A few days ago my 2006 Acura CSX started making a high-pitched hum at low speeds, in park, or in neutral. (My 11-year old son: "That's a bad sign, Dad.") One day later, the battery light came on. One day after that, I suddenly lost power steering. I was able to drive to an auto parts store and couldn't start the car again. Not knowing what else to do, I replaced the battery (I got the old battery 5 years ago). I was able to drive the car another 10 minutes, went for a walk, came back, and the battery was dead. I got someone to jumpstart the car, but the battery and engine went dead every time the jumper cable was taken off. I had the car towed home. The tow-truck driver said "100% it's the alternator" based on the voltage readings, recommended a mobile mechanic acquaintance, and said the alternator would be about $150 (200 CAD).

Questions:

1. Do folks agree that this is an alternator issue? Do alternators make a high-pitched humming when they're (almost?) dead? Could this be some sort of cable issue? (That's what the Uber driver suggested as I was being driven home.)
2. If it's an alternator issue, could I put a new one in myself? I saw a post on swapping out a Honda Civic alternator (Acura CSX is like a Honda Civic), and the post said you have to go underneath the car to get at the alternator. I don't have 2 car jacks and live in an apartment building--the car is parked in the garage--so space is a bit limited for doing car repairs.

 

Why anyone would own a vehicle that doesn't have a voltmeter in the dash (few cars do) and not have one of these is beyond me. Leave it plugged into your cigarette lighter and you'll know if the alternator is charging or not. You should see 14.0 - 14.4V while driving, sometimes a few tenths more or less depending on temperature. And it has 2 USB charging ports. About $15 on Amazon. I bought one for my RDX and for my girl friend's car.



My other car came with a voltmeter in the instrument panel. Why all manufacturers don't have them .

 

The vast majority of people have no idea what this is, what it means, and/or what to do with the information it presents.

 

Just wait for the MIL to illuminate & take it to the dealer.

 

^ Bingo. The idiot light is the way of the future (and the present).

 

Yeah but that's a P-car, that's extra sexy nevertheless

 

Very true. No point complaining if they are unwilling to learn.

Unfortunately drivers of vehicles are different. In an aircraft, you better know your systems, how they work and how they relate to other systems.

 

Yeah but that damn voltmeter cost me an arm and a leg.

 

Navigating in 3 dimension is orders of magnitude more complicated than 2.
Though, there's considerably less traffic, in general.

I miss flying

 

People "driving" aircraft have hundreds or even thousands of hours of training and instruction before they are let loose. People driving cars have a couple hours at the age of 15 before they say have fun!

 

If you fly every day, its like me sitting at my kitchen table having a sandwich. I'd put in 6+ hours a day instructing.

Yes, less traffic, but much harder to see when you do have traffic.

I was thinking three aircraft in my retirement instead of the 991 GTS; a Mooney, but hell, the airlines get me there quicker and usually above the weather, an Extra 330 or an RV 4 or RV 8. But the older you get, you have less time left to pass a medical. Besides, the 991 and the 993 can be kept in my garage....no hangar fees. But on my tech's salary, I better stick to the cars and motorcycles.

 

Almost all my hours (didn't quite make it to a PPL checkride) are in Cessnas.
Love the TTx, from a looks/performance standpoint, but have never been in one.
Citation X, if we're dreaming.

One of these days I may finish up my PPL. But I'll stick to sports cars & bikes for now, too.

 

Since no one is really answering this guy's questions

Yes it does sound like it is the alternator. If you can get it done for $150 outside, let someone else fix it for your for $150. That is cheaper than the battery you just bought.

 

It might be, but without testing how do you know. A simple DMM check across the battery or an on-board voltmeter would tell you that.

He already replaced the battery...likely unneccessary. Testing would have avoided that.

But diagnosis is a lost art even in independent shops and dealers. I coined the phrase decades ago; most of them are "parts replacers" hoping the problem goes away. I have seen that where I worked. My co-worker took the car in to a chain because his CEL was on. They replaced a few parts to the tune of $600+ during a few visits. In the end, they cut the wire to the CEL...part of the emissions system and totally illegal. He got his money back and they fired the mechanic.

 

1) probably but before replacing verify it's not working as others have suggested. I do agree with the driver it's probably the alternator.
a) Get a multimeter and measure the battery voltage while the car is running. A working alternator should produce a voltage in the range of 13.2-14.8V under typical idle conditions and no excessive load (lights off, rear defroster off, no A/C,...) just engine running. If it's not and the serpentine belt is not loose (bad serpentine tensioner) the it's your alternator.
b) the high pitched humming noise can come from alternators at the end of their life which is either bearings or worn brushes or alternator voltage regulator or bad rectifier diode(s).

2) Replacing the Alternator on TL is cumbersome but not impossible. Here's a fairly decent YouTube video on how to do it. Figure a 2-3 hours taking your time. There's alot of remanufactured alternators out there and can save ALOT of money. I've had good success with Bosch rebuilt alternators for Honda's and Acura's

 

^ OP has a CSX (8G Civic) Alternator hopefully wouldn't be J35 difficult to replace.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. It turned out to be the alternator. Got it replaced for 450CAD. A radiator hose had to be moved out of the way. Replacing the battery was unnecessary, and getting the car towed twice added to my pain. Moral of the story: for a car of that vintage, I should always have a valid CAA membership. That would have spared me the cost of unnecessarily replacing the battery and getting towed.

 

That is why testing instead of guessing works best, and a $15 component is well worth it to do so. Also, I have had CAA the odd time, when I picked up a 14 year old Posche 400 km away for example, but at $135 per year, its not worth it otherwise on an annual basis. You still have to pay the repair bill, CAA or not.

 

A lesson in diagnosis....

So it is -17C or 1F outside and the girlfriend's car would not start...typical clicking of the starter solenoid.

So what could it be:
Alternator?
Battery?
Cables?

Alternator? It is fine because it read 14.4V the other day. I know this because I have one of these in her car...


Battery? Maybe. With a date code on 03/18, its not even 4 years old. So I remove the battery caps and look at the acid levels and they are fine. Except the acid is iced up a bit by poking the acid level indicating the battery is partially charged. Acid turns to water when the voltage level drops in a battery. I get the charger out and put it on a charge for now.

Cables? The positive and negative cables at the battery are 100% perfect. Maybe the positive cable at the starter solenoid is corroded which you cannot see due to its location. That would mean you'll get a voltage drop at that point due to resistance and less voltage to the starter which acts like a battery at the end of its life, when it might not be. But that is not the issue since the battery rest voltage went up to 10.8V instead of 12.6V after attempting to start. That indicates a battery near the end of its life, at least at these temperatures.

Now it could be the starter as it was on another friend's car. Once I had the starter apart, I could see why. But that is not the case here.