[CDsDontBurn]

So, for all you mechanics out there, i have a question regarding my set of wheels, a 2000 Honda Accord v6.

i think i might have alternator troubles but i'm not sure. what happens is that whenever i'm driving down the highway at anything above 3,000 RPM, all my electronics dim out. nothing considerably bad, but very noticeable. now, just today while on my way to work, i noticed that my car's battery light and brake light flashed on for a split second. this happened while moving over about 5 lanes to get into the interchange and i was pushing my car, roughly 5,000 RPMs or so.

now, nothing has happened to my car that NEEDS repairs as of now, but i would like to know your guys' input as to what it might be BEFORE my car is inoperable.

also, my car's crank/alternator belt and/or AC belt have been making a whiny noise. i'm not sure if that has anything to do with it, but it would help you guys help me if it is needed.

[Dyre Straits]

Originally Posted by CDsDontBurn

So, for all you mechanics out there, i have a question regarding my set of wheels, a 2000 Honda Accord v6.

i think i might have alternator troubles but i'm not sure. what happens is that whenever i'm driving down the highway at anything above 3,000 RPM, all my electronics dim out. nothing considerably bad, but very noticeable. now, just today while on my way to work, i noticed that my car's battery light and brake light flashed on for a split second. this happened while moving over about 5 lanes to get into the interchange and i was pushing my car, roughly 5,000 RPMs or so.

now, nothing has happened to my car that NEEDS repairs as of now, but i would like to know your guys' input as to what it might be BEFORE my car is inoperable.

also, my car's crank/alternator belt and/or AC belt have been making a whiny noise. i'm not sure if that has anything to do with it, but it would help you guys help me if it is needed.

It sounds to me like the tensioner pulley has lost its ability to keep the belt tight. The 'whiny' noise is the noise the belt will make when it's slipping. AND, the fact that the lights and electrics dim when going a good rate of speed, means [to me] that the belt is definitely slipping under the load.

When you replace the tensioner pulley, it's a good idea to replace the belt, too.

Good luck!

[Dark Lord]

i dont know... even if it is the pulley, the lights shouldn't be dimming that quickly. i mean, i can actually drive my vette for atleast 10-15 mins with the radio cranked with no alternator at all. theres no dim lights or anything.

with that said... you say this is happening on the highway, but your also doing over 3k rpms. do your lights also dim if you put the car in neutral and rev it upto 3k+?

the other thing im thinking is it may just be the battery going bad. does your ammeter show any kind of constant or high draw?

[SFOSOK]

If you notice the your car's battery power is goin down while your car is on (especially moving) then its usually the alternator. Also that loss of power can cause some weird sh*t with your car. It happened to my Camaro a little while back.

[Judas]

If your capable of pulling the alternator outa the care yourself.... whip it out, take it down to a local place that can run a series of tests on the sucker (they basically put it on another motor and then adjust the RPM to test)..

Indeed your alternator CAN produce oddities at different RPMS.... And the symptoms your having is precisely the same as what i had, which ended up being the modulator within the alternator (they are mostly built as a single one unit now so altnerator/modulator are no longer seperate.. and it's been this way for several years now)..

Long are the days when you could easily and cheaply replace the modulator on older vehicles when shit like this stuff started happening (dimming lights, weird electrical issues, occasionally DEAD batteries or power drains all due to a modulator)

[CDsDontBurn]

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

It sounds to me like the tensioner pulley has lost its ability to keep the belt tight. The 'whiny' noise is the noise the belt will make when it's slipping. AND, the fact that the lights and electrics dim when going a good rate of speed, means [to me] that the belt is definitely slipping under the load.

When you replace the tensioner pulley, it's a good idea to replace the belt, too.

Good luck!

hmm, i didn't think of the tensioner pulley. i popped the hood of my car today, and OMG, i remembered another reason why i don't like FWD. there's no room for getting to the pulleys!

Originally Posted by Dark Lord

i dont know... even if it is the pulley, the lights shouldn't be dimming that quickly. i mean, i can actually drive my vette for atleast 10-15 mins with the radio cranked with no alternator at all. theres no dim lights or anything.

with that said... you say this is happening on the highway, but your also doing over 3k rpms. do your lights also dim if you put the car in neutral and rev it upto 3k+?

the other thing im thinking is it may just be the battery going bad. does your ammeter show any kind of constant or high draw?

i have a 1200w and an 800w amp for my stereo system in my car. i'm blasting my tunes and the lights dim as they should, i need a yellow top battery to take care of that.

i tried the neutral thing while stopped, but didn't try it long enough since my whole block is asleep right now. i will try that again tomorrow after work and see what happens.

Originally Posted by SFOSOK

If you notice the your car's battery power is goin down while your car is on (especially moving) then its usually the alternator. Also that loss of power can cause some weird sh*t with your car. It happened to my Camaro a little while back.

that's what i'm thinking, but dyre also brought up a good point as well. i will have to check out both of them.

[Dyre Straits]

If you find that it is, indeed, the alternator, take it out yourself and take it to a repair shop rather than buying a new or rebuilt one off the shelf. I do this with my own when they go bad and it saves a LOT of money.

I just, a couple of weeks ago, had to get my own alternator repaired. Off the shelf it would have cost close to $200. Getting it repaired, instead, cost me $95. The shop where I go will have them ready for pickup the next day. Don't know about in your area, but, check them out.

But, still, just from what you described....especially the 'whiny' sound....still makes me think it's the belt slipping.

Now, another thing: Getting to the pulleys on that car usually involves taking off the front right wheel and removing a dust panel from the wheel well. (At least, I THINK the alternator and pulleys are on the right side on that car.) Take a good look in that area and maybe even pick up a Chilton or Haynes manual for the car to give you a good guide on how to get to and replace things. Always a good investment if you're going to do your own work.

Good luck!

[Falstaff]

get the alto benched or replaced, then re-adjust the belt after a few miles. Look and see if some creative engineering isnt really causing the "drain" on the electricals..
I have seen lots of urban sound mods that really buggered up a good car, ruined lots of tiny rice burners as far as I know.

[cozumel]

You could drive like grandma and stay below 3,000rpm.

Seriously though, the very first thing I would do is to to check the belt and see if the rubber has cracked or frayed and replace the belt if that is the case. If it is still in good condition then tighten the tension and take her for a spin and see if it still screeches and loses power over 3,000. If there is still a problem but the screeching has stopped then it is likely to be either a fault within the alternator or possibly (though unlikely) a power drain somewhere caused by a faulty electrical component. If the screeching still continues after re-retensioning and/or replacing the belt then it would likely be a problem with the tensioner. If you bring it round to me I only charge 50 bucks/hour.

[Dyre Straits]

Guys....pay attention! There is NO adjustment of the tension on this car. The tension on the belt it automatically taken care of by the Tensioner Pulley and Arm. If the belt is, indeed, slipping and yet in good shape, then the tensioner arm has lost it's ability to keep the belt tight enough. It's a very, very common problem with this type of device.

That's why I really think it's just the tensioner device that has failed. Cost is going to be around $70-90 for the part depending on where it's purchased. That's parts only, no labor.

Probably this one:

Accord Honda 2000 Accessory Belt Tensioner - AutoPartsWarehouse.com

[Dark Lord]

ya, your pulling a bit more juice then i am. if thats the stock alternator and your pulling that much power, you very well could have burnt it out.

[cozumel]

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

That's why I really think it's just the tensioner device that has failed. Cost is going to be around $70-90 for the part depending on where it's purchased. That's parts only, no labor.

Probably this one:

Accord Honda 2000 Accessory Belt Tensioner - AutoPartsWarehouse.com

Or you could pick it up for a lot less from a salvage yard.

[Falstaff]

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

Guys....pay attention! There is NO adjustment of the tension on this car. The tension on the belt it automatically taken care of by the Tensioner Pulley and Arm. If the belt is, indeed, slipping and yet in good shape, then the tensioner arm has lost it's ability to keep the belt tight enough. It's a very, very common problem with this type of device.

That's why I really think it's just the tensioner device that has failed. Cost is going to be around $70-90 for the part depending on where it's purchased. That's parts only, no labor.

Probably this one:

Accord Honda 2000 Accessory Belt Tensioner - AutoPartsWarehouse.com

Dyre, isnt the tensioner in fact a loaded coil spring on a cam?

[Dyre Straits]

Originally Posted by Falstaff

Dyre, isnt the tensioner in fact a loaded coil spring on a cam?

In some instances -- the ones I'm mostly familiar with -- the tensioner assembly attaches to the engine block. The alternator/fan/power steering/AC belt -- or combination thereof -- routes over the pulley part of the assembly.

Now, if we were talking about the TIMING belt, that's a whole other set of ifs, ands, and buts. Some vehicles use Timing Belts and others use a Timing Chain. The tensioner in many of these is adjustable during installation.

But, for the main alternator belt for this particular Honda Accord, I'm almost positive that the tensioner assembly is what CDs needs. The 'squealing/whining' sound is an almost 100% dead giveaway.


And @coz: Yes, I'm quite familiar with the salvage yards, too. But, in this particular case, getting one there may be even in worse shape than the one he's got now.

[Falstaff]

I asked my father the mechanic and he told me they are easy to replace if they fail, etc. but that is extremely rare, he told me they are about twenty bucks to buy at any parts store, but a problem to replace on the V6 cars, I think it does involve removing some other parts to get to it assuming that is the problem. I informed me that any good mechanic with a meter can find out where the fault is or the short or something like that and unless other problems are happening it may not be the engine or the belt assembly at all. I dont understand anything about Honda electricals but he asked if anyone has modified the current configuration to accomidate anything new or if the brushes on the alternator are any good or if it needs to be replaced. That sounds complicated already..LOL My father worked on Gutterpunks Honda and got it running so he is familiar with the V6.

[Dyre Straits]

Jeff, did you mention to your father about the 'squealing/whining' sound that CDs mentioned? That's the part of all of this that makes me think the tensioner has gone bad. It could also be some bearings, but, if it were bearings, it would squeal and whine all the time....not just at higher RPMs.

[CDsDontBurn]

Dyre, i hear the squeals and whines all the time. it's just most noticable at lower RPMs since they're not being overpowered by the high RPMs.

i took my car to two places today. the first place didn't find anything, but i don't think they ran my car at the high RPMs like how i said it happened.

the second place, rather my friend who was at the auto repair shop he works at, looked at the battery and the alternator. his best guess is the alternator. he mentioned something about the bearings on the alternator going out, thus not keeping up with the RPMs the crank is producing to charge the battery. with his multimeter, he was able to detect voltage drops. so, he's recommending me that i get a new alternator and tensioner pulley just in case. imna get a new crank pulley belt as well since that's all out. might as well right?

i called the honda dealer, and if i get these parts from the dealer, it'll run me $360+ tax . imna check my local parts store tomorrow to see how much these parts go for from them. i'm presuming it would be cheaper. by how much, i wouldn't know until i call them.

if the issue continues even after all that, well, i'm sure my car would have needed them sooner or later anyways

[Dyre Straits]

OK....clearly, if it's whining and squealing all the time, there are bearings going out and if the voltage drops then definitely the alternator is going out....OR the belt is slipping at various RPMs. But, it does appear the focus now should be on the alternator.

What you should do is take the alternator to an electric motor repair shop. It'll cost close to half what the part will be over the counter. It's something you can very likely take out and install yourself if you're handy with tools.

Now, here's how to tell exactly where the squealing is coming from:

Take a long wooden handle...like a broom handle and, with the engine running, place the end of the handle on a NON-MOVING portion of the alternator and then the tensioner pulley. Making sure the handle doesn't slip off that NON-MOVING part, put your ear on the opposite end. You'll definitely hear the difference between the good and the bad area.

[CDsDontBurn]

it's going to be difficult to take out the alternator. this is my first FWD car i own/worked on, so getting to the alternator is a totally different experience. my friend who told me it was the alternator mentioned that a motor mount needs to be removed in order to get to the alternator!

FWD is seriously FTL.

anyways, here are two pictures of my year and model car. as you can see, the belt is on the left side of the engine compartment, and it is a tight fit to get in there without taking stuff out. i would have taken pictures myself, but i need batteries for my digital camera

[Judas]

don'tcha just hate compact style cars..... i do..


miss working on the delta 88..... you could pull the entire engine appart without ever having to remove anything else if you wanted to.

[SFOSOK]

Gl burning urself


Thats why I would hire someone else to do it. So it gets done and I get to watch them burn themselves.

[CDsDontBurn]

my car by no means is a compact car. it's a mid-sized coupe. any larger, and it would be a full sized car. and as long as the engine is cool, i won't burn myself

i do have an update on my car though. i finally got to do a full test on the battery and the alternator. This seems to be caused by a failing alternator as i have been suspecting. It may have been caused by my stereo system that is installed. having two amps, 800w peak (400w RMS) and the other 1200w (800w RMS), may have slowly deteriorated the working ability of the alternator's ability to charge the battery.

so, what i've done so far at home: tested the voltages coming from the battery when the car is off, 12.5v, normal voltage. voltages at idle speeds, ~14.5v, also normal. voltages at 3k RPM (lights off) ~12.2v. voltages at 3k RPM (lights on) ~11.90v. That would indic