1989 Honda Prelude Battery Light

JERADAN

MEMBER
1989 HONDA PRELUDE
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
162,000 MILES

I have a 89 Honda Prelude 2.0s. The battery light was coming on intermittently while driving, accompanied by my dash lights/headlights dimming. I was able to fix the problem temporarily by revving the engine almost to the red line, which turned off the battery light and all lights working fine. I have had the battery and alternator checked, both are perfect. Now my car will not start, when I turn the key to the "on" position everything electrical works fine (lights, heater fan, etc.) But when I try to start it, it barely turns over and then starts clicking. Help!

6 Replies

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,814 POSTS

Hi jeradan,

Do you have belts squealing noises? If yes, check the crank pulley and belt tension. If crank pulley is equipped with harmonic balancer, the balancer could be faulty resulting in the alternator turning at a slower speed than required.

When the above occurs, the battery would normally be undercharged.

Did you test the voltage between the battery terminals?

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Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 AT 2:47 PM

JERADAN

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I had autozone test the battery and alternator last week in 7 degree temperatures. The technician said he was surprised by how good of a charge the battery had in those temperatures. Not sure if that answers your question or not.

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Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 AT 3:28 PM

KHLOW2008

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Under such circumstanaces, the battery should be good. The alternator charging might be a problem though.
When headlights dims and the charge indicator shows, the alternator is not charging at that instance. The alternator assy could be good but the carbon brushes are running out and intermittently not charging.

During the alternator test at Autozone, did the charge indicator light show then?

Another item to check would be the alternator wire connectors. It could be loose or contaminated causing intermittent non charging.

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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 AT 7:22 AM

JERADAN

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4 POSTS

No, the indicator was not present at the time. Do you think it possible that it could be the voltage regulator as well?

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Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 AT 7:32 PM

KHLOW2008

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The voltage regulator is inbuilt so I believe the alternator is at fault. The time to test the alternator is when the charge indicator is showing. As I suspected, I believe the carbon brushes are funning out.

You would need to rebuild or replace the alternator soon.