Hello from Austria + pics

[DKS51R]

Hey all,

I used to frequent the forums when i had my prelude.

I have now moved over to Austria and have bought a Civic

My Civic is a 96 model which wasnt released in Oz (Wikipedia call it a Honda Domina???) it is in between a eg and an ek and is a 5 door hatch.

What i wanted to ask is im having issues with the battery (hopefully) when i turen off the car it wont turn back on, when i push start the car it starts fairly easily but it looks like it wont hold charge. Im hoping its not the alternator though.

Can anyone tell me how would i know if the alternator is on the way out?

Cheers

Darks

[bennjamin]

if the battery wont hold charge then its pretty much the alternator. Do all the accessories still work tho ? ( internal lights / stereo etc)

[DLO01]

Yeh, exactly like Ben said ^^^, plus is your Battery indication light on the dash will come on if its not charging.

Did the light come on previously while driving?

[creativepunka]

i would just stop at a workshop and ask them to do a battery/charging test. it takes about 5mins and then you find out if its the battery or the alternator. atm it could be the battery or the alternator. hope i helped

[Q_ball]

Welcome - any pics of ur car??

[DKS51R]

Hey

Pics of the car to come

All the accesories work in the car plus, when i give it a push start it starts at once. im hoping its not the alternator as it will be bloody expensive!

[jazcivic]

As the others have said 'It could be a faulty battery(get it checked) or the alternator'.

I had a problem where it appeared as if the battery was
not holding charge. But it seems to retain charge when
a 'mains' powered charger is used to charge the battery.
The battery worked ok when installed back in the car.
But eventually the battery is too weak to turn the engine over.

I fixed the problem by replacing worn carbon brushes located at the back of the alternator.

Have fun.

[EG30]

if the battery is dead it won't hold charge either, most likely one cell is totally dead thus you only get 5 out of the 6 cells producing charge so you get about 10 or so volts instead of the 12.x volts you need.

faulty battery is a far more likely scenario than a faulty alternator, if you could borrow a multimeter from someone check the voltage from the battery terminals 1st. If the voltage doesn't go up to 13.8-14.4V when the car is running then that means the alternator is not charging the way it should.

[psiwrath]

When you try to start your car does the engine turn over at all? Do you hear the starter even click? If not it may be worth checking your starter could have a worn contact solenoid or brushes.

[DKS51R]

Hey PSI

THe engine doesnät turn as such but it does click. does this mean anything?

[bennjamin]

Hey PSI

THe engine doesnät turn as such but it does click. does this mean anything?

Yes it does. Do you hear the click under the dash ?
Do the accessories still work (cabin lights etc) ?
Im going with dead battery - enough power for accessories but not enough to start the car / starter motor

[DKS51R]

All the accesories work as i said before, where the click comes from i cant say. Well ill go and check a battery place (or some dodgey dealer here in Vienna) they dont have specific battery places as such

Ill change the batt and report back!

Cheers

[psiwrath]

something funny about this thread because i now have a weak/dying battery
car wont start next morning if i started my motor more than once and travel for only a short distance however it is fine if the car has driven more than 20mins.Time for a new battery!!
All the best to you DKS51R with yours

[DKS51R]

Mine was the same! changed the battery and all is sweet in that department.

I cleaned the car today so will take some snaps and post them up. have to give it a good service over the next few weeks as the previous owner treated it like shite.

Pretty good investment for 1000€! a 2 owner car (mother and son) 123,000ks on the clock and no significant rust/damage.

Cheers

Darks

[krogoth]

take pics of vienna for us

as well as the car

lol

[jazcivic]

something funny about this thread because i now have a weak/dying battery
car wont start next morning if i started my motor more than once and travel for only a short distance however it is fine if the car has driven more than 20mins.Time for a new battery!!


It's possible your battery is on its last leg.
A simple test of the charging system is to check the output of the alternator
by testing with a multimeter to the +ve and -ve terminals of the battery while
the engine is running. It should register about 13.0 volts (at idling) to
14.7 Volts (over 1500 rpm).
If it registers consistantly over 15 volts, at some stage it may cook your battery
or your alternator may be the item that gets cooked.

When low voltage charging is the cause of slow dying batteries,
the alternator's carbon brush (located on the alternator at the rear)
usually is the culprit (worn). It's part of the voltage regulator setup.
To get a good working life out of a battery, it needs regular dose of 14+ volts.
Cold winter morning puts a strain on battery performance,
especially if they are constantly undercharged.

Cheers.

[DKS51R]

Hey all

Here as promised a few pics of my car.

[aimre]

Its like a mini accord

[i_own_you]

Its like a mini accord

on an eg sedan shell.. lol awesome!

[Leprechaun]

Now thats a wiked lookin honda ahha