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Charging system issue..please help

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    #1

    Charging system issue..please help

    I just bought my first CB7 a week ago. It's a 1991 Honda Accord EX 5 speed with 114,000 original miles, one owner car. I am new to CB7s, but not new to Hondas. I have worked on and built several Hondas.

    Now to my problem. I drove the car home from where it was, which was about a 30 minute drive. No idiot lights came on, and the car seemed to drive ok, except the fan motor for the heater inside the car seemed "weak".

    I got home, turned it off, and when I tried to crank it back up, the starter was very weak. This made me think there must be an issue with the charging system.

    I got my volt meter and hooked it up to the cigarette lighter. Sure enough, the car is running off battery only. The battery light is not on. So, I turn the car to the on position to check and make sure all of the idiot lights work.

    Both the battery light and the oil pressure light do not come on with the key in the on position. I also notice as this point, that the clock does not come on either.

    I test the battery light to see if it works by grounding one of the wires on the green connector that goes to the alternator. The battery light comes on as it should. I turn the car on, and the light should go off according to the honda manual. It does not go off.

    I would just replace the alternator, but I understand that on these cars, there are 4 or 5 systems that determine whether the alternator will come on or not. I checked all of the fuses first, including the #2 under the dash. They all appear to be fine.

    Please help me to identify and solve this problem. Sorry for such a long post.
    Tags: None
    #2
    Have you checked the battery terminals for corrosion? Checked all the grounds?
    Originally posted by Mishakol129
    Do not disrespect my intelligence. I am the smartest person I know : )

    Comment

      #3
      What is the volt reading at the post on the alternator when the car is running?

      Comment

        #4
        Originally posted by dj_ender View Post
        Have you checked the battery terminals for corrosion? Checked all the grounds?
        Yea the terminals are corrosion free and the grounds look good.


        Originally posted by Sordz View Post
        What is the volt reading at the post on the alternator when the car is running?
        It's battery voltage, 11.85 volts or something like that.

        Comment

          #5
          It is more than likely your alternator is not working.

          But, you could try full field test on alternator by grounding field circuit if you want to know. In accordance with Honda manual, there's a hole on the back of alternator where you can stick a small screw driver to momentary ground the circuit. Do this with a volt meter hooked up to monitor charging voltage while engine is idling. IIRC, 18VDC is max allowed for this test.

          Now, I've never done this test myself on my car because my charging system is in working order. Also, the alternator comes with voltage regulator built in, I don't see much point in doing this test. If they were separate units, I would be doing this test, on the other hand.
          A&P-IA

          Comment

            #6
            Originally posted by oyajicool View Post
            It is more than likely your alternator is not working.

            But, you could try full field test on alternator by grounding field circuit if you want to know. In accordance with Honda manual, there's a hole on the back of alternator where you can stick a small screw driver to momentary ground the circuit. Do this with a volt meter hooked up to monitor charging voltage while engine is idling. IIRC, 18VDC is max allowed for this test.

            Now, I've never done this test myself on my car because my charging system is in working order. Also, the alternator comes with voltage regulator built in, I don't see much point in doing this test. If they were separate units, I would be doing this test, on the other hand.

            If it were any other car, I would just replace the alternator. The fact that my battery light isnt coming on makes me think its not the alternator.

            Comment

              #7
              If the alternator has open circuit internally or faulty regulator, the warning light would not come on. I hope these will help you troubleshoot your problem.







              A&P-IA

              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by blackack View Post
                If it were any other car, I would just replace the alternator. The fact that my battery light isnt coming on makes me think its not the alternator.
                Battery light works by being grounded when the alternator is not charging. Once it is charging you will see voltage on the wire opening the circuit and turning off the light. Since you can ground the wire and turn on the light, there would be a problem on the alternator side.

                Check the blk/yel for 12v. If good then alternator looks to be the problem.
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                  #9
                  Originally posted by oyajicool View Post
                  If the alternator has open circuit internally or faulty regulator, the warning light would not come on. I hope these will help you troubleshoot your problem.








                  Thanks for providing those. I do already have all of those printed out when I went to work on the car originally. I did not think about the light not coming on because of the alternator itself. I am used to alternators failing and the battery light immediately comes on, and wont turn off until It get charging voltage.

                  Originally posted by lucifer1 View Post
                  Battery light works by being grounded when the alternator is not charging. Once it is charging you will see voltage on the wire opening the circuit and turning off the light. Since you can ground the wire and turn on the light, there would be a problem on the alternator side.

                  Check the blk/yel for 12v. If good then alternator looks to be the problem.

                  Yep, the blk/yel has battery voltage. Thanks man, I am going to order a reman Honda unit. I have just read about so many people with my same issue with this car, and they buy a new alternator and they still have the same problem. That is the only thing that concerns me. I read alot on google about these cars having charging system issues like this that buying new alternators and batterys doesnt fix.

                  Comment

                    #10
                    Very interesting. When you said 11.8 volts my first thought was the alt. But then you said the battery light is not coming on. When you checked for voltage, did you check at the battery i assume? If so, i would start backtracking for charging current from there going back.
                    Lucifer is right on the blk/ylw wire. What is your voltage if you checked there? Interesting.
                    Keep us posted.


                    http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=178069

                    Comment

                      #11
                      Originally posted by alan lx View Post
                      Very interesting. When you said 11.8 volts my first thought was the alt. But then you said the battery light is not coming on. When you checked for voltage, did you check at the battery i assume? If so, i would start backtracking for charging current from there going back.
                      Lucifer is right on the blk/ylw wire. What is your voltage if you checked there? Interesting.
                      Keep us posted.

                      I checked for voltage at the battery, inside the car via cigarette lighter, and also via the blk/ylw wire at the alternator. I did a google search before I posted here, and I read alot about these cars having similar problems. Many of the people did not report back after they fixed the problem, however.

                      Comment

                        #12
                        It does sound like the alternator from what you are describing. It's possible a regulator, but kinda weird that battery light didn't come on. And you checked it and it is working. One question, just curious. Did you check to see if you buy just a regulator? Just curious.


                        http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=178069

                        Comment

                          #13
                          Originally posted by alan lx View Post
                          It does sound like the alternator from what you are describing. It's possible a regulator, but kinda weird that battery light didn't come on. And you checked it and it is working. One question, just curious. Did you check to see if you buy just a regulator? Just curious.
                          No, I have not seen if I could just buy the regulator. I bought a remanufactured Honda unit. Currently waiting for it's arrival.

                          Comment

                            #14
                            You can buy a regulator for about $135 + tax from a parts store.
                            But why you want to do that when a reman alternator can be had for about $97 + tax?
                            A&P-IA

                            Comment

                              #15
                              check the clock fuse. if your clock is not working check it there.

                              Comment

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