dead battery possibly? your input needed..

[alfonso2501]

Originally Posted by ricebike

....w/ aftermarket like autozone, they'll back it up w/ a lifetime warranty...

I recently went pricing OEM mufflers for my 00” EX because it rusted out. Just for the hell of it I went to the Honda stealership for a price. The guy who I spoke with gave me some crazy price installed, but here’s the funny thing. He said the muffler would come with a life-time warranty as long as I had them install it! The reason why I mention this is because when & if my alternator goes, I wonder if the same can be done? Are there any technicians out there who work for Honda who could verify this for me? If not I suppose auto-zone would be just as good, I’ll put it in myself.

[Killa_CRX]

I work for Toyota and it's about the same way because that way it keeps the car emissions compliant... anything to do with emissions has to have a warrenty.

[Sean Price]

hey guys jus wanted to update yall... FUNNIEST thing yo.. i jump started my ride, and got her runnin UP and fine again...n like i sed yo bannanas yo IT RUNS fine now wit no problems no weakness in startup or anything

that was wednesday and been drivin her since then wit no problems...


DUE to very bad time contraints and other issues... haven't had TIME tto go get it tested or do anything else, HOPEFULLY this weekend...

i'm jus playin wit fate right, sooner or later its gonna go OUT on me again..this last time was the warnin thats its on the outs huh?

i jus FOUND it strange is all

thanks guys I learned alot from this experience and from yalls input and advise..


keem it going

ride for street

oNe

[ricebike]

k, you should still heed the other member's warning that stock batteries only last ~5 years...

goto autozone/advance auto parts for a free battery check right there on the parking lot... heck they can do a free alternator check as well...

a dying/old battery would make the alt work harder, shortening it's life. esp w/ winter coming around.

[Sean Price]

aight yall the cars still been RUNNIN good ever since that last jump but regardless TOMORROW got the whole day off i'ma take it STRAIGHT to autozone to get it tested out.....


thing is i wanted yall's opinion I got a man on the inside... aka works at a honda dealership... basically got a hoook up....


should I jus buy a battery from either sear's, or wally world??

other wise guy sed a honda battery original battery runs bout $90 but he'll get it for me for bout $50.....

so should i pay bout $40-60 for a battery from sear/ walmart


or go wit the OEM honda for $50...

does it matter ??? what would yall do and why?


thanks again

peace

oNe

p.s. once again AUTOZONE tomorrow.....

[Sean Price]

now I remember why i was so hesitant to go to autozone..



i went to THREE< thats right THREE autozones before ONE finally was able to "help" me out... aka test my battery... DON"T even get me started on the 2 checkers i visited as well...

but yeah LUCKILY there was 3 autozone' in my city..

but anyway Yo.. they tested OUT my battery and stated it was fine...

?????????????????????

now what? could it be my alternator then? how do i test that out? wit winter coming i don't want any problems...

the battery will be a FULL five years in nov so I"Ma get a new one regardless but if that doesnt solve the problem then what?


oNe

p.s. my car has been RUNNIN FINE n dandy since that jump start NO OTHER PROBLEMS!! ???

[eckoman_pdx]

Well, if you take your Alt off the car and take it somewhere they can test it for you. Around here startmart will do that. Sometimes they'll have the meter to hook up and test it on the car running. You can also start the car and disconnect the battery negitvie and go for a long ass drive. The alternator will be powering the car then, it can't compensate if it's bad by pulling off the battery. Crank your stereo, run the accessiores and drive. If the alternator's REALLY bad, you'll know it.

Just for reference. Years ago some moran at sears tested my battery and swore it was good and something else was the issue. Well, I tested it a few days later and I don't know what he thought or did, but the thing was so dead it couldn't hold a charge worth crap. Replaced it and the car was fine after that. If you don't trust those idiots, look up Batteries in the yellow pages and take your car to a battery specialist and have them load test the battery and then test the alternator. In all honesty, have those ppl at autozone and checkers have no bussiness being NEAR a car or a wrench.

[ricebike]

You can also start the car and disconnect the battery negitvie and go for a long ass drive.

NEVER DO THIS ON A ECU_EQUIPPED FUEL INJECTED CAR!!!!!

yea, it's fine & dandy on an old-school carbureted car, but not on cars w/ computers; you'll create a voltage spike to fry a circuit or 2...easy to blow fuses or worse

also, most tests w/ a test light is now frowned upon d/t this as well... use a voltmeter.

but the same autozone/advance auto/checkers would also have the capability of checking the alternator on-car.

if your car is running FINE, don't sweat it; just after 5 years, expect the battery to die out on u...& make the alternator work "harder" to keep it charged up while the battery's close to it's death

autozone/other parts places are YMMV. some employees are good, while others are just newbies. heck, they have an ASE program for the serious people that want to learn more about cars. u pay for test, pass, show the certificate to your employer----> they reimburse u for it!!!!!!!

the easiest ones i got were steering, brakes, & parts pro<counterperson// i forgot what the real title of that part of the test is> i'm not in the field right now since i am mr. mom of 2 kids <wifey makes 3x what i was getting at pepboys>

[Killa_CRX]

Sure, you might have worried about that on an older fuel injected vehicle, but the power systems on our cars are so well regulated that unless you have a bad alternator, a voltage spike isn't really going to hurt anything.... you might blow a fuse eventually, but nothing major will go wrong.... to avoid voltage spikes and such however, leave the A/C off, and the radio off.
Sure, you don't want to do it for too long, cause you're going to be working the alternator pretty hard at times, and it will be heating up... and heat is always bad. don't want to cause premature wear.

Also... ASE testing is a joke.. some of the easiest tests I've had thus far.

[ricebike]

killa, yes ASE are relatively easy for mechanics in the field, but for the common parts slinger, may be a challenge... @ least the common customer won't rely on a newbie parts guy saying "the tornado really works; i highly recommend it!" or "yes, a cold air intake would give u 20hp to the wheels, yo!"

[Sean Price]

aight long story short.. got battery and alternator tested out..

whats the normal output an alternator supposed to put out?

the battery cranks 405 amps outta its supposed 450..so it does sound like its the battery thats going.. i'ma replace that fo sho in the next 2 weeks or so..

but any input on the alternator?

oNe

[GScivic7]

uhm...new thread maybe?

[Sean Price]

Originally Posted by GScivic7

uhm...new thread maybe?

i thought so.. but thne i figured since it was jus updatin everyone on the situation going on IN this thread.. i didn't want some get at me bout startin a whole new thread on it..

??

hmm..

my bad!??


oNe

[eckoman_pdx]

Sean Price, your alternator should be putting out right around 14.4 volts DC.

[Sean Price]

Originally Posted by Killa_CRX

Have you replaced your battery since getting the car? Most stock batteries only last about 5 years.. you said it's a 2000, and this being 2005, it would be about that time to change the battery.



Yes it can... a battery can have a 7-10 volt charge and still power all your accessories, lights, and everything.... with your headlights on, radio on, locks working, dome light on.... that's only going to draw about 30 amps total..
But a starter on a civic takes about 250amps and can take UP TO about 400amps depending on the condition of the engine, and a battery with a low charge (such as one that is dying out) will not provide enough amps to get the engine spinning around fast enough to start, but will still work everything else just fine.



Actually, no... when the battery light on the dash is on, that just means that the key is turned on, and there is voltage running through the system... the little battery light on the dash is actually directly related to the alternator circuit, if the light is on, that means the field coils in the alternator are receiving current from the battery in order to prepare to start the vehicle. When the light goes off when the vehicle is running the alternator provides it's own field power, so the dash light goes off.



IF the car runs fine when it is jumped with jumper cables, it is the battery... replace and forget about it for another 5 years.... or what I would recomend is invest a little money in a dry cell (also known as gel cell) battery (like an optima battery) they will last UP TO 10 years, and have a 7, 8 or 9 year warrenty depending on which model you buy.

NOT tryin to contradict you guy,, jus sayin.. aka informative purposes...

aight lets RECAP... car was dead WOULD NOT start for nothing, could hear it tryin to "turn" over.... yet lights came on, dome, headlights, highbeams, alpine unit played, STEREO bumped... no problem.. after a week of this i FINALLY jus JUMPSTARTED it and i did nothing else...car came on NO PROBLEM... that was 2 months ago and the cars been RUNNIN fine since then.. wit the same battery and no FURTHER problems or even a weak start.. ...

so if based on all the evidence, IF it was THE battery why has it been fine since?

aka what caused this to happen? and why is it fine now?


thanks felllas again NOT tryin to bite the hand that feeds me i'm jus sayin I REALLY want to know wuds up.... feel me?


#2 i went to wallly world to try and cop a battery but all i got was a choice of like 50.... how do i know which ONE i need for my car? they had this computer but it was down n NO one there could help?

so what battery or info do i need when i to go to buy one at the store for a honda civic auto sdn ex ??

i live in wisconsin aka FIERCE COLD hard winters.... would it matter buyin a battery from wisconsin or say one from Fort Worth, TX

reason i ask is this... going to drive down there its a 18 hour trip..was jus gonna replace the battery DOWN there aka vacay time and i'l have time to do it... what do yal think?

thanks homies...

peace

oNe