electrical

[viper-blue]

hey guys,

I have a weird problem concerning my charging system. Whenever I start my car it puts out a consistant 14.5 volts. The car will continue to put out this voltage til I put the car in gear and start to move, then the volts are all over the place. It seems whenever I'm accelerating,or de-accelerating the volts drop. Also, sometimes when I turn on accessories the volts will drop below 13 unless the lights are on, then rise after accelerating for a few mins..other times the volts don't rise as they should. I'm on my second cheapy alternator, and I suspect the regulator, but I would like a second opinion...I've replaced all grounds, and don't suspect that to be the problem..also during the day when I idle down at an intersection ,the battery light comes on. Its a new remanufactured alt, and the alternator before had the same symptoms....after the car warms up the voltage output drops..does this sound like I bought a POS alternator..anyone else ever have this prob with remanufactured alts?

[hondacivic99sivtec]

wish i could help but i never buy remanufactured parts.

[bambam89lx]

Originally Posted by viper-blue

hey guys,

I have a weird problem concerning my charging system. Whenever I start my car it puts out a consistant 14.5 volts. The car will continue to put out this voltage til I put the car in gear and start to move, then the volts are all over the place. It seems whenever I'm accelerating,or de-accelerating the volts drop. Also, sometimes when I turn on accessories the volts will drop below 13 unless the lights are on, then rise after accelerating for a few mins..other times the volts don't rise as they should. I'm on my second cheapy alternator, and I suspect the regulator, but I would like a second opinion...I've replaced all grounds, and don't suspect that to be the problem..also during the day when I idle down at an intersection ,the battery light comes on. Its a new remanufactured alt, and the alternator before had the same symptoms....after the car warms up the voltage output drops..does this sound like I bought a POS alternator..anyone else ever have this prob with remanufactured alts?

Sounds like the battery may have a dead cell. Check to make sure the fat white wire from the top of the alternator all the way to the fuse box is tight. Also, check that wire for continuity. How tight is your alternator belt?

[viper-blue]

the alt belt is tight, the battery is new but I'll take it in tomorrow and have it checked. I've also checked for shorts and open grounds with no problems noted. This problem was happening with my last alt and battery, thats why I replaced the battery. It really is puzzling..I'll check the battery and the wire you mentioned bam bam

[viper-blue]

Buyer beware!

My alternator was cheap, but had a one year warranty. Turns out the last two remans I bought were just plain garbage straight out of the box...I had my one week old alternator tested, the boys at Canadian Tire here in Canada said the alt was charging at the OEM level...they tried to get me to keep it til I pointed out the bearing was noisy after 10 hours of use so I got a refund for all my aggrevation and went to the honda dealership for a brand new one...the volts are steady over 14 in all operating conditions, even with the fan on full blast, the high beams cranked, and the stereo blasting...I'll never buy one of those cheapy things again

[hondacivic99sivtec]

good to hear. gotta love oem.