alternator?

[snoopyloopy]

so the last couple weeks, i've been thinking it's just a figment of my imagination that my headlights seemed to be getting dimmer over time. and my speakers also haven't been hitting like they used to. so last night, was headed up the mountain for some fresh powder snowboarding action, stopped to put chains on and me and my brother thought we smelled something electrical burning. but couple other cars around, so we didn't think too much of it. then about a mile away, battery light flashed a couple times then all lights got noticeably dimmer. but they would be brighter when in higher revs. so i kept it in higher revs, lol, and got on up there. on the way back down, headlights wouldn't exist unless above 3k, heater on hi felt like it was lo, braking was like a strobe session w/ the headlights, and so was the rear defroster. so i'm leaning very very heavily toward bad alternator, not bad battery. amirite? and good replacements? i was looking at rockauto and autopartswarehouse, they have some remans by a couple companies. bosch. beck arnley. nsa. denso. cardone select. and also a new one by nsa. are reman'd alternators usually reliable? however, despite the ease of the job , i'm only interested in changing the alternator once, so i was leaning heavily toward denso seeing they're oem supplier for honda. thoughts, suggestions, other possible areas of interest instead of alternator? thanks fellas.

[Hauntd ca3]

check your chrage voltage and it should be 14-14.4 volts or there bouts.
any higher and its prob the reg packing up
if you can get the current checked as well would help should be better than 60 amps. cant remember the exact rating onthe oem alts but should be higher than that.any less and the rect would be suspect or poss the stator is shorting out.
if you have a dmm with an ammeter, disconect a batt clamp fromthe batt and stick the ammeter in the line, any more than 100-200 milliamps with everything turned off would suggest something not good with the rectifier and if its drawing 2 or 3 it is the rectifier with a burned diode and its drawing rotor current
i'd go for the denso as well as they are good alts.
a reman unit is fine aslong as they use the denso rectifiers and regs or similar good quality parts.
i rebuild alts and starters all the time and its rare for one to pack up if done right

[ghettogeddy]

go to kragen they should be able to check you power system and tell you what the matter

[alanizgod]

If you're considering buying an alternator you should probably check out ebay...I bought an alternator for about $130 but it was designed for twice the amps of a normal one (i think around 120 amps?). Worked great for me you should check it out

[LUX88LXI]

I put in an autolite alt. from kragen and it lasted 20k, so definitely not a good option lol. changing alts in our cars is very difficult... is ur car FI or carb?

[snoopyloopy]

yeah forgot to check ebay on this one, lol. but i just went ahead and ordered one from autopartswarehouse, the denso one, because i realized it was friday morning and if i waited until after work, it more than likely would not get shipped until monday morning. in probably busiest shipping time of year, and i need car asap.

and my car is efi. i'm really not looking forward to taking axle off, i'm gonna try taking off airbox and pulling it up by the firewall first. i hear that's the premier way to do it.

[nfs480]

I'm not sure if i'm remembering correctly, but I think you only have to remove the axle if it's a carb car. The FI you should be able to replace without removing the axle. But i'm not 100% sure.

[Rendon LX-i]

i still have the oem one lol...so if you can get a oem one your good. Not saying to go out to a j/y and get one but if you do shit just put it in your tool box and walk out lol...FREEBIE

[alanizgod]

I'm not sure if i'm remembering correctly, but I think you only have to remove the axle if it's a carb car. The FI you should be able to replace without removing the axle. But i'm not 100% sure.

Yeah I think that's true. I remember the mechanic looking relieved after I told him mine was EFI...so I'm assuming that means the carb is a bitch to do.

[snoopyloopy]

only because you MUST take off the axle, it won't fit between engine and ifrewall. but it's looking like i'll have to take off axle too, i can't get enough leverage on the bottom nut to loosen it and it's starting to get real round.

[MessyHonda]

i did mine in my driveway...just turn the wheel all the way to the right and get the bolts by the bottom...i had to do mine twice its easy...you dont have to remove the axle