Strange flickering battery light issue!

[Gemini]

Ok, this is a stock , auto 92 ex.

I have been experiencing a flickering battery light lately(havent had the car more than a month). I checked and tested the battery and its connections and everything is good, clean tight terminals. I havent tested the alternator because I havent found time. The car does start straight up on the first turn.

So here's the story....the battery light only flickers when i'm lead footingit form either 1st to 2nd gear, 2nd to 3rd gear, 3rd to 4th gear and all of the above. Once i'm at cruising speeds (45mph or above) it doesnt flicker regardless of how hard I lay on the gas pedal.

My observation proves that it only flickers when the rpms goes up to 3000 rpms or more before shifting. If I drive normal and the tranny shifts before 3000 rpms the battery light never flickers

It even made me jump to the conclusion that the battery light is wired as a "shift light" but the car was completely stock when i got with no mods.

This happens when the radio is on or off(also the same for headlight). The car just has a cd player, no subs or amps.

I find this strange but it might be something simple and normal to others out there.

All insights are welcomed

[Djmoua]

How old is your Altenator? Same deal happend to me and right now its my 2nd time replacing mine.

[bigjoegood1]

Dino, sounds like your alternator is slowly taking a crap on ya. I had the occasional flickering light and my alt was on life support. Pull the plug and replace it before it leaves you stranded.

[C91BLX7]

Get you alternator checked out.

[TypeG]

also, look around at all the different grounds. later.

[bcjammerx]

I am guessing your harmonic balancer is going out...it is two pieces connected by rubber...or as mentioned your alt.

If it does it also when your a/c cycles...then I would guess this is the culprit.

Test your alternator first just to make sure as it is easy to test. If it is ok then suspect your "main pulley" i.e. harmonic balancer.

Buddy of mine's did this. It flickered when the a/c kicked on, and sometimes when he was hard on the throttle...but he was rarely hard on the throttle so I can't confirm that symptom.

Check both.

[Gemini]

ok cool guys, thanks for all the info. I'll check the alternator first to see if its indeed the culprit.

[Gemini]

How old is your Altenator? Same deal happend to me and right now its my 2nd time replacing mine.

No idea, just bought the car recently so it could be pretty old.

[YK86]

It may be the brushes inside your alternator. Once they get worn down, they sometimes lose contact with the main shaft/rotor depending on the rpms triggering the battery light.

The brushes are roughly $25 from Honda. If you don't want to take the alt out, you can even change it with it still mounted on the car.

The part you'll need is:
31105-PR7-A01 HOLDER ASSY., BRUSH

[Gemini]

It may be the brushes inside your alternator. Once they get worn down, they sometimes lose contact with the main shaft/rotor depending on the rpms triggering the battery light.

The brushes are roughly $25 from Honda. If you don't want to take the alt out, you can even change it with it still mounted on the car.

The part you'll need is:
31105-PR7-A01 HOLDER ASSY., BRUSH

Thanks buddy, I'll look into that

[HondaFan81]

I would also check the condition and tension on your alternator belt. It may be loose and/or slipping when you load the motor up and not running the alternator appropriately. If you do not find a problem there, then I would suspect your alternator, but I would check it regardless just to verify its condition.

[HondaFan81]

I am guessing your harmonic balancer is going out...it is two pieces connected by rubber...or as mentioned your alt.

If it does it also when your a/c cycles...then I would guess this is the culprit.

Test your alternator first just to make sure as it is easy to test. If it is ok then suspect your "main pulley" i.e. harmonic balancer.

Buddy of mine's did this. It flickered when the a/c kicked on, and sometimes when he was hard on the throttle...but he was rarely hard on the throttle so I can't confirm that symptom.

Check both.

Good call for another check, doesn't hurt to check the condition of the harmonic crank pulley. However, I would suspect this type of part to have more of a castrophic failure if you're going to have problems at all. Still good to note, in case it is on its last leg and needs replacement in near future. The rubber does crack and when bad enough can split, turning your crank pulley into 2 separate pieces, happened on my sister's car. She did not have previously symptoms, it just failed point blank one day and the battery basically ran the motor & accessories as long as it could until it ran out of power, then stalled and no restart. I check her car, crank pulley split in 2 pieces. Car had like 275-290K miles or so on it. It was a 91 SE sedan automatic, that is how I got the leather package parts, they junked the car. Sad, I maintained that car from 96K miles to when my dad gave it away to her, they barely maintained it.

[Gemini]

I would also check the condition and tension on your alternator belt. It may be loose and/or slipping when you load the motor up and not running the alternator appropriately. If you do not find a problem there, then I would suspect your alternator, but I would check it regardless just to verify its condition.

I definately do that on my break in 35 mins

[Gemini]

The belt is good, not tight at all. I was just reminded by Night Wolf that the alternator did get wet a couple weeks ago when we were on the car and the rain came down so that might be whats causing the issue.

[bcjammerx]

I would also check the condition and tension on your alternator belt. It may be loose and/or slipping when you load the motor up and not running the alternator appropriately. If you do not find a problem there, then I would suspect your alternator, but I would check it regardless just to verify its condition.

Wow how did we all forget to mention the easiest thing to look at...belt tension and condition

My friend who's crank pulley was almost going out had either right at or a little under 200k miles on his...the only symptoms were an occasional battery light flicker, then it worsened over a month to it being on for a second right after the a/c kicked on. I would have thought it would have flown apart too considering the construction. But his never did.