- This topic has 2 replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 7 months ago by .
-
Topic
-
Hi there folks, sorry for the length of this story.
My roommate and I have been given the runaround by his 05 Acura RSX 2.0l. (Honda Civic) It has 89,000 miles on it if that matters to anyone. I have scoured forums all over the internet, found lots of descriptions of very similar problems to ours, but have not found any straightforward solutions.
A few months ago, the idiot light for the charging system came on, and the car died on the side of the road during a short journey around town. We had to jump it twice to cover the few miles back to campus. It died in the middle of an intersection, and I had to wrestle it down a hill in the dark with ZERO power to anything. We left it in a lot on campus overnight, and I assumed it would not start the next day. I went to pull the alternator and battery to run and have it tested at an auto parts store, and found that the car started fine after sitting overnight, there was no idiot light, and the car ran fine for several days. I went to two auto parts stores, and the battery as well as the alternator tested OK in the car as it was then. (I was not shown the voltages from any test, but wish I had been) We drove from Fairfax VA to Bloomsburg PA and back a week later, and still no issues.
The light went off and on sporadically for the past 6 weeks or so, and the only time the car saw on the road over the past couple weeks was when we had to jump it to move from a surface lot before a snowstorm. Unless you let the other car charge the Acura up, it dies soon after being jumped.
The problem has become worse, as I assumed it would. I found that the positive battery cable clamp was rotten and corroded, and suspected this may be causing the issue. Fully tightened, I could wiggle it off the terminal, so I replaced it properly with a good brass clamp, cleaned the negative terminal too, and jump started the car from a mobile jump kit. The car ran fine for 25 minutes around town and on the highway, but the light came on again, we chickened out and raced back to campus. After turning off the car, it would not start again. It cranked very slowly, then not at all.
I know all of this SCREAMS alternator problems, but I’m not sure a new alternator will solve the problem. Does anyone know of an electrical connection near the battery, starter, or alternator that commonly corrodes or causes issues like this? I hear all over the internet that this car is finnicky about aftermarket alternators, and only the genuine Honda part will work well. I’ve solved many an idiot light, but this one has had me stumped for a while. I know the battery is probably no good because it was purchased used, and has sat stone dead for a long time. Even with a bad cell in the battery, the alternator tested good, and I can run the car with the battery disconnected completely. I don’t want him to buy a new battery to find out the alternator is the problem, have the car sit longer, and have the new battery go bad. Is it possible for an alternator to go out sporadically? It seems strange to me.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.