Today I was driving to work in a nasty rainstorm. As I was driving over the large puddles of water collecting on the roadway, something strange happened. The red "battery" light on my dashboard lit up, and I had a hard time steering my car. Once I got over the puddle, the problem stopped -- at least until I hit the next puddle, when it happened again. I drive a 2003 Honda Accord EX. I contacted two local Honda dealerships to try and determine what the problem is and they were unable to help as they "had never heard of this before." Before I take the car in to have it looked at I thought I would post this question to see if anyone has had this happen to their vehicle and if so what the problem was and what I can do to correct the problem.
Thank you-
Amanda
2007-01-15 08:57:59 · 9 answers · asked by Amanda D 1 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Car Makes ➔ Honda
Your belt was slipping when you went through the puddles. The belt drives the alternator and power steering pump. When they stopped working you lost power to the battery and the power steering pump quit turning. When it dried everything started turning again. You may just need a new belt. Good luck.
2007-01-15 09:02:55 · answer #1 · answered by mad_mav70 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The check battery light could be the result of water shorting part of the electrical system. Believe it or not, this you might want to get checked. Make sure the fan wire in particular was not undone and damaged. The Car probably has a screw type drive in it's steering gear. These do not respond well to forces pushing hard against the wheel. Water can exert TONS of force against a tire, and thus even bend things, while not turning the wheel in your hand and possibly injuring a pinkie finger. This is due to the fact that courts feel it's not due diligence to make the most dependable transportation, but rather it is due diligence to make that transportation which Grandma will never hurt her little pinkie driving ~ no matter how silly she might be. Allow a conservative example of this Liberal farce: A woman goes out into the desert after a rain and runs at high speed through a flooded gully. He car's steering is wrecked. She gets out sobs, forgetting to fill any water tins, opening up all the doors, letting the water out and sponging up the carpet with her hair (it's all she had to do the job silly ~ and you could eat off her floors... prior to that flood anyway...). Can she sue ~ or rather her family after her body is found dead of dehydration once the gully dries up? No. The car was abused. She did it. Death was her fault. Preventable, but legally her fault. Now, the same car without a steering gear that deliberately prevents too much "feedback": She hits the gully at high speed, the wheels bend but don't break ~ and the smaller bits of the steering gear push against her steering wheel, turning it "rudely" banging her finger and causing... my God, an "actionable" injury. She drives home, calls her lawyer, and retires, raising thew expense of all subsequent cars from that firm. But she lives. Her finger gets better. And the car will still drive... But the lawyer is "mock angry"... And the judge, well, he doesn't want to listen to an angry woman waiving a finger at him... So is your "lock up" "normal"? No, it's insane. but then again it was ordered into existence by our legal system...
2016-05-24 08:29:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Lose battery cable
Water getting into the Coil, Cap, Button regions
Water getting into the spark plugs, boots not pushed down.
Has to be something electrical thats for sure. Cause the water is shorting something out as it splashes up from the puddle then the circuit is able to connect again once the majority of the water has passed. So that says there must be wind, heat or motion within that region as well.
Might be rubber gromet plugs on firewall to main computer not sealed as well.
2007-01-15 09:03:14 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
somehow the water is effecting the power steering pump. when the power steering pump isn't working right, the belt can mess up the alternator as well which is causing ur battery light to come on. maybe u need a better splashgaurd or something.
2007-01-15 09:02:57 · answer #4 · answered by xckid62 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sounds like most of the ppl here have the right idea...the belt drives all your accesories but on a 03 accord there is no adjustment in it, the adjustment is done automatically by the tensioner...so everything is acting normal...just try goin through big puddles like that a bit slower and u will be fine!
2007-01-15 09:46:16 · answer #5 · answered by Steven S 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your belts were becoming saturated with water allowing the alternator belt to slip ( battery light ) and the power steering belt to slip ( steering get harder ). You might have your belts checked. They could need adjusting or replacement.
2007-01-15 09:08:27 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
This one's easy. Your fan belt got wet and started slipping. When it did the alternator and power steering quit working momentarily. You need to have the belt tightened. Honda dealer is not to bright in my opinion.
2007-01-15 09:02:36 · answer #7 · answered by tumbleweed1954 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Have you, perhaps, removed the splash guard under the front bumper? Or the left fender cover? Most people throw these away when they get damaged, but they are not cosmetic. They are there to prevent the wet-belt problem you're describing. (also to keep mud out of crevices to minimize rust)
2013-12-23 12:40:49 · answer #8 · answered by Koolaid 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
First response sounds about right.
Additionally, the battery shaped light indicates a problem with the alternator and charging system; not the battery itself.
2007-01-17 06:22:50 · answer #9 · answered by jimmyjames 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋