Mechanic help ? Battery or alternator ?

Question

i have a 95 honda civic ex. it wont start, and it makes a crank noise, thats it. the radio doesnt work either. the lights all work though. the battery was reading 10 then going down. my dad thinks the alternator isn't helping the battery so it ran out of power ? im not sure what to do.

Answer 1

Your Dad may be right. Have the alternator checked to see if its putting out enough amp's. Then the battery to find out if its holding a charge. Its possible both may need replacement. Take your car to Auto Zone, they will run these tests at no charge to you.

Answer 2

A worthy investment for this mess is a multimeter (they're only about 15-20 bucks), if that's not what you were using to read 10v on the battery. When you say it cranks, does it just crank once and not have enough to keep the starter going, or is it cranking continuously and the engine just won't start?

If it's the first case, just jump the car with another to give it enough to get the engine running. Take the cables off, then put a multimeter on the battery. With the engine running, it should read somewhere between 13.2 and 14.5 volts or so If it's under 13, then you definitely have an alternator issue.

You can see if the battery is holding the charge simply by turning the car off and testing the voltage again. It should, at the very least, hold above 11 until the next day. If not, you probably need a new battery, but be sure you don't have some electrical device staying on or an interior light shorted or something, which would cause a constant power drain.

If the car is cranking over and over but not starting, I agree with the last post, check to be sure you are getting spark... Check any engine grounds and such for good contact, and the distributor, plug wires, etc... Also make sure the ignition coil isn't bad. You can use the multimeter on ohms to test the resistance of the coil if you can find the specs for your car. (A sneaky way would be an auto parts store, test the new coil, if they are somewhat close, it's ok. This will also show you what it looks like...then return the part).

This could also mean a fuel delivery problem though. This is probably not the case though, if the problem arose suddenly. Anyhoo, best of luck.

Answer 3

i would agree that it is the alternator and/or the battery, but it confuses me as to why the radio would not work and the lights would. the radio should be one of the last things to go if the battery was dead or dying. this might indicate some sort of electrical problem other than the battery or alternator--it does sound like both need checked, by the way. But, as the driver of an older Honda, I've found that the electrical systems can throw some really whacked out problems at you.

You might ask the mechanic to also look at your distributor. That would also cause the problems you're describing. If the distributor isn't working, you might just be wearing down the battery trying to start it while the battery and alternator themselves are still working fine.

anyway, good luck with that! car problems SUCK.

Answer 4

Messenger_of_the _void gave you a very good rundown. Every household and car owner needs a multi-tester. First of all a 10V charge in a 12 Volt battery won't get anything done. Pull it out and charge it @ 2 amps with an automatic battery charger over night if needed. In the morning unkiik the charger. If the battery does not have 12.5 volts get a quality replacement Shop for largest one that fits your battery box with the most cold cranking amps at 0 degrees. Slap it in your car and check all battery connections. Check where the positive battery cable connects to the starter. Make sur it's clean and tight. Do the same on the grond black cable-clean and tight at both ends. Start it up. By placing a multi-tester on the 20 volt reading press the lead probes into the red positive and black negative battery termanals. You should see 13.5 -14-0 volts. If there's no voltage in that range your alternator is cooked.

You can use a multi-tester in your home to constantly check small battery voltages, continunity testing for your stereo, home theater system, thermostat, oven voltage to the electric elements on top, elenent contentinuity and ohms testing of your spark plug wires. Sears as well as any electric supply house has these testers from $19.00 clear up to $275.00 for a loaded Fluke multi-tester

Answer 5

If the car will jump start, then remove the negative battery cable, if the car dies, then it is the alternator, if it keeps running chances are it is your battery.

The only other thing is a problem with the wiring. If there is a short in the radio wiring it may be draining the battery down.

good luck.

Answer 6

How old is the battery, are the cables tight and in good shape. It could be the alternator. Because it draws its power from the battery. Also you might want to check the belt to see if it is lose.

Answer 7

have battery tested auto zone does it your alternatorcant be checked till batterty is good