I get up this morning and go to start the car and im sitting there all the lights come on on the instrument panel my o/d light flashes then goes off. My battery light and brake light stay on without my parking brake on i drive to advance auto parts get some brake fluid top off my brake fluid and the brake light is still on. i drove about 15 miles to work both battery light and brake light on and back home. On the way home i stopped at the mechanic and he checked all my fuses and said they're fine and that my alternator has to be dead. I had the radio off but this morning before i left i played the stereo when i saw the light and the car stayed on. My accessories are working and the belts are spinning.Car starts strong. Is it definitely the alternator? What are symptoms of a bad alternator? And should i have been able to drive that much on just the battery?

 

i would trust the mechanic...replace alternator

according to the owners manual, that combination of lights is alternator related.

 

Thankyou i looked in the manual and the flashing o/d means transmission malfunction more things to fix i have spent almost 7000 in repairs but its all good I dont want to get rid of it.

 

It could be a combination of the two. If the o/d light flashes like ten time or more it is a tranny sensor etc. Just take the alt out and take it to an autoshop to have it tested.

 

Parking brake light + battery light = charging problem. Could be bad alternator, could be broken belt.

 

so that doesnt mean the alternator is completley gone its on its way out cause im taking it to the mechanic definatley tommorrow and its still driving strong and it starts up strong i just have had my stereo on since im not sure what the problem is.

 

It was the alternator I got fixed all is good. payed more than i wanted to listening to peoples reccomendations instead of going where i always go but its ok.

 

What exactly does that mean? Who told you to go where, and what did you pay? It's not a hard job, there are How-To's on here that would have helped you.

 

I know its not a hard job but i thought getting the belt on and off wouldve been hard and i ended up paying 501 instead of 360 my uncle told me to try his shop and i new it was bad when i got there and saw nothing but american cars but by then the battery was completely dead

 

You got ripped off, lesson learned.

 

Two years ago at 70000 miles, the charge light lit on my 2k SE and the engine would not turn over. I charged the battery and it worked, but replaced it the next week because it was the original battery.

I now have 90000 miles on it now and its still OK.

How many miles has everyone gone on their original alternator?

Someone told me they went over 200K on a 95 max before the alternator went. However I am curious to know how long 5th gen usually lasts.

Thanks

 

No idea if I have the original alternator in mine, but my '90 Accord's original alternator made it to 175,000 miles. My 626, however, had it replaced at 42,000 and 120,000 miles.

Best advice I can give you for long alterator life is to make sure the first sign your battery is going bad (bad batteries are hard on alternators), replace it and make sure your alternator belt is properly tensioned.

 

this happened to my truck about two months ago. the brake light came on as well as the battery light. i almost made it home from work when my truck decided to **** out on me. i just changed the alternator and it was good as new! i also bought a new battery just to be safe because mine was lookin rough.