alternator wont charge battery

[lexanbobby]

So my alternator is still not charging my battery in my 86 accord lxi. 2 new aLternators. 3 new batteries. had al wires tested n they r getting voltage. battery is good. and both alternators are good. somebody pleaseeee help me i cant afford to take in to a shop. im outta ideas......

[ghettogeddy]

your sure its not charging and its not just draining from say the clock or something else being on?

[lexanbobby]

Well ive had it tested while the car is running n its not charging. cables r on nice n tight everything....

[A18A]

does the light in the dashboard turn off when you start the car? if so, check your main fuses

[Hauntd ca3]

x2 on the main fuse

[Oldblueaccord]

Well ive had it tested while the car is running n its not charging. cables r on nice n tight everything....

what is the voltage of the battery at rest( car off) and with it running ?

wp

[Dr_Snooz]

What condition are your battery cables in? My guess is the cable running to your alternator is not in very good shape.

[lexanbobby]

Well i checkd the dash lights right now n they dim but go back normal when starting. and voltage was 12 on and off.... weve checkd all the cables they look fine n fuses too

[Hauntd ca3]

if the voltage with the motor running is 12volts. you more than likely are in need of some brushes for it.
pull the alt off, remove the rear cover and you should see the regulator and brush holder held in by bout 5 screws.
take them out and remove the brush holder. if there are only a couple mm of brush sticking out of the holder, go buy a new brush holder for bout $10 and reverse the process.

[lostforawhile]

Is there voltage at the field terminal with the key on? Pull the plug out of the alternator turn the key on ignition. One. Of the terminals should show 12 volts between it and ground if not you have a blown fuse, if the alternator warning light doesn't come on with the key,same thing

[lexanbobby]

Got a third altetnator this time from napa. Still no charge. Plug into alternator has voltage. There voltage at the bolt on alternator. Cables r good. Battery is good. Fuses all look good but some do not light up with the tester.... Everybody thinks I gotta go to an electrician now.... Is it really something ths difficult?

[lostforawhile]

remind me tonight and I will look through the book, the nappa alternator is usually the good one

[Dr_Snooz]

What is the voltage at the white wire in the fuse box that comes from the alternator and goes to the battery? If memory serves, the white wire comes directly off the alternator, goes to the screw in the fuse box and from there to the battery. (If that's wrong, someone please correct me). If you're sure the alt and battery are good, then your only possibility is a bad wire, or you hooked something up wrong. Check your ground wires too. Those often get corroded and create lots of electrical joy. If you're certain the wires are okay, just prove me wrong by running a new wire from the alt to the battery.

[Pnem3]

The car won't even start if the 70 amp large pink fuse under the hood is blown so you can probably rule that out.

[lexanbobby]

Ok I checked out the wires goin from alternator it goes under the battery to the fuse box and the part that goes under the battery is kinda jacked up... Its showing the white wire and yellow and green wire. On the yellow n green it has a spoy showing acttual wires inside. Soo do I tape it up or do I gotta replace it? I know those r causing problems cuz when I messed with them the car got a couple more points of voltage... Am I on the right teack?

[lexanbobby]

Messed with the wires n now battery light went on but still no charge...

[Dr_Snooz]

Replace them.

[lostforawhile]

what you have going into the alternator plug at least on the carb alternator, is a field wire that is powered with the key on, then you have the wire for the warning light, one side of the warning light bulb is always 12 volts plus with the key on, the status of the warning light wire at the alternator changes depending on if it's charging. if it's charging, that wire is 12 volts plus, since the bulb now has 12 volts on both sides,it stays off,if the alternator stops charging, that wire changes to a negative, this allows the light to come on. the extra wire on the fuel injected alternator, allows the computer to reduce it's output when not needed, this helps fuel economy

[Hondamonster]

grab a section of fairly thick wire. 10 gauge or so. put one end on the positive terminal on the battery and the other end on the white wire on the alternator. If that fixes it, you have a break in that wire somehow. I had that happen. Not sure how or why, but it works now. :shrug

[lexanbobby]

will give the new wire a try tomarrow (fingers crossed) will keep posted what happens...

[lostforawhile]

will give the new wire a try tomarrow (fingers crossed) will keep posted what happens...

if you move those damaged wires and the alternator light comes on, you need to fix those, and you will probably be fine, the alternator needs both the field voltage and on the lxi's the signal from the computer,

[lexanbobby]

so a honda wire guy came by n said he thinks the plug goin to the back of the alternator is the problem...buty would i have votage there if that was it??? he said a wire to the battery from alternators not gna do anything. he wants us to pay him to rebuild the whole wire harnessi... so is he trippen??? cuz ill probably just end up goin to a junk yard for the harness

[ecogabriel]

If you get the wiring diagram, you can test each wire in that connector for continuity. The only additional things you would need is a multimeter and a long piece of wire to connect to the wires' other end(s) (the wiring diagram would tell which color goes where).

[Dr_Snooz]

so a honda wire guy came by n said he thinks the plug goin to the back of the alternator is the problem...buty would i have votage there if that was it??? he said a wire to the battery from alternators not gna do anything. he wants us to pay him to rebuild the whole wire harnessi... so is he trippen??? cuz ill probably just end up goin to a junk yard for the harness

Well, technically, you should rebuild the harness if you want it to look like the factory when you are done, or you can run your own wire for next to free.

[lostforawhile]

look at the threegeez wiki you can download the electrical trouble shooting manual there