Well guys... I have no car right now. For the past few days..the car had been acting funny... Around christmas eve...she started to have electrical problems. I had to pull over. I was able to drive her home. christmas day wasnt too bad, because I rarely drove her.

Yesterday, the volts went down to 12. It wasnt too bad until last night. it was fine driving to the mall... and everything. I had called a few people around town (Pcola fD and billy, then Jerry Harding) for some assitance. They said not to drive her at all or it'll die. Well, stupid me, Idrove her..but had to. Around 2am, I went to get my car..coming back from a friend's house at the mall...I started her up... SHe ran I guess extremely rich..smoking really bad even after it was warmed up. the yolts were now at 10.

We headed down the road to get back to Gulf Breeze (My dad would not let me leave the car there.. go figure) Nothing was on, besides my headlights. The car started to quit on me everytime I hit the brakes. I had a few cops pass us to, but none stopped us. When it got down to 8 volts, I had cut off the lights, and proceeded to drive... (I had too, where I was was a bAD place in Pcola to stop) Another cop went by us and didnt stop...lol. Anyway, I told him on the cell, that i can't and won't beable to make it, so we found a place to put her up for the night (by this time it was almost 3am.) As soon as I was about to turn the corner to get inthe civic center, she .....died!

so ya....the cops finally came, and Ihelped push the car out of the middle of the road to the gas station across the street. I had to leave her there over night....

this morning... we had the battery, got it charged, and it was okay. So ya it was the alternator. Went back to the car, but the battery backin and mty dad drove her back to gulf Breeze to get her fixed. I am not sure as of now if it's even running yet


But damn! New alternators are expensive!

 

dont buy a new one. Go to the wreckers. Better yet have it rebuilt, I got mine rebuilt for like 70 bucks canadaian. New bearings and whatnot

 

It is rebuilt. $95 plus $48 whatever it was. I bring my old one in and they rebuild that one, and I get $48 back.

 

I told you it was the battery or the alternator, and most likely the alternator.

Battery voltage with the car running should always be around 14 volts (14.4 to be exact). Any less signifies a charging problem.

 

ya

I kinda was feaked out though by the way it was acting. Ikinda figured something was wrong in a way, because she has been misbehaving since really las week, but not as bad. I didnt realize how much the volts could drain that fast, even when just driving less than 15mph.

I knew you guys were right in a way, though. I just.. I dunno. I just hope she's fixed soon

 

Good to learn that it was just the alternator. Even though it is roughly $100 to fix it, changing it will take like 20 minutes. On my Integra, changing the alternator would take like four hours!!!!

 

Ya but your spark plugs are super easy to change.

 

True. I actually just changed them and the dist. cap this evening. 10 minute job for both. Now, a clutch, that is another (10 hour) matter. I have done it four times on the Integra because I bought Korean generic parts that hatched their damper springs after a year of driving (every one of them!!). Grrrrrr.

Integras are pretty cool but (for the most part) had to work on and overpriced, in my opinion. You pay for the fashionability. Ricers really drive up the price. The first gens are really cheap, though. Mine has 300K miles and almost 100k on my rebuild job from a few years back

 

Ya Integras are very reliable for the most part. I like the 2nd gens best. Wouldn't mind having a 92 GS-R for a daily driver. They're pretty rare though.

 

Yes, i know. but this time I didn't do any of it. I had my mech/friend did it for me. Even if it's your first time doing it, it'll take for hours, I know... if I was doing it... I know it would.. lol

but nope, i'm not sure if it's fixed yet, i have yet to have gotten home.

 

Thats called a core charge.

 

Because of the abuse your battery went through, probably a good idea to start saving for a new one. A few deep cycles on a standard automotive starting battery will lead to a quick death...

 

Well.. .the car runs better now... to say atleast I am relieved. !