I have a 2000 Civic Coupe, 80,0000 miles.

Just last week SRS and Airbag lights sporatically coming on , and turning off..no pattern.

(Probably unrelated, A/C hose from high side to compressor sprung a leak, lost all freon).

Then battery light flickers on and off, again no pattern.

Battery has 13 volts cold, then goes upto 17-18 volts after start, and stays there.

When I turn on all load in car, battery light comes on SRS and airbag light goes off.

And to top it off, when I tested my hi beams today, they act like a house "brown out", barely any light coming out...

Yesterday I checked the battery (original) and th cells were bone dry, so I added water...(should I have used distilled water, does it really matter)

I have 3 kids that I cart around, so I am very concerned....

local honda dealer charged me $50 to tell me what I already new, battery voltage too high (no ****)...$50 bux please... Funny they did not even check the battery, I found out myself it was bone dry. They tell me $600 for an alternator installed before tax is the solution, I don't trust them..

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

John H.

 

The problem was alternator, replaced it , no more issues.!

 

interesting to fix all those with one part. sweet!

 

In some cases, the symptoms you described would be due to a faulty battery, but it does make sense that since the alternator was overcharging the battery, the cells were dry. Keep in mind that an overcharged battery can melt down - I've seen it happen. I'm glad you fixed the problem.

 

ya alternator and battery replace em both. with that alternator its regulator is screwed up and overcharging and it should not be over 15volts!
you might be able to save the battery but it could easily be damaged from it being boiled and dried out. best to replace them both.