89 Accord Alternator Light Flashes

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nospam - 07 Mar 2006 13:27 GMT

Every now and then in the morning, my 89 accord dx will have the battery
light flash when I step on the brakes and the radio goes out
momentarily. It will sometime flash when driving. After its run for a
while it is fine. I have a new battery, and when I checked the voltage
to see if it is charging, it is fine at 14.5 volts. Has anybody
encountered this before? The car has 156,000 miles with original
alternator. I'm thinking that it may be the brushes in the alternator.
Could it be a loose connection, if so where? I doubt that it is the
regulator as my experience is that they are usually good or bad, not
intermittent. Any help would be appreciated.

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Elle - 07 Mar 2006 15:10 GMT

> Every now and then in the morning, my 89 accord dx will
> have the battery light flash when I step on the brakes and
> the radio goes out momentarily. It will sometime flash
> when driving.

Note that this warning lamp misleadingly has a battery icon
on it. The lamp, when lit, actually denotes a problem with
the charging (and so alternator) system.

> After its run for a while it is fine. I have a new
> battery, and when I checked the voltage to see if it is
> charging, it is fine at 14.5 volts. Has anybody
> encountered this before? The car has 156,000 miles with
> original alternator. I'm thinking that it may be the
> brushes in the alternator.

Yes, the brushes are a //very// strong possibility for an
alternator this old. See
http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id13.html (about
one-third of the way down for alternator focus) for
discussion of this based on reading here and a bit of my own
experience.

> Could it be a loose connection, if so where?

Yes, that's possible, but my money is on either bad brushes,
bad bearings, or both.

The two alternator terminal connections are pretty secure
ones, so I'd start at the battery terminals. Disconnect,
clean with a solution of baking soda and water, and
re-secure the cables.

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Michael Pardee - 08 Mar 2006 01:10 GMT

>> Every now and then in the morning, my 89 accord dx will have the battery
>> light flash when I step on the brakes and the radio goes out momentarily.
[quoted text clipped - 23 lines]
> start at the battery terminals. Disconnect, clean with a solution of
> baking soda and water, and re-secure the cables.

Elle, is your web page on the alternator ready for prime time yet? It looked
really good the last I saw but there were a couple pieces To Do.

Mike

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Elle - 08 Mar 2006 01:33 GMT

> "Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
>> Yes, the brushes are a //very// strong possibility for an
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> time yet? It looked really good the last I saw but there
> were a couple pieces To Do.

Thanks, yes, the link above is good. If there's more input
for this site, I'm open to additions. Eric was going to get
back to me with info on some starter solenoid contacts, for
one, which I think is worth at least a footnote at this
site.

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Michael Pardee - 08 Mar 2006 12:33 GMT

>> "Elle" <honda.lioness@nospam.earthlink.net> wrote
>>> Yes, the brushes are a //very// strong possibility for an alternator
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> starter solenoid contacts, for one, which I think is worth at least a
> footnote at this site.

Sorry - I didn't notice you had already posted the link. Stupid brain!

Mike

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TeGGeR® - 07 Mar 2006 18:53 GMT

> Every now and then in the morning, my 89 accord dx will have the
> battery light flash when I step on the brakes and the radio goes out
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> it is the regulator as my experience is that they are usually good or
> bad, not intermittent. Any help would be appreciated.

Alternator brushes almost 100%.

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TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

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Michael Pardee - 08 Mar 2006 01:09 GMT

> Every now and then in the morning, my 89 accord dx will have the battery
> light flash when I step on the brakes and the radio goes out momentarily.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> experience is that they are usually good or bad, not intermittent. Any
> help would be appreciated.

150K miles is a good life for brushes. As Elle and TeGGeR say, you can bet
that's the problem. The symptoms are a geat fit, too.

Mike

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