pdf if you want it. its 12 pages and is pretty detailed, should help you find out whats going on

nocturnaldragon

Sent

........

if you only got 12.38 at the batt when car is running your alt is bad

Tad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95lx4dr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you only got 12.38 at the batt when car is running your alt is bad </TD></TR></TABLE>

it couldnt be a bad wire going from the alt to the batt,
or a relay or short or something too?

........

yes it it could be, have you thought of taking the alt off and haveing it tested at autozone or somewhere?

Tad

had it and the one that was on it before tested at a buncha places,

they came up good.

but EVERYTHING points to the alt as the prob..
all the troubleshooting stuff i've looked at, i mean ****
thats where I get stuck.
i'm no good at finding a "short" or whatever.. or testing relays...

heck i didnt even know what a relay was until yesterday

........

charging probs are almost as hard to figure out as over heating good luck man

ILLICON3000

headgasket? Spark plug/wires/distributor? Alternator?

Tad

yeah i'm about to say **** it and just take it to the *******.. DEALER!!!!!!!!!

man.. if myself 2months ago so myself today taking my car to a dealership.. fuuck.. i'd kick the **** out of me!

been a "doityerselfer" since day 1,
but i'm over my head now

mjrage

make sure your alt belt is tight. Check your alternator adjustment screw (on top of the alternator) and make sure everything is good and tight. Loose screw/belt = no charge.

Turbogixxer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah i'm about to say **** it and just take it to the *******.. DEALER!!!!!!!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Bleh, grab a beer (or a cola if you are me) and open your mind to the problem.

When finding a wiring problem, you start by tracing the wire from the end point (the alt) to the beginning. The charge wire from the alt goes to the passenger side fuse box (the front thick wire, the back one goes to the battery). Check all the fuses in there and check the wire/connections. Then go on to the 4-wire connector. The battery will not charge without this connected and working good. Check the connector and the wires. trace them and see if there is anything wrong with the wires.

Also, remember what I told you about OEM alt? that maybe a problem too.

Tad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbogixxer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Bleh, grab a beer (or a cola if you are me) and open your mind to the problem.

When finding a wiring problem, you start by tracing the wire from the end point (the alt) to the beginning. The charge wire from the alt goes to the passenger side fuse box (the front thick wire, the back one goes to the battery). Check all the fuses in there and check the wire/connections. Then go on to the 4-wire connector. The battery will not charge without this connected and working good. Check the connector and the wires. trace them and see if there is anything wrong with the wires.

Also, remember what I told you about OEM alt? that maybe a problem too. </TD></TR></TABLE>

haha your so positive,
ok i'll keep trying. sigh..
Sorry I forgot what you said about the oem alt?

the 4wire con might be dirty, i'm going to go buy something to clean it with,

the thick wire on top of the alt gives off 12v while the car is running(hooked my multimeter directly to hwere it mounts on the alt)

alright! off to frys electronics!

Tad

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by turbogixxer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The charge wire from the alt goes to the passenger side fuse box (the front thick wire, the back one goes to the battery). Check all the fuses in there and check the wire/connections. Then go on to the 4-wire connector. The battery will not charge without this connected and working good. Check the connector and the wires. trace them and see if there is anything wrong with the wires.
</TD></TR></TABLE>
ok I checked all that,
everythings AOK,
got some contact cleaner and thoroughly cleaned out the 4wireplug and prongs
only thing I havent done is trace where that 4wire plug goes after it leaves the alt...

I drove around,
batt/white wire screwd to top of alt/both wires attached to the fusebox, all read around 12.26 while running, and all read around 12.48 when off.
temp gauge still fluctuates a bit. using lights drops the voltage.
also i'm on a new normal sized battery.
just bought it last night(didnt wana drain my lw batt).

anyone know where the 4wire alt plug wires head off to?

Turbogixxer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">anyone know where the 4wire alt plug wires head off to?</TD></TR></TABLE>

What wiring harness you have?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mjrage &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">make sure your alt belt is tight. Check your alternator adjustment screw (on top of the alternator) and make sure everything is good and tight. Loose screw/belt = no charge.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Tad

92 cx harness

yeah everything is tight,
alt belt is taught sturdy,
by adjustment screw do you mean the screw that holds down the thick white wire that runs to the fusebox??? if so.. its tight too.

Turbogixxer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">92 cx harness</TD></TR></TABLE>

Damn, I do not have the wiring diagram for the alt. One of the wires goes to d9.

Tad

found this in the helms
looks like the wires split up and go ******* everywhere



Modified by Tad at 5:17 PM 7/25/2004