Just to re-verify 98Coupe's countless posts on trying to make people understand that WHEN THERE IS A WHINING NOISE OF SOME KIND that increases and decreases when RPMs are going up and down, it is ALMOST ALWAYS THE ALTERNATOR GOING.....

And, no, NOT NECESSARILY did MY alternator go because of my power amp; like 98Coupe said, these alternators going are a problem on this generation car....at rather early mileages, too.....mine went at under 55K.

 

I notice the ones on eBay are rebuilt ones....how reliable are they? Any other places I can find replacement alternators online? Are there any resources on how to replace the alternator on my own? (I will chk the DIY section) My battery is still the same one from when I first got the car 7 yrs ago....I should probably change the battery with the alternator. Any batteries you guys can recommend? I was going to get it done at sears with the diehard gold.

Thanks again for all u guys' help

P.S. How safe is it to be driving around with my car's current condition? I'm planning to make a trip to San Francisco from San Diego to go see my mechanic back at in SF...i wonder if I could make it...

 

No, I bought a brand new one for $150 on ebay. I guess a rebuilt one would probably be okay, but I've never heard of anyone having experience with them.

Do a search in this forum, I may have posted a pdf on it in my TSB thread. It might be a wise investment to pick up a Helms factory service manual for your car...the $60 you shell out will pay for itself just replacing the alternator. It's not a difficult job by any means but you do have to take a couple things out before you can remove the alternator.

I need a new battery too, I'm just gonna buy another Honda battery...my first one lasted 75k and this one has lasted 104k. Can't go wrong with that.

As long as your car is running and you aren't using any accessories (lights, AC, etc) you can probably drive across the country. My alternator made the whining noise for about 1200+ miles before it finally got to the point where I couldn't drive at night because it couldn't charge the battery fast enough.

 

Yeah I got a 98 LX (I-4) sedan and mine's starting to do the same thing. Like they said, it's the alternator most likely. Been there, done that before on my other cars. Mines got the stock battery and alterantor with about 70k miles on it. What's probably killing it is the amp sucking up all the power to power the system. Usually it's good and won't whine, but if I get the AC going and say the rear Def. is on, sound is cranking, lights on, etc. then you hear that baby.

 

When my alternator was replaced (I was told the alternators are made by Delphi by GM for our Accords, by the way) by my dealer I bought the car from, they told me they only install rebuilt ones, and they're fine with nothing to worry about. I havent had a problem with the alternator they put in.....ALTHOUGH, since relocating to Sin City, I had a local Honda dealer here do an oil change for me last month, and they told me my BATTERY needed replacing.....I kind of ignored it, but now this is what is happening:

If I PUMP my stereo system while the car is on battery or auxilary (not running) while waiting for someone to come out of a store, or whatever, with my windows down, the car will not start unless I give it some gas and hit the accelerator pretty hard while trying to crank the ignition.....otherwise the car wont crank over or start. This just started RECENTLY and ONLY happens when I run the car on battery and REALLY REALLY crank my bass.....so, I am thinking, the dealership was probably right and my battery is on the way out......

 

Dude you got a pretty good size system running with 15" and the power hungry amp...what the hell are you doing pumping the freaking system without the car running!? I personally think that is a very stupid thing to be doing. Maybe that's why your battery needs to be replaced. If you got so much power being sucked out by the system, leave the car running.

PS - Not only the alternator, but the batteries are Delphi as well...

 

I know, I know.....and the friend who installed the system told me not to do this for very long because the Rockford amp is drawing 800 or so watts in bridged mode from this battery. But I didnt have this problem UP UNTIL NOW, almost three years later, where the dealer out here in Vegas recommend I change my battery (this is a year after I replaced the alternator in New York) and now, when I play the system loud on battery, the car wont start unless I press the accelerator furiously while cranking the ignition.

Sure, this may sound "stupid" to you, but please understand this was a rather harsh way of suggesting something to me; I am not sure how old you are, but please understand that there is a way of saying something to someone (especially someone I am assuming who is a bit older and more experienced in the world than you may be) that may not be as harsh or self esteem reducing; I can understand your desire to leap to calling actions of others "stupid", but I can get your meaning exactly simply by perhaps suggesting to me that I do not run the car on battery while playing this system.

Thank you for your input.

And I did not know that Delphi made the batteries, as well. Thank you for that input.

 

I apologize...I didn't mean to offend you.

 

:lmao:

Anyway, simplicity let us know how it turns out and if you need detailed instructions on how to change the alternator.

 

No problem. Apology greatly accepted, and thank you very, very much for your information regarding the Delphi information. I knew it about the alternators, but not the batteries.

Thanks again, Accord 1278......