stRodda

a couple days ago i noticed if i drove it hard past vtec, the battery light would randomly flicker... so i thought my alternator was going bad. i get a new one, put it in, and i thought everything was running fine... except now, the battery light didnt work at all. even when i would turn the key to the "on" position and all the dash lights would come on, the battery still didnt.

i was hoping everything was ok, and maybe the bulb for the light blew out, so i didnt worry about it. a couple days later i was driving at night. i notice my dash and headlights starting to dim. then my tach/speedo start twitchin out and then drop to zero... but the car is still driving. i keep driving for another minute or so and then the engine just shuts off. so i stick the car in neutral and coast to a stop.

thing is, while i was coasting i tried to signal over, but they wouldnt work... i tried turning my hazzards on, they woudnt work either. when i come to a stop on the side of the road, i turn the key off, pull the ebrake... and now my hazzards work. i turn the headlights on and they work too... as well as my dome light. but when i tried to start the car, it wouldnt even turn over slowly. it was acting as if there wasnt a drop of juice left in the battery, yet there was still power to run all the lights.


i took the alternator out and had it benchtested at kragens, and it came back fine. but when i put it in my car and had it idling, the system was only putting out 12v.

what could the issue be? everyone is saying the alternator is bad... but my car is acting the same way with two different alts that both test good when benchtested.

Chritter

sounds like you have a bad battery, but that wouldn't explain why your car died. The lights don't take near the battery power that it takes to start it. Get the battery checked then check all your wiring.

stRodda

the car started fine. while driving it died. then it wouldnt restart but the lights still worked.


anyways, i had the battery tested and it was bad. put a new one in, but the battery light in the dash is still not working. i didnt have time to have the charging system retested so i just left it at my friends shop. dont wanna take any chances of it dying again, jic the lack of a battery light means more than a blown bulb behind it.

stRodda

anyone?

BLKFLSH

I'm thinking ignition switch. Just a guess, but that does control everything electrical. maybe main relay.

Chritter

it's worth the check to get back there and see if the bulb is out, its not too hard.