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Hello guys and Eric, my first post:
I have a Honda Civic LX 1998 and was giving me issues with the alternator and I got a new one, now the alternator has been replaced and the car was running fine for a day or two then for some reason while I was driving check engine came up also speedometer when off and dashboard start blinking, I stopped and notice the car got my battery dead, finally took the battery to shop to charge and also check the fuses under the dash and noticed the 7.5AMP alternator fuse was burned, ok changed put all together but again same issue next day the car did the same thing, I changed already over 6 number 15 fuses all 7.5AMP, same alternator fuse, someone told me maybe the alternator was bad took it off and now put a new second one 3 days after burned the SAME alternator fuse, any ideas plz, alternator is new, battery new and I dont see any wire on bad condition, please help !!! I need to have a reliable car to work, car has been perfect for a whole year and I always change oil and routine maintenance no clue why this is happening, any help is gladly appreciated ! thanks !!
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See if this helps. There may be a wiring problem/rub through.
thx college man but during all my searches I also saw those links and try it but didnt help 🙁 no clue what to do at this point but thanks for your prompt respond.
Old mechanic secret: get a high-beam bulb and some wires and plug it into the blowing fuse socket.
If we assume that the alternator is okay and the battery is charged up, the alt will be drawing way under 7.5 amps and the typical 5 amp high beam bulb will be quite dim. Now go under the hood and wiggle all the wiring harnesses while watching the bulb. If it gets ANY brighter as you move wires, there’s a bad connection or a short in those wires.
It’s probably not an alternator problem, since you replaced that.
You should also check for parasitic draw, putting the ammeter or bulb between the car battery and the battery cable. A severe parasitic drain could drain the battery overnight and maybe put a strain on the alternator and its fuse. But that’s unlikely if the car cranks over nicely okay in the morning.
If its not your alternator you have a short to ground somewhere in that circuit, does the fuse blow as soon as you put it in? I know you said the next day when they found it the first time i was just curious if it blows right away or not.
No sir always takes like a day or two driving around home if i go far will do it too maybe after two hours driving.
The first thing to check is the rust on your battery connectors. The rust act as an electrical insulator. So rust will decrease the voltage for a wile but if the battery come too down, the potential will allow more amp and voltage into the battery. Use a rifle cannon brush to quickly clean the battery connectors.
And check elsewhere rust on electrical connector under the hood near the fuse box.Thx sir. Yes today I was able to bring a friend of mine who knows electric and he put a new ground cable cause mine was rusty and bad shape also he told me the fact that I jump the car multiple times and changed two alternators maybe made the battery weak and the new alternator was working overstressed. Today after all this checks the car has been on idle for over 20 min and I also drove around 20 miles by home and nothing happen so I guess is fix for now. If anything I keep everyone updated for future references. Also using a meter with the car running is reading good over 14.
This fuse supplies power to parts of the dashboard, o2 sensors, and the control circuit for the alternator. It may supply other circuits too. I don’t think changing the ground has fixed this problem. If this fuse blows again, you will need a wiring diagram and will have to hunt down this short the hard way. It is likely that you have damaged wiring somewhere this is making contact with ground from the vibration of driving.
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