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So I was driving to work at 530am had my lights on, radio on and fan. When I was stopped. At a red light it clicked off for a 1/2 second. Engine didn't die but lights cut out and radio cut out. Did this twice.   I k ow nothing about how an alternator dies.does it sound like the alternator needs to be replaced?

In theroy in this case your battery would have to be dead to expirence these things "going out". Did they turn off or dim?

Battery is 6 months old. Easiest. Way to explain is its like I quickly turned my light off than back on

Age of the battery doesn't matter. If the alternator goes your battery would be deal. It could be a voltage regulation issue in which the alternator could be assocaited but, it's not limited to a bad alternator. Is your car a 4 or 6 cylinder?

4cyl

Sucks I have a V6 Accord alternator from my upgrade to the pilot one. Take you car to your local advance auto parts, and they will test your charging system for free.

thanks for the help mike.

This should be in the electrical forum.  Do what Mikes says.  It could be your alternator.  Make sure that all connections are secure on your alternator while you're at it.

Not a problem my friend.

OK so i woke this morning car clicked but wouldnt start. so i charge my battery and then it starts up tonight. but i had read a way to tell if your alt is bad is when your car is running disconnect the negative battery cable. i did that and about 3 min later my head lights start to really dim, (my headlights were on). so i start revving it at 3k and whole thing cuts off but doesnt quite die so continues to cut out every 15 sec. so is this final confirmation the alt is dying?

No.  That's an old school trick, and doesn't apply to our cars.  The best way to test your alternator is to get a digital multi meter and see if you're getting over 12.6 volts while your car is running, with all your electronic accessories turned off (stereo, headlights, hvac).  Your battery should be 12.6 volts when not running, and above 12.6 volts when your car is running to show that your alternator is charging your battery.

i shouldnt have been a lazy pos, now im afraid of driving to autozone and having it die on the way or not starting back up.

They have a battery charger there.

called they have a multimeter on sale for 9.99 gonna get that tomorrow. thanks for the help tim.

That's how I roll.

You will see over 14V when the battery is charging.......

checked battery not running 12.3 something, turned on it was 14.43 which is good news. so i think the problem lies in the ignition, with my radio flashing on and off, slowly drained the batt. thanks for the help guys.

so when i have heat on blast and the fans kick in it drops to 13.26 for about 1 sec. then back to 14.43.

i also read that switching your keymay help stop my radio problem with the ignititon.

Check your ground connections have u upgraded the big 3 yet as well?

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big 3?

http://elitecm.net/forums/index.php?topic=730.0 (http://elitecm.net/forums/index.php?topic=730.0)

havent even heard of it. not gonna lie looks like it be over my head if i tried.

Not as hard as it looks i learnd to do my big 3 upgrade from here

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An open ground would not cause this problem.  The big 3 upgrade wouldn't make a difference either.  It sounds like there's something draining the battery when the car is off, or it's a battery that is not holding a charge any more.


I'm having trouble following your train of thought here.  How is the ignition switch causing a problem with your radio, and what would using a different key do to fix it?  Is it a factory radio or aftermarket?


That's normal.

Radio is factory.reason why I think its the ignition is its like it doesn't come out of the auxiliary setting.  With you key first turn only does radio and window second does the same plus air.  So when Iturn the car off 30 seconds later radio would either flash off and  on or just steadily be on. As if the key never went to off all the way.  

Another reason it may act up is the only after market thing installed radio wise other than speakers is a sub. Some one said the way its wired from battery to the radio could be faulty. But I got it installed 2008. Didn't have this problem til late 2010.

Could be your key switch or a hack job sub install.

I vote for the latter.

ok. so i know they have a cable from the battery going towards the radio,any idea where it would plug in. im ok with taking the sub out. or did fuse wires together?

also so far since switching keys ive turned the car on 10 times and this morning the clock still isnt on. which is good. usually it would be by now.

Cable from the battery to the radio? That doesn't make any sense at all.

Take it to a shop. Too much guess work going on.

sure if i had a job or money.

Sorry man, but you're limited with your options.  It doesn't seem like you'r experienced enough to take on this task by yourself.  I know what I'm doing when it comes to electrical wiring and stereos, and I can't even figure out what you're trying to say.  You're welcome to drive out here and I'll fix it for ya.