Need help quick please!!!

[Night Rida]

Hey fellas,

Well my car just started to do this, every 15 minutes or so the battery light will come on and go off! I checked the battery out at pep boys before this started to happen and they said it was fine and that the alternator was weak but ok. I checked under the hood and there is alot of blue acid powder, On the positive terminal. Could this be the cause of this light coming on and off???? Or could it be the alternator goign bad??? Whats the best way to clean it from the terminal???
One last question, lots of rain here in savannah, and i was flying through puddles, then I saw some smoke arise from under the hood, nothing wrong with the coolent or radiator cus i just got that fixed and engine temp is fine, i saw the smoke come from the right side of the battery terminal when i opened the hood, could that be the water hitting something underneath and causing it to do that??? Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks, Jay
Night Rida:badass:

[YK86]

You can used sandpaper or a wire brush to clean the battery terminals. Make sure all connections are tight (ground cables, alt. plugs, etc). If it's still flickering, your brushes in the alternator might be going bad. If they are worn, they start to loose contact with the shaft causing the alt to not charge properly.

[Longevity]

My battery terminal also form those blue powder too and I can't start my engine once because of it. It blocks the flow of electric to and from your battery. Try cleaning it off with some baking soda mix in warm water.

[DBMaster]

Just remove the cable from the battery and clean it all up with a wire brush. When you put it back together spray on some corrosion protector (I use LPS3)and it will never corrode again.

Usually you will only get the battery light if the alt is bad or if you have a loose connection. If it turns out to be the alt (and you have time) take it to a rebuilder and get the brushes and bearings replaced. It will be cheaper than a rebuilt and will probably last you a lot longer.

[ACCORD EX]

it 's propably your terminals ! or your alternator belt is slipping , or the alternator is shot !

about the smoke thing ! if the smoke is normal smoke ( just like you are boiling water ! ) so it is the water hitting the exhause manifold and boiling ! don't worry about that ! just take it easy when driving over water ! :D

MIKE

[Night Rida]

yah the smoke looked like steam from flying over puddles, ill be careful next time, and I am getting new spark plugs and wires cus I pulled one out to check the connection and the cheap shit broke, so now i need new wirees, how are NGK? brand? Are they good as the crane 8 mm that some of yall use?? What brand do yall recommened when i put my accel power coil in??? Oh and what gap size should be between the spark plugs??? Im still new to working on my car, but want to get it done right thanks, for all the help guys and sorry for all the?'s
Thanks, Jay
Night Rida:badass:

[1988starter]

Yea on mine the terminal came off and stuck on the plug si I just took the boot off to break the glue then I lubed up the wire with silicon and slid the boot way down a few crimps later the connector was back on and the wire was fixed.

[1988starter]

Yea on mine the terminal came off and stuck on the plug si I just took the boot off to break the glue then I lubed up the wire with silicon and slid the boot way down a few crimps later the connector was back on and the wire was fixed. BTW they are crane cam 8.5 millimeter universal set cut and crimp your own.

[89AccordDXHB]

This happened to my '89 Accord last year. I thought it was just the build up of blue chalky stuff around the terminals. I'd clean it but the battery light still came on.

MAKE PLANS TO CHANGE THE ALTERNATOR!

One morning the car just wouldn't start even with a jump. When your driving with the battery light on, it means you're running the car using a substantial amount of power from the battery and NOT the alternator. Your battery will eventually die.

The alternator is relatively cheap at $40 to $50. Changing it yourself would be quite difficult seeing that you will have to remove the left drive shaft to make room to remove the alternator. If it wasn't for my bother-in-law's experience with 3G Accords.....I would've had to pay a mechanic.

If you do it yourself, be ready to change the left CV boot if you discover that it's busted. This is your opportunity since you'll have the left drive shaft out anyway.

There's not a lot of space in that area of the engine compartment. We followed the Haynes manual which was very helpful. Remember to have a oil pan out to catch the tranny fluid as you pull out the drive shaft.

After we changed the alternator, the problem went away. Hope this helps.

[POS carb]

where did you get an alternator for $40??? :eek:

[MoonScryer]

No, actually, you don't need to remove the driveshaft when doing an LXi...just take the air box off the back (unless you got an intake, then you are fine). I did this three times in a month, got changing it down to 30 mins :D

Night Rida: if you can't afford to pay a shop, let me know, I'll help. Good excuse to go to Savannah.

[Night Rida]

thanks guys,
Well I cleaned the shit out of the battery, took it out and cleaned all the acid powder off of it and shined the terminals and connectors as well. And changed spark plug wires(old one broke, pulling it out) to NGK. Its working fine now! No more battery light so far:)
But I still might need a new alternator in the near future, but hey
"if it aint broke then dont try and fix it", anyway
moonscryer, I appreciate the offer man. Maybe we can all meet in like macon or something, as soon as I get some damn time off from work :mad: You and the other guys in that area, forgot their names.
Thanks, Jay
Night Rida:badass: