'06 Euro Alternator

[Bubbs64]

Hi All,
Just had my Euro's 120Klms serviced by Honda and the next day my battery light stays on. I've taken it back and they tell me I need a new alternator, $1300 for a new one.

Apparently, these alternators cannot be repaired, is this true ??

Thanks

[Lazarus]

1300 for a 'new' one...
better to just get a reconditioned one for a few hundred...

[HONTUNE]

Yeah go re-conditioned or an aftermarket one..

[stndrd]

Where are you located? If in Melbourne, pm me

[Fredoops]

Where are you located? If in Melbourne, pm me

Lol that reminded me I got heat gaskets coming my way and I'll pm you to get them fitted and other bits and pieces

[SPQR]

Part Number is 31100-RTA-033

Available NEW from Acura of Peoria (USA). It should be around US$292 plus 'shipping' (as the American say). You need to be careful that they have your delivery address absolutely correct. They have a store on ebay but you'll probably have to contact them to get a quote. While you're at it, confirm the part number.

I also found a remanufactured unit on amazon.com for US$138.13 plus shipping: http://www.amazon.com/Quality-Built-13980-Premium-Quality-Alternator/dp/compatibility-chart/B0031HWEAS

Starter motors are also considerably cheaper in USA; as are most parts for the Euro/TSX. Obviously, Left Hand Drive specific parts don't fit our Euro...

[10KRPM]

good price..mine went and it was 600 to get reconditioned and fitted.

Was also quoted 1200 by honda for a new one...and thats without fitting.

[simonchau]

I got mine aftermarket from a mobile mechanic, include labour for about 500.

[ttliew]

I got mine aftermarket from a mobile mechanic, include labour for about 500.

Hi All, same situation happened to me for my 06 Accord Euro. Got a quote from HondWorld for 300 plus labour. Don't mind paying a bit of extra a brand new aftermarket. Which mobile mechanic are you referring? Thanks

[kristrifo]

as everyone has said, dont get a new alternator, biggest rip off

i got a reco including instalation for $445

mine went @ just under 80k kms, so youve gotten good life out of yours lol

[kernel]

My alternator has just gone at 179,000 kms. Appears to be burnt out. So far I am getting outstanding life from all parts (except perhaps tyres).

[mrgu]

My alt died at 92000km..

Quoted from dealer $1200

Bought a second hand for 200 bucks off a wrecked cl9 tourer..car has 36000km on the clock

U can change it urself..or racv can do it

[kernel]

thanks MRGU, I may do it myself, if I can find a wrecker in Bendigo that is open this Saturday. Otherwise my Auto Electrician in Melbourne can do it. I can understand BMW dealers quoting $1,500 for a genuine alternator (they are all made by Denso or Bosch anyway) but not Hondas. Who do these bandits think they are?

[mrgu]

I know....it's ridiculous.. Honda alt is denso...try ur luck in melb...best case scenario..try Hondwreck on west all rd

[brokenback]

It's probably a regulator assy or brushes. Honda gives a complete breakdown of test & repair of the alternator in their manual...well the manual I got (for my 8th gen widebody Accord alternator...probably the same) on line from an American site.

Honda dealer wants to sell you $1300 of parts and not $120 (guessing price) for a regulator pack or $20 for brushes! Usually the fail is the regulator or brushes but you can test all this. Any Auto electrician can easily fix this.

[Ironfist]

This has happened to me, 110,000km's Battery check light came on.

When i checked the battery indicator it just went from green to no colour within 5 hrs (which usually means dead battery?) however the car would still turn over quite easily.

I did notice that when the car is on, there is a louder electrical squealing noise at low rpm.

From my description a mechanic friend says it is most likely the alternator as flat batteries usually don't start the car (and i've experienced this before), and is thinking that it could be the bushes/regulator that need changing.

Does anyone know if it is an internal or external regulator? and are there specific Part No's. for the honda accord euro 2006 regulator/bushes or can any off the shelf product do?

[Malicious]

Hi just rebuilt my alternator
was told that you can't repair these , what I found to be the biggest issue was the rectifiers had packed it in, regulator was ok but it was apart so in went a new one.
bought the parts from Trump auto electrical in vic.
regulator $66 , brushes $16, rectifier plate $77 plus $12 freight.
from local bearing shop bearings cost me about $22 ( beer economy) .
less than $200 all up.


Also was at Autobarn the other day and they could supply a denso replacment for $380.

honda wanted $1300, screw that.

so since I told the minister for finance that it would cost about $600, I had some change to spend on items to yet be decided :)

Will list the parts later

[Ironfist]

**update
Rang a company up in my area who wanted $520 for alternator plus $220 for install (as i have no tools or clue on how to change it) who said that they also supply honda.

In the end found a company on ebay "trump auto electrician" (coincidentally same as above poster) $263 for a new alternator and a mate of mine installed it. They were easy to deal with, paid money and picked it up same day.

Initially i was going to get the regulator for $66 plus bearing but couldnt find the bearing, good thing i didnt as my mate said that the heat sinks had melted the regulator on it, which might have happen to the above poster.

if you do the sums its not to much more to get a new alternator which comes witha 12month warrenty and less headaches

[3URO]

Just had a similar incident as the OP.

i had a 80k service done, and 3 days later the battery light is on. Mechanic has quoted $900 for honda or $350 for non-genuine with 12 months warranty for part only.

Going by the responses in this thread so far, i wont be going for a brand new Honda part.

Are there any recommendations for places in Sydney from where i can get an alternator? Or should I try my luck with wreckers?

Trump Auto are still selling on Ebay for $245. Would that be my best bet still.

Thanks

[Martin77]

It seems like the alternator is another weak point in our Euro.
I also have heard that the grounding wire for this car is not too good. I am wondering whether the problem is inter related where a weakness on the wire has subsequent effect like the alternator, battery indicator, dimming lights, etc.... I have bought 3 cables (1x4gauge and 2x 8gauge) and got them crimped. I will replace the existing battery grounding cable with the thicker cable (may also improve the contact point) and add grounding cable to the alternator and maybe the engine also. I hope to install it next week.

[Fredoops]

It seems like the alternator is another weak point in our Euro.

it's usually the regulator that fails as far as I know.


I also have heard that the grounding wire for this car is not too good. I am wondering whether the problem is inter related where a weakness on the wire has subsequent effect like the alternator, battery indicator, dimming lights, etc.... I have bought 3 cables (1x4gauge and 2x 8gauge) and got them crimped. I will replace the existing battery grounding cable with the thicker cable (may also improve the contact point) and add grounding cable to the alternator and maybe the engine also. I hope to install it next week.

I changed the battery ground to a 2 gauge or something from Supercheap (pretty sure it was for V8's lol, twice as thick as OEM, for about 12 bucks), and I have a secondary ground on the other side of the engine.

I also have a voltage stabilizer between the batteries, 20 bucks off ebay and kept my last battery lasted 6 years despite my abuse....

The car's not very well grounded. at all. theres 2 grounding points, battery and a non-insulated/exposed braided metal wire of a thing acting as a secondary ground on the driver side of the engine, the OEM battery ground deteriorates over time (chucked that away after 7 years), and the secondary ground is right next to the power steering hose that used to leak (there was a recall about that 5 years ago), I dont trust it, hence all the gizmodo's i've put in it, cant complain, my 12 year old alternator is still putting out 14.3-14.5.

If you're going to change grounding:

1. Add a ground between engine block and chassis (on the driver side preferably)
2. Ground alternator
3. Ground the injector base/intake manifold to the engine block, use a think/small wire is sufficient if i remembered correctly, i used a 18 gauge i think....

[Martin77]

Thanks for this Fred.
I don't trust the grounding on the chassis of the car so I might add the wire grounding cable for the alternator and intake manifold straight to the negative battery terminal. I bought this battery terminal from Jaycar. This allows me to replace the battery grounding cable to the thicker cable (yes one I have is also 2 gauge (35 mm2), about double the thickness) and also route the additional alternator and chassis wire to the battery.
http://www.jaycar.com.au/Sight-%26-Sound-Car/Car-Audio-Hardware/Car-Hardware-Accessories/4-Wire-2G%2B4G%2B2x8G-Negative-Terminal/p/HC4049

Fred, with the left over 2 gauge wire, do you think I should also replace the braided grounding wire?

I have Pivot raizin voltage stabiliser on my old work car (20 years old now (not the euro), people at work laughed at it. To me it does help the battery a little as it makes starting a little easier (less drain on the battery, making it last a little longer).

[Fredoops]

Thanks for this Fred.
I don't trust the grounding on the chassis of the car so I might add the wire grounding cable for the alternator and intake manifold straight to the negative battery terminal.

theres 2 chassis grounding points, one on neg battery terminal and one on the other driver side (that braided thing)connect to either should be fine as long as that braided wire is upgraded (or added to)


I bought this battery terminal from Jaycar. This allows me to replace the battery grounding cable to the thicker cable (yes one I have is also 2 gauge (35 mm2), about double the thickness) and also route the additional alternator and chassis wire to the battery.

Ive got that too, both positive and negative, havent put it in yet to


Fred, with the left over 2 gauge wire, do you think I should also replace the braided grounding wire?
or just add to it, since electricity follow the path of least resistance


I have Pivot raizin voltage stabiliser on my old work car (20 years old now (not the euro), people at work laughed at it. To me it does help the battery a little as it makes starting a little easier (less drain on the battery, making it last a little longer).

I have Pivot as well, mine has a voltmeter so it tells me the battery and alternator voltage.

[Martin77]

I have Pivot as well, mine has a voltmeter so it tells me the battery and alternator voltage.

The topic of voltage stabiliser is debatable in the auto industry. People at work laughed at my voltage stabiliser. Some may say that it is the grounding that contributed to the improvements rather than the voltage stabiliser.

Pivot Mega Raizin has a relatively small capacitance, 22000 uF which is 0.022 F. Some people say that connecting an audio battery is better because of the larger capacitance (1,3,5F, etc...) and will stabilise the voltage better.

Now (in the last few years), capacitors are getting more advanced. You may know them as super/ultra capacitor. Some people have experimented with some success replacing the car battery with the bigger pack (paralleled with Li ion battery). I am sure these capacitors (including audio capacitors) are not temperature rated to go under the bonnet. I think they either go to 65C or 85C, I cant remember. If you have a subwoofer, you can connect it there as the temperature is lower inside the boot and because it is connected to the battery, will also stabilise the voltage. There may be an issue with the long cables especially if it is not thick enough.

You can buy this unit (link below) from ebay for about $35 and with a box and some soldering, it probably can be used as a voltage stabiliser. When 120 F (2.7 V capacitor) is connected in series (to get the 16.2 V for our car battery (but will only be charged to the voltage it is charged at as the alternator voltage is only about 14.5 V)), we get 20 F total. So for a similar price to Pivot mega raizin, we can have a voltage stabiliser with 20 F instead of 0.022 F (but missing the voltage indicator). This should help the battery a lot more.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/6pcs-Farad-Capacitor-2-7V-120F-Super-Capacitor-With-Protection-Board-/331645231901?hash=item4d3798a31d:g:PDwAAOSwTapV6GG c

What are your thoughts? Can you think of other applications?

[Fredoops]

You'll need a very good case to hold that thing.

Diy voltage stablizer isn't a new thing. They're just capacitors .

You can always solder a multimeter to it.

Not sure about having it in in boot. Would prefer engine bay placement.

[Martin77]

Thanks for pointing out in the handling of that capacitor. It is large and needs to be handled with caution. Some people use it (larger pack) to replace their car battery to get the weight saving. Because it has low resistance it has a lot of instantaneous charge behind it.

Older generation capacitors (im showing my age here) are measured in the nano and micro Farad. It's amazing now how they can produce capacitors with hundreds even thousands of Farad.

I do not think that this new generation super capacitor can yet handle high temperature (engine bay). Give it a bit more time, I'm sure they will do it. It's amazing...

[Fredoops]

Pivot Mega Raizin has a relatively small capacitance, 22000 uF which is 0.022 F. Some people say that connecting an audio battery is better because of the larger capacitance (1,3,5F, etc...) and will stabilise the voltage better.


how about just hooking up 2 of these:

http://www.jaycar.com.au/Passive-Components/Capacitors/Electrolytic/22-Farad-2-5V-Supercapacitors/p/RE6702

just put a highly insulated casing around them.

[Martin77]

Yes, that is a similar concept. We will need to buy 6 of them and wire them in series to get the right voltage. The voltage of the capacitor must be above the alternator voltage. In this case if we wire 6 in series (at 2.5V per capacitor) the voltage is 15 V (we can connect 7 capacitors in series to get 17.5V) which is just enough for our cars. I personally would like to have extra buffer (15 V is too close to the alternators voltage), which makes 2.7V capacitor ideal (total of 16.2 V with 6 in series). When we put 22 F in series the equivalent capacitance drops to 3.6 F (voltage increase, capacitance decrease).

With the one on eBay, we get a protection board with it to prevent overcharging. We shouldn't need it normally but if one capacitor fails, its good to have.