!help please! alternator? :)

[rizalxi]

OKay guys heres the situation... I hope you can help I know some pepole on this board are the brightest bunch there is in anything automotive...

Okay my battery light (charing light) comes on / flickers when ever... here lately its only been when its raining.
All the belts look fine and the tension seems okay..
the light seems to go off when i give it a little more gas. Do you think iit is the brushes in the alternator or the whole alternator. ive been reading past posts and most seem to have problems in a certain rpm.. the light doesn't stay on for barely a second.. the car runs fine still has power the lights have seemed to flicker since ive had the car slightly but i never thought much of it.. Also i see some slight smoke from the hood but theres no burning smell and im not able to locate it when i open the hood.
ive read the past posts on how to install them I was wondering if anyone else has had this experiance and what they did.... or do you think it could just be water getting on the belts? thanks in advance for you help... and btw this is an AWSOME BOARD

[AZmike]

It sounds like your alternator is about to die. The charing light flashing and the mysterious smoke are both common. I don't have a lot of first hand experience with them, but I've read quite a bit about it here.

How long to you intend to keep the car? Get a rebuilt one for long term or a junkyard one if you're short on cash now or don't need something that will last as long.

Hopefully someone else that has had something similar happen will verify this for you.

[89lxi95zx7]

some places will rebuild yours for like $25 or $30,take it to advance auto or autozone or pep boys,they'll test it for free.

[rizalxi]

thanks guys.. i had that feeling.. :)

[Greg]

The alternator on my accord did this for a couple days before it finally died. I replaced it with one from Murray's Discount Auto for $99, and it has lasted about 2 years so far. Mine, and probably other aftermarket alternators are Nippon Denso (OEM) alternators that have been rebuilt with (I'm sure) cheaper internal components, and lots of these are guaranteed forever from places like Autozone, Murray's, Pep Boys...

If it happened to me now I would probably rebuild the thing since I have more experience working on cars.

But changing alternators on a 3g accord can be a bitch!!!:banghead:

It was one of the first things I ever replaced on a car, and it took me forever. I pulled my axle to get the thing out from underneath cuz it doesn't really fit coming out from above. But some people I know say that you can clear shit away around the right side of the car and pull it up from there so you don't have to pull your axle.

Pulling your axle can be a bitch if the thru-bolt that connexts the fork on your damper to the lower control arm is seized to the bushing -- common on old accords in cold-weather climates. You also have to be sure to seperate your ball joints (I usually do upper and tie rod end) when pulling your axle so you don't tear the boot. Don't use a pickle fork. 3g ball joints go bad real fast if they have a torn boot.

I don't know if I'd go with a junkyard alternator because they can seize after sitting around in inclement weather for a while. I saw it happen on a Civic.

So I'd probably go with a cheap aftermarket rebuild, rebuild it myself, or pay someone reliable to rebuild it.

[Greg]

Oh, also have your battery checked out. I think my alternator died because I was running my car for too long on a battery that was too weak.

[1988starter]

For LXi alternator replacement you can just remove the stock airbod and pull the alternator up the back.:D

[rizalxi]

You guys have really been a great help!!!!!
I think im gonna try to get a rebuilt one from autozone.. its like 99 with a 50 core.... Ive already got an intake so ive removed all the air box stuff anyway :) and again guys thanks!!!!!
i wonder how long it will last like this... hopefully untill pay-day..
i belive the alternator has been replaced not to long ago.. (it was my brothers car) hes a mechanic so i think ill have him help me with this :)

[rizalxi]

well guys i jump started it and then did the pull the postive battery cable off to see if it would die but it kept running... not sure exactly whats goin on.. so i gave the battery a full charge and it seems to be okay.. i also tighten the tensioner bolt.. it was only on there not even hand tight... anyway thanks again.. not sure what to look into right at the moment.... oh another question on the flip up headlights is the cable connecting the headlights getting kinda squashed between bare metal on yours???

[lostforawhile]

The alternator on my accord did this for a couple days before it finally died. I replaced it with one from Murray's Discount Auto for $99, and it has lasted about 2 years so far. Mine, and probably other aftermarket alternators are Nippon Denso (OEM) alternators that have been rebuilt with (I'm sure) cheaper internal components, and lots of these are guaranteed forever from places like Autozone, Murray's, Pep Boys...

If it happened to me now I would probably rebuild the thing since I have more experience working on cars.

But changing alternators on a 3g accord can be a bitch!!!:banghead:

It was one of the first things I ever replaced on a car, and it took me forever. I pulled my axle to get the thing out from underneath cuz it doesn't really fit coming out from above. But some people I know say that you can clear shit away around the right side of the car and pull it up from there so you don't have to pull your axle.

Pulling your axle can be a bitch if the thru-bolt that connexts the fork on your damper to the lower control arm is seized to the bushing -- common on old accords in cold-weather climates. You also have to be sure to seperate your ball joints (I usually do upper and tie rod end) when pulling your axle so you don't tear the boot. Don't use a pickle fork. 3g ball joints go bad real fast if they have a torn boot.

I don't know if I'd go with a junkyard alternator because they can seize after sitting around in inclement weather for a while. I saw it happen on a Civic.

So I'd probably go with a cheap aftermarket rebuild, rebuild it myself, or pay someone reliable to rebuild it.why not find a rebuilder and get a chepo one from the junkyard and have it rebuilt? if you use a reputable builder they will probably use better parts then some assembly line rebuilder.

[lostforawhile]

whoops, date sorry :uh:die thread die!!!! :chainsaw:

[FyreDaug]

Well since its brought back up (lostforawhile has some irony here.... lol)

My charging light comes on sometimes when I have my computer on and playing music loud and I get past 5000rpm. Only sometimes, I know my computer draw is quite a bit with the amps aswell, but it dimmly flickers after 5000rpm sometimes.