New Alternator, Then Battery Light?? huh?

[isadisa]

On sunday we just put a new alternator in my car and charged the battery, now the battery light (by gauges) is on.....it hasn't ever come on before...the battery died a few times, so we tested the alternator and found out it was bad....after installing the new alternator we took the car up to autozone and they tested the battery and the alternator and said everything was fine.

any ideas?

the belt is hella tight, and all the connections were the same (4 plug)

[ALTERED4]

have you checked for corroded connections? when i swapped my alternator, the wire with the loop connection was so corroded, the copper loop crumbled away...

[88LXi68]

make sure all the connections to the alternator are tight. Once when I replaced one it came on shortly later because the nut that held the copper wire on came off with the vibrations because it wasnt tight enough.

[88LXi/87CRXSi]

Check the no. 8 fuse in the underhood relay (fuse) box first. There are a couple of other things to check too. Instead of me confusing you, this is charge warning light test from the manual on Paul's site:

Charge warning light test

-Steve

[1988starter]

I had an advanced autoparts alternator die in 3 months

[ACCORD EX]

i really don't follow ! you said autozone tested it and everything is fine ! and the batter light still comes on ?? so does the battery still die ?

MIKE

[isadisa]

^^Yes,
autozone says everything is good, but the light is still on.....we think the new alternator is bad (it is a rebuilt)

[1988starter]

put a volt meter on it.

[ACCORD EX]

yes measure the output voltage @ the battery it should be 14.5 V at idle ! if yes , your alternator is good ! then you should look for what is giving electricity to the light ? ( a sensor ) i really don't know what it is !

MIKE

[cruznz]

alternator output turns the light off,so it's possibly an auxillary diode that has failed in the alternator........but you should do the tests that Steve posted

[maxoutracer]

check all your wire from the alter. to the battery, you might just have a faulty ground wire or postive wire from the fuse.

[CARBurn]

The same type of thing is happening to this 89 accord I just bought. The guy I bought it from replaced the alternator and the battery, but when I drive the battery light comes on but it is dimly lit. It will disappear for a while and then comes back on, and it will continue to do this while I am driving. Also the headlights and all the interior and dash lights flicker for while and after a while of driving they stop. The car drives fine though so I am confused, this never happened on my 87. I'll look at Paul's web site to check the test but any other suggestions? I would like to look at my car this weekend if I have time.

[CARBurn]

Originally posted by isadisa
^^Yes,
autozone says everything is good, but the light is still on.....we think the new alternator is bad (it is a rebuilt)

Don't ever buy anything from autozone...bought some upper ball joints from them that only lasted 4 months.

Come to think of it, that is where I think the guy I bought this car from got the alternator. I know the battery is from autozone. If I have to, I'll replace it with one from NAPA or a Honda dealer if I have to.

[1988starter]

I like advanced auto parts but I do have an auto zone distributer with a life time warenty

[blazin3gen]

heres a worthless responce but have u tried smacking the side of the dash untill the light goes off

[bambamky]

better yet when you replaced the battery did you nake sur the little wire you screw onto the alternator was tight and in there completely cause if not that will cause that problem cause what it is doing is running only half the amps its suppose to and if not corrected soon you will have another dead one the fuse might be it but I seriously highly doubt that! Check what I said and see if that is the prob!
I had the same prob when I replaced my battery and thats what it was!

[CARBurn]

Now, my car is in the shop, last night after driving some place the car would not rotate when I tried to start her up. I had to get some one to jump me, but on my way home it stalled again. All day yesterday the battery light was dimly lit but not brightly. I suspect that after looking at some of my battery connections that the positive battery cable is problem because under the black electrical tape it had alot of corrosion.

I checked around some auto parts to see if I could buy another positive cable, but no one sells one for the Accord. The only other place to go besides to the honda dealer is to the junkyard to find a good use one.

Before going any further, could the corroded battery cable cause this problem last night and the previous problems I was having with the charge warning light(flickering and blinking) while driving or should I be looking at something else as well?

[ACCORD EX]

yes ! batter terminals and engine ground could cause that !
BTW you don't have to buy honda cables , just buy any battery cables ! or you can but cables by meters and do them your self !


MIKE

[CARBurn]

Thanks
I'll look for some cables then and do it myself.

[CARBurn]

Thanks
I'll look for some cables then and do it myself.

[bambamky]

its probably not the cables it might be the alternator check to see if the ground wire is completely connected it might be your problem not only the battery?

[CARBurn]

Yeah, the mechanic confirmed it was the alternator not the cables.