Hello everyone,

Friday the Alternator died in my little brother's 96 Civic DX. I took it to the Autoparts store and had them test it and it failed so we purchased a new one. I installed it and started the Civic but it is not charging the battery just starts discharging slowly as it idles. I have removed the new alternator and had it tested where it passed all the tests so the Alternator is supposed to be good.

Now the other weird thing is that his battery light did not and still has not come on. I pulled the instrument cluster and tested the light and it is good but it doesn't come on with the rest of the warning lights turn on when you first turn the ignition on.

I have also checked Fuse 15 and the fuse is good (tested with the continuity tested on my multimeter) and the fuse box reads battery voltage when the ignition is turned on so there is power there.

I also checked the main wire in the alternator and the mutlimeter reads the battery voltage when I connect the Positive lead to that cable on the Alternator and the ground to a strut tower bolt.

At this point I'm at a loss and could use some help. It must have something to do elsewhere with the 4P Connection on the alternator.

Any other ideas?

 

Make sure that the I wire in the 4P connector (which I think is black with a yellow stripe) is energized with the key on. That is one of the wires that can get frayed with the fuse 15 problem. Even if the fuse isn't blown (there should be voltage on BOTH test points with the key on), you should still get under the car and actually inspect the harness since the '96s were very common for the problem.

Also does the "battery" light on the dash come on when you turn the key on and don't start, and go out after you start? The light is controlled by the alternator.

The main wire should have battery voltage whether the engine is running or not. Very common to blow the main fuse by trying to replace the alternator without disconnecting the battery first.

 

Thanks we will have to test this one I didnot know of this and will check it out next time I'm over.

Are you saying that both points on fuse 15 should show 12v (Meaning positive Multimeter lead on each point and negative Lead on a ground)or just connecting the 2? Connecting the 2 I read 12 v.

The Battery light never comes on which is bugging me. We pulled the instrument cluster and the light was bad but noticed the MIL light was removed. I moved one of the blanks over so it works but couldn't get the battery light to come on. Something is bad between that connection somewhere.


The main line does read voltage.

 

"Connecting the two I have 12v"

That means the fuse is blown. A good fuse will have zero volts across it. Pull it out and look at the link inside.

The test I meant was to test from each point on the fuse to ground. Each should have 12 volts. If one is live and one is zero, the fuse is blown.

 

The fuse was fine I tested it using the continuity test on my Multimeter and it passed!

The reason I had to connect the leads to each side was because I tested the fuse box connection while the fuse was out after I tested the fuse itself. LOL Just a missunderstanding here.

Looks like we will have to look at the wiring on the back of the engine further. There isn't alot of space back there and it would almost be easier just to pull the dang intake and do it from the top! LOL

I wish it was at my house so I could do it in my heated garage instead of laying in the street.

I fell bad because I'm not going to have a lot of time to help with it so he may end up taking it to a nearby shop.