Hey all

So I decided to hose down my engine bay. I covered a few things with a paper bag, including the fuse box, but I didn't cover the alternator because I wasn't planning on starting the engine for a couple of days after by which time the water that got inside the alternator should have evaporated. Regrettably, the alternator has failed.

After starting the car, the battery warning light came on. Also, the alternator was making a squealing noise. See the video here to hear the sound at 1500 RPM, 1100 RPM and 800 RPM (barely makes any sound at 800 RPM).

https://streamable.com/10vaap

My battery went flat in just over an hour.

I have checked both the ACG(S) fuse (37) and alternator/fuel pump fuse (12). Both are are fine. I also disconnected the alternator power cable and let it sit overnight to allow any water that may have gotten inside to evaporate. This didn't help.

The fact that the alternator is now making a squealing noise makes me think the problem is mechanical rather than electrical but perhaps its both.

What do others think?

 

Any fluids in the alternator is a recipe for failure.
Hyundai's had leaky valve covers that got oil into the alternators and it caused the alternators to fail.

If you think you can bring the alternator back to life then hope you can do it.
Good luck.

 

welcome to the forum. squealing sound could be from bearing starting to fail. may have to take your alternator to the shop for repair. might check the batter with a volt meter to see if you are getting any power from the alt. 13v +

 

So I have heard but I thought water from a garden hose would be fine as it wouldn't degrease anything inside and as the car was off it wouldn't have shorted anything out.

I don't get how water could have did this though when 4x4 drives can drive submerged in water


Thanks!

Yeah I am thinking the bearing has failed as well but how could water have done this?

Yes, checking it with a multimeter is a good idea but I don't have one. If it comes to this then I will just get a new alternator. And I am getting rid of the car in 11000K's! Grrr

 

So I cleaned out the alternator connector and the port that it plugs into with two passes of WD-40. These things were filthy! Check it out...

https://ibb.co/NFF5XRp

https://ibb.co/x24Jfsd


This is the result of the port after the WD-40...

https://ibb.co/FgLGcZx


Cleaning the connector and port didn't resolve the issue, so now I am pulling apart the alternator to degrease everything with WD-40 and repack the two bearings with bearing grease.

I have hit a problem dissembling the alternator because Denso wanted to be impractical and seal the case with a crappy design. I am hoping someone can help me with it.

There are four nuts and four of something else with threads that hold the case together. I have removed the nuts but I don't know how to remove the thread things. Check out the photo's to see what I mean...

https://ibb.co/NpKfZqh

Does anyone know how these thread things can be removed?


So far, this is what I have removed...

https://ibb.co/9TC69Fn


This is the brushes and slip rings. I don't think they are the problem but if anyone can see something that isn't right then please let me know...

https://ibb.co/LZDgQk8

https://ibb.co/JCGwD4f

 

So I got the nut off and proceeded to separate the alternator housing but can't I do it. Here's a video of me explaining the problem while demonstrating it...

https://streamable.com/8zxp3c

 

So, as I suspected, Honda ****ed up the shop manual and the pulley actually does need to come off when replacing the rear bearing. As I damaged the alternator while banging it with a hammer and it's become too much of a hassle to get the parts for a repair, and that I am getting rid of the car in 11000 kilometres, I am just going to get a second hand alternator or an OEM unit to keep me going, what ever's cheaper.

 

// Face palm // I knew I should have gotten a multimeter to test the alternator when this problem started but I didn't get one due to circumstances outside of my control.

So I fully charged my battery and installed the new alternator and the battery light was no longer coming on. Great I thought, but the belt was squealing a lot, so I started trying to find the cause. After about 30 minutes with the engine running, my battery light turned on again, and it turned on as soon as the fan came on. Perhaps the battery light didn't come on at the start because it was fully charged but then came on when it started to run down.

So I then had a closer look at everything. Knowing it can't be the alternator, I followed the alternator belt and noticed that the crankshaft pulley was wobbling, and when it wobbles it looks like it has split apart. That abnormal pulsing sound is still present and I am wondering if it has something to do with the crankshaft pulley.

The alternator belt is spinning the alternator pulley so the alternator must be charging?! But I don't know. I temporarily tightened the belt even more but it didn't make a difference.

The problem was not happening before this abnormal pulsing sound so what ever is causing this sound probably has something to do with it.

I followed the cable from the alternator to the fusebox. It looks all good. I cleaned the alternator wire connector again with WD-40 and scraped the terminals with a metal paper clip, and even sprayed WD-40 on the alternator wire connection in the fusebox, but nothing has helped. I am starting to lose patience with this car, it is wasting my life and I have started having visions again of a tow truck coming to pick it up and taking it to the wreckers!

If anyone thinks the problem may be something else then please let me know!

Also, does anyone know where in the shop manual I can find the procedure for replacing the crankshaft pulley? I have looked but can't find it.

I have taken some more videos of the problem...

Wobbly crankshaft pulley...

https://streamable.com/4okumi


Pulsing sound (really noticeable at 34 seconds), and the battery light comes on with fan...

https://streamable.com/9ik6bi

 

So I got the fender liner and front splash guard off today and inspected the crankshaft pulley. It has defused where the rubber is...

https://streamable.com/1tnn9s

I also took off the power steering belt and confirmed that my power steering pump is what is making the noise. This does not surprise me because I am actually in the middle of changing my power steering fluid. I was waiting for the bubbles to settle in the power steering reservoir which is why I killed some time and cleaned my engine bay which is when all of these problems began. I checked the power steering fluid tonight and it is sitting on the low line. Perhaps that is why my power steering pump is making an abnormal noise.

I couldn't remove the power steering pump in accordance with the manual because access to the pulley bolt and adjusting bolt are inaccessible with my convention spanners and ratchet. I had to get it off by removing the power steering top bolt and and loosen the bottom bolt. A real **** design.

I'm really hoping this problem goes away after I change the crankshaft pulley. So there was nothing wrong with my original alternator and I doubt that there is anything wrong with this new remanufactured alternator. The fuses are good. The wiring looks good. All that can be left wrong now is the alternator belt or crankshaft pulley. The belt is cracked like hell which you can see in the video, but the fact the crankshaft pulley is broken makes me think it's that causing the alternator not to charge. Who knows though? Now that I know the crankshaft pulley is not the cause of the noise, I'm wondering how long has the crankshaft pulley has been defused? Perhaps it's been defused for ages but still functions and it's really the cracked up alternator belt causing the alternator not to charge! After all, this problem started after I hosed down my engine bay. Perhaps when the water dried, it dried out the alternator belt? This thought gives me a sick feeling! But then perhaps the water dried out the rubber fusing on the crankshaft pulley?!

My crankshaft pulley arrives next week, let's see what happens. ****in cars!

 

Well I got the alternator belt off the crankshaft pulley tonight and can confirmed it is the culprit to the alternator not charging. The outer part has complete defused from the rubber.

https://streamable.com/1vy2zo

I have been able to have a closer look at the belt. It's no where near as bad as I thought it was. It will easily last till I get rid of the car.

Perhaps me running the power steering with low fluid caused it's pulley to be harder to turn which in turn put pressure on the crankshaft pulley causing the inner and outer part of it to separate. I didn't fully top up my fluid as my car is parked on an incline which is why I was waiting for the bubbles to settle, to get an idea where it was at and top up a little more before I drive it to a flat road to complete fluid top ups.

I have noticed the engine knocking with all the belts off. Just an observation.


So I am not going to buy the special tool to remove the crankshaft pulley bolt and instead will use a hack. I am not going to have a look at hacks tonight as I am tired and need a break from the car but does anyone have any ideas they could share with me?

I also need to know a hack to get it back on again. The replacement crankshaft pulley is from a 1989 Prelude.