Ok, I am driving a 2003 Accord 2.4 L with a stock electrical system. I have a stereo system that is running around 1500 rms watts of power but I dont play my system that loud. Lately I have been experiencing voltage drops.<br><br>I noticed it when my head unit (AVIC-N3) sound started cutting in and out and sometimes turning off completely. I thought it might be a bad power or ground connection with the head unit, but I was watching the voltage readout on the AVIC and saw that it would fluctuate between 9-13.8 volts. Normally when the engine is on it would read a consistent 13.8 volts.<br><br>I still thought it may be a bad connection with my head unit but before I took apart my dash and started looking for bad connections I hooked up my multi-meter directly to the alternator and also watched the voltage displayed on the AVIC and noticed that the drops were consistent from the alternator readout and the head unit. Evidently there are periodic voltage drops from the alternator. This is not consistent with use of the amp either, I turned off my subwoofer and the voltage drops still occurred.<br><br>It appears that the alternator is dropping voltage at random times, although at higher speeds it seems to stay around 13.5+ volts. Apart from that there doesnt seem to be any correlation with the drops.<br><br>A few people told me that is the way Accord alternators behave because of the ECU and that what I needed was a new battery, but I am not sure and want to make the right decision between buying a new batter or a High output alternator.&nbsp\\; Do alternators die like this? meaning inconsistent charging? or could this mean the battery is on its way out? I wanted opinions if it could be the alternator dying and if I should invest in a HO alternator.<br><br>

 

welcome to the forum Zermelo:&nbsp\\; enjoy your stay.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; just some information,&nbsp\\; factory batteries on Hondas are about 5 years.&nbsp\\; some go longer if not much drain is used or not harsh conditons.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; Alternators last about 125 - 160k.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; This varies on how hard the alternator is used.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; my battery lasted 6.5 years and the alternator now with 170k is still good.&nbsp\\;&nbsp\\; If I put in extra power draw items,&nbsp\\; the life of the battery and alternator is shortened a bit.&nbsp\\;

 

Thanks for the information.&nbsp\\; So it looks like what I feared that it could be both the battery and the alternator.&nbsp\\; Well since the batter is the cheaper alternative, I will try replacing it with new deep cell batter.&nbsp\\; If that fails, I guess I will have to invest in the HO alternator.<br><br>Thanks again.<br><br>