For a few days I have my battery light and "doors open" light ON at low RPM. Actually, it doesn't happen in the mornings: only in the evenings after a hot day.

I replaced battery 30K back. Alternator is new (maybe 3K back) as well. Checked the battery and alternator connection: all's OK, nothing to clean there...

The car runs fine (Accord V6 99, 98K), but I'm afraid, it may die on me one day, and that won't be fun at all...

I checked battery voltage today morning: 12.7V with engine off and 14.1V with engine at idle, so the alternator should be fine...

Could someone please advise on where I can poke next?

Thanks!

 

Hm, good one. Does the voltage across the battery terminals change at all if you rev the engine, or apply load to the electrical system?

 

Try reseting the ECU

 

for the door light to come on u may be getting a drop in voltage. maybe its the voltage regulator..the battery can have a bad cell. alternators give off some weird symptoms when they r failing.

 

Alternator. Have it checked for amp output by going to your local Autozone.

 

It ended up being the alternator. Remanufactured Bosch from PepBoys. Worked for only 5 months...

Door lights and "Parking Brake" light were most likely coming up "on purpose" not because of voltage drops because they lit steadily and every single time when battery light was on. They're also red, so this might be Honda's way to attract attention to the panel.

What was lighting up intermittently, especially when battery was going deeper and deeper discharged, was ABS light. On top of it, transmission started slipping and radio going out spontaneously.

I made a mistake in the original post measuring battery's voltage. Indeed, when lights were out, it was about 14.1V... But when the lights were coming on, the voltage was about 12.7-12.7, and even after throttling engine beyond 1500rpm (which was always making lights go out), the voltage still stayed in that low range. I believe despite this, the batter still was _somewhat_ being charged, otherwise I wouldn't be able to drive like this for almost 2 weeks.

Anyway, yesterday engine stalled, wouldn't start again, I had to replace battery, then drive home (new battery didn't help the lights), replace the alternator, and now all looks fine including transmission.

I'll see if PepBoys will accept the broken Bosch back under warranty...

 

radio working intermittently is a good sign u have an alternator problem. my sister stalled, hemmed and hauled about getting her alternator replaced. the radio was a big clue. her boyfriend replaced her alternator that night. luckily she didnt destroy her battery. it was low on water from the overcharging. glad you were able to solve your problem and fix your car.

 

This is why you NEVER EVER put anything Bosch into a Honda.

 

Seems like everyone is havin alternator problems lately lol.....i had to replace mine few days ago put in one from autozone, problems went away