Where could charging problem be besides the alternator and battery?
08-10-2016, 05:49 PM
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Where could charging problem be besides the alternator and battery?
Hey Folks!
My daughter's 05 TSX was giving the charging light for a bit, then other lights, some accessories went out, and it died, naturally. I had the alternator bench tested and it passed. Battery charged up and held fine. Cleaned the battery connections, which had corrosion, and battery to chassis ground and it started working as usual for a day or two and the charging light started coming on and off. The same thing happened again when the light stayed on and left her stranded. I changed the alternator, charged the battery yesterday. All looked good. Today, the charging light is coming on and off again, so I'm thinking bad connection/resistance somewhere as it's been the same story with 2 passing alternators. When the light is on, I'm around 12.2V. When it's off, around 13.8 with no load. The battery is a bit low at the moment, so I haven't done any voltage drop tests, etc. So I have a few questions...and feel free to give me your thoughts otherwise on what it could be. Thanks!
What vicinity are the major ground wires/straps located on this vehicle?
Can you at least get to the starter connections without having to remove the manifold, etc?
Are there any specific fuses I should check?
Is there any usual suspect places in particular I should check first?
Is there any way a computer related issue could be causing this and any way to test it?
My daughter's 05 TSX was giving the charging light for a bit, then other lights, some accessories went out, and it died, naturally. I had the alternator bench tested and it passed. Battery charged up and held fine. Cleaned the battery connections, which had corrosion, and battery to chassis ground and it started working as usual for a day or two and the charging light started coming on and off. The same thing happened again when the light stayed on and left her stranded. I changed the alternator, charged the battery yesterday. All looked good. Today, the charging light is coming on and off again, so I'm thinking bad connection/resistance somewhere as it's been the same story with 2 passing alternators. When the light is on, I'm around 12.2V. When it's off, around 13.8 with no load. The battery is a bit low at the moment, so I haven't done any voltage drop tests, etc. So I have a few questions...and feel free to give me your thoughts otherwise on what it could be. Thanks!
What vicinity are the major ground wires/straps located on this vehicle?
Can you at least get to the starter connections without having to remove the manifold, etc?
Are there any specific fuses I should check?
Is there any usual suspect places in particular I should check first?
Is there any way a computer related issue could be causing this and any way to test it?
08-10-2016, 07:25 PM
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The battery is sufficient now for testing. Voltage drop test on 2 VDC scale with headlights, dome light, AC, and radio on at 2,000 RPMS gave .025 from negative battery terminal to alternator housing, and .195 on the positive side from positive battery terminal to alternator stud. Does that sound good or bad? I got a different reading on 12 V at the battery and alternator engine running with no load. The alternator was reading roughly 0.20 volts higher than at the battery. Such as 14 V at alternator + and battery -, and 13.80 across the battery +/-. I don't know if that is enough to say if there's a bad connection or not or if it even matters? I can't see a good way to check at the starter terminals apparently.