91 civic battery question

someday · #1 Dec 6, 2004, 06:35 AM

hey, my civic's battery dies all the time. they battery is bran new, and the proble is that when i am driving it, it won't re-charge. any idea what is wrong with it and how much it will cost to get fixed.

one thing is should add- this happend before and then i took it to auto zone and they did something to the battery, cleaned it (can you tell i am clueless with cars) and it wasn't acting up untill now. please please please help me.

labman · Dec 6, 2004, 06:45 AM

It sounds like the alternator isn't working. I am confused about Auto Zone cleaning something and it working again, and then quiting. Does your one battery terminal have a smaller wire coming off it too? If so, check that wire. It comes from the alternator and could be broken or loose. If they cleaned the battery terminals, they could have wiggled it around to where it made contact for a while. Maybe check the other end at the alternator. If you can't find a problem with that wire, maybe have the alternator checked. Might be best to go elsewhere since Auto zone didn't fix the right problem.

someday · Dec 6, 2004, 06:56 AM

they cleaned away corosen where you plug the battery to re-charge it. do you know how much an alternater costs, and is it easy to put in yourself?

labman · Dec 6, 2004, 09:34 AM

The prices vary, at least 50, maybe $100 exchange. So does installation. The big problem with the newer cars is the serpentine belt. They have a spring loaded tensioner. It is the smooth pulley that press against the back of the belt. The other pulleys have multiple grooves. If you have room to get a big breaker bar on it, it may not be too bad. It is very hard to turn one with a regular box wrench. Carefully note how the belt runs before removing it. there may be a decal showing how it goes. If not, you may want to make a drawing of it. Once you have belt off, it may be fairly easy if you can get at the bolts. You may want to take a good look at the engine before you decide to try it your self. Remove the negative cable from the battery before starting. There is a heavy wire that goes to the battery, and it will cause a bad short circuit if it touches the car.



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