Battery light indicator

[NoWayBack91Si]

hey guys, Im gonna try my best to describe this...So as of like 2 days ago. I noticed after I started my car the battery light indicator was slightly on (the light was pretty faint). Once I put it in gear and start to accelerate, the fainted light goes away. When i come to a stop or put the clutch in to just coast...once the rpms are down, the light starts to fade on again, but still not fully on...just dull lighted. Also, I noticed when I rev a little or when accelerating...there is like an electrical whinning sound that you can hear, if that makes sense. Think supercharger, but not as loud at all, but still noticeable.

Anyone, have any thoughts or suggestions? I'd appreciate it!

 

[R3dline]

sounds like your alternator is goin to s**t on you man

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

damn, you think so? i think its only about 2 years old

 

[RonJ]

Make sure the alternator belt is tight and not slipping. The whining noise may be the sound of a slipping belt. If the belt is fine, then the alternator probably needs to be replaced.

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

Well I dont think the whining sound was from a slipping belt, but im starting to think it is the alternator.

Last night while I was driving, my car started acting funny. I noticed the dash lights got dimmer the longer I drove. Then I noticed when I brake, my radio shuts off...let off the brake and the radio comes back on. Also If I remember correctly, when I brake...the speedo needle and tach drop as if the car was turning off. It ended up dying right as I pulled in infront of my girls apartment building. I was thinking s**t..but Ill just see whats up when I leave. So I left her place at like 5am. I arrived there around 11:45pm. When I left it started up fine and didnt act up on my way home. Does this still sound like the alternator? After my car had sit there since 5am, I would have thought it would still be dead, but idk?

any thoughts?

 

[31dev31]

Definitely a dying alternator.

 

[RonJ]

If the alternator belt is tight and no contaminated with oil and fuse 15 under the dash is not blown, then replacing the alternator will likely fix the problem.

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

See this has happened 3 times now...around last winter and the winter before. I also wanna mention that my VSS/Alternator fuse blows it seems everytime I drive my car after its been raining. Do you think it could be a wiring issue? Alternators should last alot longer. Especially my recent one...I bought it brand new, not rebuild.

When my old hatch's alternator went out, there were no funny things going on...it simply went out. Thats why I feel its a wiring issue. What do you think?

Also, are all b-series alternators the same? or are there like OBD-2 and OBD1 alternators? I always thought they were the same, but someone told me there are different ones...

I appreciate your guys input

 

[RonJ]

The VSS/alternator fuse is fuse 15. Though you have a B18c swap, you may want to read this TSB.

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

Thanks for that link...so this was a recall? I wonder how much a dealership would charge to perform this. Yea I do have a b18c though but I'm pretty sure I have the other codes as well...the Electrical load detector or o2 sensor.

 

[RonJ]

Thanks for that link...so this was a recall? I wonder how much a dealership would charge to perform this. Yea I do have a b18c though but I'm pretty sure I have the other codes as well...the Electrical load detector or o2 sensor.

Don't pay for anyone to inspect the wire harness for shorts. Do it yourself and save some money. For the stock Civic, access to this C115 connector and wire harness is from below with the front end on stands. The wire harness is located above the oil filter.

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

Don't pay for anyone to inspect the wire harness for shorts. Do it yourself and save some money. For the stock Civic, access to this C115 connector and wire harness is from below with the front end on stands. The wire harness is located above the oil filter.

Oh alright, the thing is I just dont have a garage, my driveway is slanted, and its damn cold out lol, but Ill see if i can use a buddys garage or something. But, question....if I were to get this all taken care of (taping and wire looming) would then alternator then be fine or does this still cause the alternator to go bad?

I remember the last time this happened..the shop I took it to checked out the alternator (because it was fairly new from the year they previously replace it) and he took it apart and cleaned it. He said there were some sort of wire fragments inside that were unknown to where they would have came from. Once he cleaned it out, everything was fine (they still charged me a stupid amount of money)..and here we are again a year later.

 

[RonJ]

...But, question....if I were to get this all taken care of (taping and wire looming) would then alternator then be fine or does this still cause the alternator to go bad?

The short problem would not likely damage the alternator. It would just cause the charging system to malfunction.

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

oh ok gotcha. well I appreciate all the information. you have been a huge help. I'm gonna try and get this taken care of tomorrow. Ill keep this thread updated.

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

Welp, just an update...

Today I just happened to go to the shop that I usually go to and talked to them about my problem. Im still under warranty from the last alternator incident. I guess it hasn't been a year yet. So I went ahead and had them take a look at it. I pretty much explained everything that went on a couple days ago. I even printed out the Honda Service Bulletin from 2000 about the Fuse 15 shortage deal. The mechanic tested the alternator out and everything was fine apparently. He said he didn't see any problems. While they were at it, I went ahead and had them loom and tape the wires up all that, which he did at no cost to me. Pretty much everything bit of the wiring in the bay was loomed up nicely. When I picked it up and went to start it, the battery light was still very faintly on. I told the guy and he said he didn't notice it prob b/c its not very bright. I said I would just keep an eye on it. He told me just to let him know if I have any problems.

So thats that! I'm not sure whats up with the battery light still being dimmed on while not accelerating. I started to think about other things...for example my fog lights and sidemarkers that was recently put on, but that was back on the 31st of august. I wonder if a wire related to either of those might be getting pinched or something.

Any thought guys?

 

[RonJ]

Does fuse 15 no longer blow? No CEL codes any longer?

 

[BEAR_times]

I have had a similar battery light issue ever since I bought my car. The guy that sold it to me told me that I needed a new battery. Sure enough that was not the case. Some time in the futre I will find out what is causing the madness. I think there should be sticky of all civic "check light" problems and solutions other that those listed in haynes or chilton manuals.

 

[Manderson]

The mechanic tested the alternator out

How many amps was the alt producing when he tested it? I had 3 so called "mechanics" tell me my alt was fine when it was doing the same thing as yours till i finally asked how many amps. I was only getting about 50a or so...bad alt.

 

[jdouglas]

Sounds like high a/c

I do not own a honda but i have been rebuilding starter and alternators for 10 years. Sounds like your alt has a bad rectifier inside. The rectifier has diodes in it and if one goes bad it will cause high a/c. Your alt can still sometimes charge. Symptoms include alt whinning noise, alt will be really hot to the touch after running, and also battery could drain overnight. You can save $ by just having it rebuilt. Hope this helps

 

[NoWayBack91Si]

so its been a little while since i've been on and just saw these last few comments. but heres an update...

So over this past weekend, my car broke down on me. Before it died, a few things were going on such as: radio would shut off after applying the brake, tach would cut out, if i had my lights off then i could keep it running, lights on and it would die. Also, as it was dead, still having the key turned...if I turned the lights on i would hear a bunch of loud clicking/sputtering of stuff coming from near the glove box area. It sounded electrical b/c the car was obviously not running. It was able to jump started, but would just die again shortly after.

I took it to the shop and the guy said it sounded like the alternator. So I was like ok whatever, its still under warranty. After he ran diagnostics and checked in to it, he said it was the battery. So i got it back today, but the damn battery light is still faintly on until gas is given or while driving. WTF? Any ideas guys?