strange alternator/lights power problem
 

i have a 96 integra and yesterday i began to have this same strange problems, i first noticed my dash lights and headlights dimming and flickering. it seems to happen contently and at random then sometimes the lights become extremely bright my SRS light comes on, and my blower fan starts pushing much faster. i found out that when the lights become brighter that my battery voltage reads an upwards of 17-20v i found this out by connecting my laptop to the ecu hondata s300
in the bright stage it stops flickering and usually stays bright for a little while what i do to stop the over voltage is while the car is still moving and in gear i just switch the ignition to off for a sec then back on and then its back to just flickering for a few minutes


i found here what seems to be my same problem but no ones confirmed a solution yet http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2240390
tomorrow hopefully im gonna do some alternator and load tests and check for loose connections as said in the link

also this dosnt really seem to affect the cars driveability if anything it seems to have improved in performance. :confused:

has anyone ever encountered a problem like this?
anyone have any solutions? help? advice?

please and thanks

volatge regulator built into your alternator is going south on you.

thanks dude hopefully changing it will resolve this because some other people with this problem reported still having the same problem even after replacing the alternator.

make sure your is built into your alternator some arn't and some are, i've overhauled a few mayself at school and it depends on the manufacturer weather they put it inside the alternator or not and people who changed there alternator not knowing it was external didnt solve there problem.

i see if it happened to be external any idea where it would be located? if its oem such as a used alternator it should be internal right?

also to remove the alternator would removing the lower strut bar give me enough clearance?

do you have a system aswell?

no system but it does cause my deck to shut off when its over voltageing

2 ways to do it you can pull it up but its tough to get it through the master cylinder area. 2nd is to pop out the ower ball joint from the lower controll arm and then pop the drive shaft out of the half shaft and bring the alternator down. Dont qoute me but i'mm pretty sure honda alternator's have the regulator built into the alternator i will look at a wiring diagram tonight and get back to you on that.

hmmm you know what.. i do have to change the driver side wheel bearing... so that works out kinda nicely cus im planning on changing the whole spindle so ya..
ive done some searches for voltage regulator and haven't found any instance where it was said to be outside the alternator

any idea on what could have killed it? maybe too much rpms? i think i remember that i revved to around 9k rpms that day when this ---- started happening

i appreciate your help btw

no over reving wont cause one to crap out, like the faster you spin the commutator in the stator windings the more vlotage you will produce but your volatge regulator will govern the amount of voltage it will send out after comming through the diodes. I think they eventually just stop working properly like anything with age. I doubt you caused it by anything you do with the car. And by the looks of the wiring diagram the regultor is bult into the alternator. So i would get a used one unless you can find a regulator and feel extra hand one day and take yours appart and replace it.