Dead car

[fogged]

Well my car has me stumped. I replaced the starter about 3 weeks ago. Every sence then its had trouble starting, and the battery has been slowly going dead. Yeasterday I pulled the starter out and got a diffrent one, and charged the battery up in it just to be safe. The battery is dead in it now. I had the alt looked at today as well as the battery. They said that both of them where fine, but the battery needed to be charged back up. Other than wireing I have no clue whats going on with it. Ive looked at all visable wires and checked the fuses inside as well as under the hood, and all is fine.

If any of you have any clue or tips as to just what might be makeing the battery die out as well as hard to start. Let me know. Thanx

[1ajs]

you checked your altinator? witch btw is a bitch to get out..........

[russiankid]

Get a volt meter and see what the readings are at the battery while the engine is running. Sounds like your alt is slowly going out. It isn't to bad on EFI engines...

[fogged]

The guy at the parts place said that the alt was fine, as well as the batery after it had been charged back up. I will be taking a look at the wiring in the am.

The alt is simple to get out. I dont have the stock air box anymore. It only took 15 min to get out.

[russiankid]

I would still check it with a volt meter as i heard there machines aren't always exactly accurate.

[2drSE-i]

The guy at the parts place said that the alt was fine, as well as the batery after it had been charged back up. I will be taking a look at the wiring in the am.

The alt is simple to get out. I dont have the stock air box anymore. It only took 15 min to get out.

those things dont work worth shit. I had them test my alternator (which was completely dead) and they told me it was fine. 3 months later my battery wasnt holding a charge and they told me it was fine. (again, wrong) Those machines work by reading the voltage of the battery, not the output of the alternator. The car can run without an alternator for about 20 mins (depending on speed)

[MessyHonda]

yeah my car ran 30 mins on 6v batt....it was very bad...but it ran. replaced the alternator and push started it and ran it for an hour on the free way and charged up the batt and now it runs fine.

[Demon1024]

Use a ohmmeter to test which circuits are drawing power while not running might help you pinpoint your problem "if" you alt is good.

[2oodoor]

just in case check for parasitic drains like brake lights, glove box, trunk light, and such.
The battery should read at no lower than 12.6 fully charged. It should not dip below 9.6 when you hit the starter.

[russiankid]

just in case check for parasitic drains like brake lights, glove box, trunk light, and such.
The battery should read at no lower than 12.6 fully charged. It should not dip below 9.6 when you hit the starter.

My battery read 12.49 volts when it was 0 degrees celcius outside. I think that is normal as the battery hasn't been used in a week. I used a regular volt meter to test my output from the alternator. I tested right at the battery and got 14-14.4 volts.

[2oodoor]

as a rule, 12.6 is the lowest, you have to take into account any resistance in your connections and thru the meter you are using, you may have 12.6 if you get a clean read on it. Im sorry but anything below that means the battery is headed for trouble or just not fully charged, even though it may seem fine (for months even)

[russiankid]

as a rule, 12.6 is the lowest, you have to take into account any resistance in your connections and thru the meter you are using, you may have 12.6 if you get a clean read on it. Im sorry but anything below that means the battery is headed for trouble or just not fully charged, even though it may seem fine (for months even)

Weird as the battery is a month old.

[steveko]

Batteries are not perfect either. check as the car is running at the batt as suggested should be like 14.5 or there about turn lights on should drop temporarily then come back up. rev car from idle make sure the alt isn't overcharging this will kill the battery.

[russiankid]

Batteries are not perfect either. check as the car is running at the batt as suggested should be like 14.5 or there about turn lights on should drop temporarily then come back up. rev car from idle make sure the alt isn't overcharging this will kill the battery.

At idle the voltage will be around 14 with lights or 13 with fog lights on carb'd cars as they do not have the idle boost as the EFI's do.

[fogged]

Well my battery is fine it was my alt. There was nothing comeing off the alt. I got a new one in and everything is good as of now.

:wtf: How the hell can those parts houses say that the part is good, when in truth its a fucked part. You think that they would have a machine that can tell, or just tell everyone that they have a bad part and make their money that way. All in all it was a big waste of my time.

[russiankid]

Well my battery is fine it was my alt. There was nothing comeing off the alt. I got a new one in and everything is good as of now.

:wtf: How the hell can those parts houses say that the part is good, when in truth its a fucked part. You think that they would have a machine that can tell, or just tell everyone that they have a bad part and make their money that way. All in all it was a big waste of my time.

This is exactly why i do not trust them and do my own work and tests.

[fogged]

I do all my own work on my 3g because Im not going to pay someone else to do it when I can do it myself. My new F-350 I just take it into the dealer because its covered, and my wifes new Jeep Commander is covered for LIFE.:D

I just have never had a parts house give be bad info. I mean thats why them fools have those machines. Hell Id be out of work if the machines in my shop didnt work, or I didnt know how to use them.

[russiankid]

I do all my own work on my 3g because Im not going to pay someone else to do it when I can do it myself. My new F-350 I just take it into the dealer because its covered, and my wifes new Jeep Commander is covered for LIFE.:D

I just have never had a parts house give be bad info. I mean thats why them fools have those machines. Hell Id be out of work if the machines in my shop didnt work, or I didnt know how to use them.

Well a lot of the tests could be done with a simple volt meter:wave:

[steveko]

I agree with all the above statements glad too here you got it fixed I replaced mine about 2years ago I wish it was s easy as yours was but that life. Oh by the way my car is a 5spd Lx4door carbed of course. I in fact have a idle boost that statement would be false.

[2oodoor]

Russian Kid, If I were you I would put another meter on your batt. , if it still is not 12.6 take it back since it is new. I mean that in the friendlyest way possible:)

Fogged, F350 huh,, sweeet, glad you got the car squared away.

Stevoko, I agree too, parts house flame time... they offer testing in hopes of selling parts, then they find a part they could sell you but dont even know it because of incompetent machines/operator...then they sell you a part and it is defective but they will not honor it because their "mo-sheen" says it is ok. They can't even find thier nuts if it is not on the counter computer, there could be a whole sack of them hanging right there but if the comb-pooter doesnt show it they do not exist.

[Dr_Snooz]

How the hell can those parts houses say that the part is good, when in truth its a fucked part. You think that they would have a machine that can tell,

You're going to be even more upset when you learn that they use the same machine to test the the "new" alternator you just bought from them. I learned this the hard way when I ended up stranded in the middle of nowhere with a "new" alternator from a parts house.

Tow bill: $300
Tools to replace junk alternator in Autozone's parking lot: $100
Pain, anguish and lost time: Priceless

I'm sure I'm not allowed to endorse any shop by name here, so I'll just MENTION (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) that _I_ don't buy parts from anywhere but NAPA. Not that you should do the same. I'm just mentioning. I'll also mention that I've never ever had a problem. Ever.

Incidentally, the Honda manual has _exceptionally good_ diagnostic procedures for both the battery and alternator. I'd highly recommend that you perform the full diagnostics on both your "new" parts. Unless you like changing out alternators in the dark, muttering curses around the penlight clenched in your teeth.

Good luck!

[Oldblueaccord]

Just to add my car will start with the battery voltage as low as 11.2V. Barely but it will crank and start.


wp

[russiankid]

I agree with all the above statements glad too here you got it fixed I replaced mine about 2years ago I wish it was s easy as yours was but that life. Oh by the way my car is a 5spd Lx4door carbed of course. I in fact have a idle boost that statement would be false.

You have an idle boost when you turn your lights on? Um...:wtf:

[2oodoor]

You have an idle boost when you turn your lights on? Um...:wtf:

well yeah the carbs do have a throttle controller operated by the black box, it grabs the throttle for you to assure smooth idle operation under all conditions. too bad this system fails with age.

[russiankid]

well yeah the carbs do have a throttle controller operated by the black box, it grabs the throttle for you to assure smooth idle operation under all conditions. too bad this system fails with age.

So it's suppose to raise the idle when you have the lights on? I never had a problem with mine idling at 750rpm with my lights on, i get 13 volts but thats because of my fogs.