electrical problem update: old alternator doesn't...
 

ok so i was on my way to pick up an alternator yesterday but my car broke down after driving for 30 mins. the battery was smoking and when it started breaking down, all the lights on my dash were blinking EXTREMELY fast and a really fast beeping noise as well. the car kept chugging and wouldn't go at all. i manage to pull off the highway and stop in a parking lot. then the battery was dead and i blew quite a few fuses because my dad came with a new battery and my brake lights wouldn't work when i would brake, burned out front lights, blinkers don't work, and alternator still f*cked up. well i put the new battery in last night and made it home and haven't turned the car on since. then when i tried starting it just now it wouldn't even crank! my battery is all drained out again but this battery wasn't smoking or anything like my old one. how come my battery got drained out? could the battery fuse have blown or something? i'm really frustrated because now the problems have gone so far that i don't know what's wrong anymore. i picked up the new alternator today hoping that i just replace some fuses and replace the alternator and let my problems be done with but i don't know why my BRAND NEW battery was drained while the car was off. the car has an alarm and thats about the only thing that stays on when the car is off but i cant imagine that little LED light using up all the power.


:banghead: :mad: :banghead: :mad: :banghead: :mad: :banghead: :mad:

YOu just dont get it do you? When you drive with an alt with blown regulator the voltage starts spiking and when it gets high enough will start frying out various parts of your car and/or popping fuses. Once you realized the alt was ****ed you neve should have run it until getting another one because you have just caused yourself more grief and probably destroyed or drastically reduced the life of a brand new battery. BTW I would pop the caps off the new battery if I were you and check and see if there is any electrolyte left in it now.

lol OMFG you douche bag you totally boiled yoru battery with the huge amount of voltage/current running to you battery....you poped you fuses and probobly mleted wires and grounded them out thus causing a rats nest of problem's....your battery is dead because your voltage regulator is ****ed and still draining your battery even with the car off....put your hand on the alternator and it probobly woudl have been hot. you need a alternator fuses a brand new battery and hope to god you didn't ground out any wires in your harnesses

damn Kev I wish you came by yesterday.....

Anyways, so any updates?

Put the new alternator in yet? BTW make sure CHARGE the battery before you run the car w/new alternator; w/weak/dead battery can over load a new alternator and kill it;

i had warranty on the battery so i didn't care too much for it. i got another new one with the new alternator. hey man i had to get the new alternator. i didn't have any rides and i thought i could make the trip. i checked all wires, none of them seemed melted and i hope after i change the battery lights and alternator. i'm going to be checking some of the fuses too and see which ones need to be replaced. i wanted to come by yesterday man but i was already on my way to get the alternator. then on the way back, kaboom. what alternator fuse? the battery fuse in the fuse box? im going to be replacing the alternator and battery. if anything is wrong with the fuses still after that then it will have to wait until tomorrow because then i'll take it to honda or something. my blinkers dont work, no brake lights, headlights blew out but it wasn't the first time. i replaced them after with my old ones and they blew out again when this incident occured. and my cd player doesn't work :(. but that was the first sign of problem when i was driving yesterday.


edit: its a used alternator btw. does that matter with 132xxxkms on it before it got pulled out of the motor? and also, does it matter if it has been sitting around for a while or not?

Dude, after all the problems that have happened why make things worse and put in a used alternator when the condition is unknown????
Bite the bullet and get a good rebuilt unit.
Being cheap never pays in the end!

Seriously, plus even a decent rebuilt unit costs nothing for a civic! Somehow you just dont strike me as the type of person to learn from there mistakes though.

dude, i honestly don't need any critism right now. i know it was stupid to buy a used alternator but i honestly don't have cash to buy a rebuilt one cuz the cheapest i've gotten was like 100 bucks and you have no idea how cash strapped i am. if i had the money to buy it then i would've bought the refurbished one. i took the chances and knew the risks. if it comes down to it and it doesn't work then i'll just have to wait and save up for a rebuilt one. there was a waiting period to get the rebuilt one too and i want to get the car running fine asap because if not i can't goto work. well i can but then it'll be like a 2 hour bus ride there.

any tips on removing the alternator btw. i tried just removing it now the the bolt on the lower bracket wont budge to come out, even with a hammer.

Think of it this way, 100 bucks now for a rebuilt or many hundreds of dollars later to replace fryed wiring harness and electronics.

well it seems fine if i drive short distances which is what i have been doing since wednesday until yesterday. i'm not going to be driving far with a ****ed up alternator. like if the 40 bucks one doesn't work then i'll replace it again.

use an impact gun to take the bolt off.. and you pay 40.. if it doesn't work thats already another 40 so 80.. thats almost price of a rebuilt one

i don't get it..

you ask for advice, people give you some but you do your own thing anyways..

:shrugs:

to get that bolt out use some leverage, i dont think u can use an impact gun while the motors in the car. just get a big@$$ pole and attach that to the wrench, kleverage makes things so much easier

http://tinypic.com/54f3pf

im talking about that one. i got the nut off no problem but this thing wont budge. and in regards to me doing my own thing, if i could have gotten a rebuilt one at the time i would ok. whats done is DONE. i had this stuff before anybody replied or anything so what do you expect me to do? return it and buy a new one?

i'm not talking about what kind of alternator you bought

well what are you talking about then. i had to drive the car. it was either that or bus. the car was fine for short trips since wednesday until saturday but i know it was bad for me to drive it around still. the reason why i screwed it up was i ran the car for too long and cooked my battery. never doing that again, im only driving the car now if i HAVE to. and i ruined the new battery because it was either ruining it or paying 150+ for a tow truck to tow me back from where i was which was FAR. and the battery was replacable which i did replace.

meh used alternator isn't a horrible idea if the price is right...bolt is probobly seized cause metal bolt and aliminum case cause's a reaction that will rust anc corrode.

Dude how did all this start? Is it because you washed your engine bay without covering your alternator?

You could try wedging/hammering in the tip of a long flat head screwdriver in between the bracket and the square end of the bolt. It may free it up a bit??

yes its that stinking slime green crap. haha it works wonders other than my alternator crapping out on me.