Civic alternator problem? --- Need an advice

My audio has been acting strange. When I turn on my CD player (which
was installed by Honda) it starts to "fade away" with a distorsion.
It's like when you run a tape player or a CD player off of batteries,
and the batteries discharge then music gets distorted.

I'd turn the CD player off, then back on after a while and it would
play Ok for like 10 seconds but then distorsion creeps in again and it
quickly dies to the point that you can't hear anything.

Now, I had the battery checked, and it was ok. Is this the alternator?
Is it just not charging? If this is the case, what are other symptoms
and how do I make sure the alternator is at fault here?

Car info: Civi 97, 60K miles


Thanks for any insight!

 

It is your CD player. If the alternator was at fault the battery would not
charge and the lights would be dim and the heater/ac fan would be slow, etc,
etc.

 

It is your CD player. If the alternator was at fault the battery would not
charge and the lights would be dim and the heater/ac fan would be slow, etc,
etc.

 

I'd reflow all the radio solder joints, especially the larger capacitors.

Detailed explanation: Remember in the old days when a kid accidentally
kicked a wire off your tube radios and the audio slowly fades away in ten
seconds. The same capacitor that powers the unit powers the audio.

I believe within the audio stage of your equipment the capacitor looses the
power that
charges it and fades as you turn in on. I believe your pre-amp or amp did
not detect a source (tape, radio, etc) that has been switched on or the
solder joints are bad, and not provide enough continuous current. But
charges itself very slowly and dies under load.

To find this capacitor by intuition, try this. For example, If a capacitor
discharges when you turn it on then that means you can find it by testing
the
voltages on each capacitor before and after near the audio area. The audio
area has lots of capacitors and a large IC. I'd found mine which someone
knocked the capacitor around several times and loosen the joints. I'd glued
it down.
Koji

 

I'd reflow all the radio solder joints, especially the larger capacitors.

Detailed explanation: Remember in the old days when a kid accidentally
kicked a wire off your tube radios and the audio slowly fades away in ten
seconds. The same capacitor that powers the unit powers the audio.

I believe within the audio stage of your equipment the capacitor looses the
power that
charges it and fades as you turn in on. I believe your pre-amp or amp did
not detect a source (tape, radio, etc) that has been switched on or the
solder joints are bad, and not provide enough continuous current. But
charges itself very slowly and dies under load.

To find this capacitor by intuition, try this. For example, If a capacitor
discharges when you turn it on then that means you can find it by testing
the
voltages on each capacitor before and after near the audio area. The audio
area has lots of capacitors and a large IC. I'd found mine which someone
knocked the capacitor around several times and loosen the joints. I'd glued
it down.
Koji

 

Not to mention that the car wouldn't start.

 

Not to mention that the car wouldn't start.

 

Looks like I found the answer to this puzzle. I had a repar shop in my
neighborhood load test my battery. It turns out the battery is in perfect
shape. It's the alternator that is not charging all the way. I'm glad
it's charging at last partially or I'd be stuck big time by now. If I'm not
mistaken, CD consumes much more power than headlights which is why I didn't
suspect the alternator in the first place. I wonder if it isn't a little too
soon for an alternator to go dead at only 60K on a Honda...

I guess replacing the alternator is the next step. Do you guys know a good
place on the web to buy an alternator?

Thank you all for input!

 

Looks like I found the answer to this puzzle. I had a repar shop in my
neighborhood load test my battery. It turns out the battery is in perfect
shape. It's the alternator that is not charging all the way. I'm glad
it's charging at last partially or I'd be stuck big time by now. If I'm not
mistaken, CD consumes much more power than headlights which is why I didn't
suspect the alternator in the first place. I wonder if it isn't a little too
soon for an alternator to go dead at only 60K on a Honda...

I guess replacing the alternator is the next step. Do you guys know a good
place on the web to buy an alternator?

Thank you all for input!

 

Buy the Honda alternator. I'm on my 3rd aftermarket alternator in four
years. Kept telling myself I may not have the car that much longer, etc.
etc. etc. It's been between 75k miles for those alternators. Needless to
say, I'm kicking myself in the ass for not getting the oem alternator. If
there is a shop that can replace the brushes in your current alternator that
may be the way to go.

If you want to buy the oem alternator online, I've dealt with both
www.hparts.com and www.hondaautomotiveparts.com . hparts is a bit cheaper
but the other one has an excellent web site with diagrams of the parts.
Hope this helps!

Good luck,
-Dave

 

Buy the Honda alternator. I'm on my 3rd aftermarket alternator in four
years. Kept telling myself I may not have the car that much longer, etc.
etc. etc. It's been between 75k miles for those alternators. Needless to
say, I'm kicking myself in the ass for not getting the oem alternator. If
there is a shop that can replace the brushes in your current alternator that
may be the way to go.

If you want to buy the oem alternator online, I've dealt with both
www.hparts.com and www.hondaautomotiveparts.com . hparts is a bit cheaper
but the other one has an excellent web site with diagrams of the parts.
Hope this helps!

Good luck,
-Dave

 

i have a used alternator for sale from a 96 civic

i took it out because i thought the bearings were gone (i had a squeel when i
revved) and replaced it, turned out to be the A/C tensioner pully

anyways, the alt. has about 60k on it and worked great when i took it out.


$50 plus shipping

email me, i8urv8 at hotmail.com

 

i have a used alternator for sale from a 96 civic

i took it out because i thought the bearings were gone (i had a squeel when i
revved) and replaced it, turned out to be the A/C tensioner pully

anyways, the alt. has about 60k on it and worked great when i took it out.


$50 plus shipping

email me, i8urv8 at hotmail.com

 

Thank you for the offer. A neighborhood shop ended up replacing my old
alternator. If it weren't for the cost I'd say it's a happy end.

 

....and did it fix the problem with the radio?

-k