Car broke down on the side of the 5 the other day, I haven't been able to look at the car. It got towed to an Acura dealer in San Diego, I was on my way to Europe for two weeks. I'm trying to diagnose this so I don't get raped by the dealer. I'd love to fix it myself but my tools are back east.


You can see the speed/tach and the abs light on. No CEL or blinking D4. Car was shifting like crap, radio turned on and off, windows rolled up slow and no blinker indicators. It seems like this is what would happen if the car was running off battery and not an alternator.

What do you guys think?

 

This place is dead.....

 

could have a short circuit somewhere, i know with my car after i put subs in, a plastic barrier broke between two wires and they shorted, killed the battery anytime the car was off, and if i had it running it did all sorts of weird things.

 

To test the alt to see if its causing your issues you need to make sure your battery is fully charged, then unhook the alt positive cable and connector.

Drive around and see if the symptoms still occur. If they are gone then the alt was the culprit, if not then something else is to blame.

You can take fuses out one at a time to diagnose a possible short. When the issue stops, look to the last fuse you pulled out as the probable place to look for a short.

 

Acura just told me it's definitely the alternator, battery is in good shape and no issues with the fuses. $550 to fix, I think I'll do it myself.

 

I case anyone searches this,

I replaced the alternator and all issues were fixed. There are YouTube videos that will show you how to DIY