Alternator Question 88 LX

[sbeasley]

Went to start my 88 LX this morning and my Battery was dead. Could not find any obvious reason for it, Charged battery and drove 40 min and noticed Battery Light was coming on. Got home changed battery to known good 1000 CCA battery and now Battery Light comes on only when revs rise above 2000 RPM.

There was a "bad" electrical smell present under the hood when car was running, but I could not pin point it's source. Belts are spinning good to alternator.

Day before yesterday I had replaced that hard to reach Coolant Bypass Hose under the manifold, it was leaking after car was turned off through pin-holes.

Q.> Do you think the coolant leak could have damaged the brushes and or regulator components in my alternator? The hose is the 1/2" one shaped like a question mark located above the alternator and it had pin holes at each end & could have dripped into the alternator housing.

Weird thing is I get 12V DC at battery with car off and 14.22V DC with car running at battery with Fluke Digital Multi-Meter. Makes me think alternator is working but I dont know how to simulate load voltage or output.

Thanks in advance for any info-

I love this forum. I bought my 88 LX 4dr for $800, ice cold AC, no rust or corrosion anywhere, interior is excellant, new radiator, and new tires. Car would die at traffic lights and was mysteriously loosing small amounts of coolant. I think the seller thought it had carb & head gasket issues. Through reading this site I learned and repaired:

*Gaskets & O Rings go bad on Carbuerators base ( explained $ fixed coolant loss) went ahead and put rebuild carb from Import Carbuerators $200 "highly recommended"
*(2) Fuel Filters both need to be replaced ( fixed stalling at traffic lights)
*Adjusted Auto Trans shift points with TV Cable ( car hauls ass now)
*Arm Rest & Cup Holders ( found them on Ebay, car is perfect now)
*Replaced Speedo Cable ( fixed bounces and whine noise)

Future projects : Passenger CV outer boot is cracked, possibly bad alternator.

Steve
1988 Accord LX 4 Dr (carb)
224K miles (will post pics later)

[AccordB20A]

sounds like the regulator to me, they allways fuckout, and yeah coolant/oil and shit that gets in ur alternator usually kills them lol

[Hauntd ca3]

that charge light coming on when you rev it usually means its over charging.
check the voltage at the batt clamps when you are giving it a rev and see what it is.
any more than 14.8 volts is getting to high and you'll cook the battery.
a fully charged batt will show bout 12.7 volts.
with the motor running it should be anywhere between 13.8 and 14.8v.
i would suggest the reg is on its way out to

[mephi]

Check to make sure you didn't loosen any wires while you were down there. You might have dislodged the plug on the back of the alternator or moved the boot on the positive terminal. Happened once to me and the stud arced to the intake manifold and burned itself away. Caused an intermittent charge light and no start until it completely burned through the nut and the positive lead came loose. Only took 2 trips.

Watch the voltage and see if it goes above the 14.8v when you rev it. Also switch your voltmeter over to A/C and see if you pick up a current. If you do, your diodes are toast too.

[sbeasley]

OK, I checked for a loose or shorted connection on the Alternator. Didn't appear to be anything wrong.

As suggested I connected the meter again and this time rev'd the engine.

950 rpm = 12.95V
2K = 13.73V
3K = 13.99V
4K = 14.1V And I Could Not Get The Battery Light To Come ON

After the engine warmed up.

950 = 13.6V
2K = 14.2V
3K = 14.4V
4K = 14.43V And I could not get a Battery Light! ?

These voltages seem to be in range right?

Weird, I have already bought one of the High Amp Nippo Rebuilds off Ebay. So if it my current alternator goes out I guess I will be ready.

Thanks - Steve

[sbeasley]

Just did some high speed laps around the hood and the Battery Light did not go off.

Does the "Free" in car checks at AutoZone or any of the other parts stores work?

thanks - Steve

[Dr_Snooz]

Wiring ain't my thing but a 1,000 cca battery is massively oversized for the car. It wouldn't surprise me if that's wierding out your alternator.

[Dr_Snooz]

Oh, and you do well to avoid Autozone.

[Hauntd ca3]

a 1000cca batt isnt even going to blink at starting a wee honda so the amount of discharge from starting a car isnt going to be enuff to phase the alt
i'd be doing the reg and brushes if it intermittant

[Oldblueaccord]

Oh, and you do well to avoid Autozone.

Your confusing amps and voltage. Amps is just the potential the battery has at its rated voltage. You could use a 1000cca battery in your cell phone as long as its the correct voltage for it.

SB:

if you can amp clamp it or get some one to check the amp out put it maybe very low even if the voltage is correct. Also check all ground wires connections like the valve cover one. Verify that the battery terminals are tight on the battery post. Most of the new battery post I have used are too small for a stock Honda battery terminals .So even with the screw buried the terminal may not be tight. Thats for 3g and 4g Hondas that I have seen.

wp

[Dr_Snooz]

Your confusing amps and voltage. Amps is just the potential the battery has at its rated voltage. You could use a 1000cca battery in your cell phone as long as its the correct voltage for it.

SB:

if you can amp clamp it or get some one to check the amp out put it maybe very low even if the voltage is correct. Also check all ground wires connections like the valve cover one. Verify that the battery terminals are tight on the battery post. Most of the new battery post I have used are too small for a stock Honda battery terminals .So even with the screw buried the terminal may not be tight. Thats for 3g and 4g Hondas that I have seen.

wp

Told you wiring isn't my thing. I stick by the Autozone advice though.

[Oldblueaccord]

Thats ok wish I could teach you better but Im more mechincal myself. Thats is a large battery for most small cars.


wp

[Hauntd ca3]

Your confusing amps and voltage. Amps is just the potential the battery has at its rated voltage. You could use a 1000cca battery in your cell phone as long as its the correct voltage for it.

wp

the cca rating is how many amps the batt can supply for 30 sec at a temp of -18 degrees c without voltage dropping below 10 volts in a 12volt system.
a wee honda like our cars will draw maybe 250/300amps when starting and with a batt of that size i'd be surprised if the voltage would drop below 12v
if it does the starter is either stuffed or earths are bad.

to check the charge system on the car you need a volt meter, clamp amp meter and a big high rate discharge tester so you can load the crap outta the system.
put the clamp meter around a batt cable(duznt really matter which) and the voltmeter on the batt terminals and use the hrd tester to put say 100 amp load on the system and have a lookk at the ammeter.( you may need to put more load on the batt, you may not)
i think the accord alts are bout 60 amps or so
if it makes less than that there is a prob
if its only down 5 amps or similar i'd look at brushes
if its down 10 or more the rectifier will likely have a dead diode or 2 cause it will only be running on 2 phases
if the current drops right of to stuff all , throw it away since its prob cheaper to get a rebuilt unit than to fix the one you got, but occasionally if the brushes are REALLY stuffed the current can all but disappear when you load it up, but check the brushes and slip rings anyway.if slip rings are really worn get an auto sparky to replace them cause unless you know what u are doing, you'll like screw them putting them on.

[sbeasley]

For folks like me who don't have tools yet to remove the axle for the alternator replacement (Carb) here is my experience:

searched the forum and some said that they could worm the alternator over to the passenger side and bring it out the top by the coil. - This was not going to happen in my car, not enough room above the engine mount due to intake brackets and heater valve and hoses. You will be a little bloody and pissed trying this from below and above car.

Here is what others said and man was it easy and worked for me. - 1.> remove 2 driver side engine mount bolts (14mm). 2.> jack up engine oil pan approx. 2 inches, be careful not to stretch any hoses too far. 3.> remove drivers wheel and bottom alternator bracket ( 2- 14mm bolts) during alternator removal. 4.> Yeah, Alternator will twist/spin out between oil pan and drivers axle and come out the bottom above caliper. 5.> Put new alternator in same spot before you drop jack and reinstall engine mount bolts.

Not too bad after a little reading and searching on here. I think next time this will be a easy job. Hope this helps other carb owners who need to swap alternator.

[waraxe]

I am in the process of doing this tomorrow and wonder specifically are the 2 "driver side engine mount bolts" the "side engine mount" bolts or the "rear engine mount" bolts? The master manual (page 5-8/5-9)shows them as 10 x 1.25mm vice 14mm. Any advice appreciated.