symptoms of a bad alt? SOS literally!!
wagodizzle
Council Member and EDM expert
alright guys, well i took a leap of faith and road tripped my wagon 1000 miles to the great state of Michigan yesterday. she did great, except for the last 300 miles or so it started some funky business....
i'll be cruising along and it would start to "spit", like, it seemed something was off, like the timing...just ever so slightly. then when i got into city driving, during acceleration it would really "bog" but not like in a way that was preventing it from moving, it would still accelerate normally but it was rough. like again, as if it was spitting. hell, my gas pedal, shifter and steering wheel would vibrate.
i am convinced its ELECTRICAL as i as having the flickering headlights issue previously, and i am almost certain this is from that. i stopped at a gas station and changed my timing on the dizzy a bit, but that didnt do much. i listened under the hood for weird sounds and its making some... one seemed like it was coming from the fuel filter, like its swooshing in in bursts.. im prolly not making any sense BUT the main sound is coming from near the alternator, sounds like a whine. i cant tell if its from the alt or the intake mani, but yeah. it sthis whining sound.
this morning when i cranked it up it was spitting from the exhaust and the fumes smelled of gasoline. i checked all my spark plugs, cap, rotor, air filter, and blah. the wires are brand new, so is the cap and rotor.
SO could this be a symptom of a failing alternator? i know that all this and the flickering headlights http://hondacivicwagon.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=3833) are related.
could i have a seriously messed ground somewhere? and if yes WHERE!? please help, im 1000 miles from home and need to get this fixed before i leave for home next week, and i only have enough $$ for gas, lolz... yeah. i have a friend here whoes dad is a mechanic that works on Ferrari's and Porshe, so hopefully he can look at it... :? anyways, sorry for the long post, but if i could source the part and have it replaced before i go home that would be awesome. -cheers!!!
i'll be cruising along and it would start to "spit", like, it seemed something was off, like the timing...just ever so slightly. then when i got into city driving, during acceleration it would really "bog" but not like in a way that was preventing it from moving, it would still accelerate normally but it was rough. like again, as if it was spitting. hell, my gas pedal, shifter and steering wheel would vibrate.
i am convinced its ELECTRICAL as i as having the flickering headlights issue previously, and i am almost certain this is from that. i stopped at a gas station and changed my timing on the dizzy a bit, but that didnt do much. i listened under the hood for weird sounds and its making some... one seemed like it was coming from the fuel filter, like its swooshing in in bursts.. im prolly not making any sense BUT the main sound is coming from near the alternator, sounds like a whine. i cant tell if its from the alt or the intake mani, but yeah. it sthis whining sound.
this morning when i cranked it up it was spitting from the exhaust and the fumes smelled of gasoline. i checked all my spark plugs, cap, rotor, air filter, and blah. the wires are brand new, so is the cap and rotor.
SO could this be a symptom of a failing alternator? i know that all this and the flickering headlights http://hondacivicwagon.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=3833) are related.
could i have a seriously messed ground somewhere? and if yes WHERE!? please help, im 1000 miles from home and need to get this fixed before i leave for home next week, and i only have enough $$ for gas, lolz... yeah. i have a friend here whoes dad is a mechanic that works on Ferrari's and Porshe, so hopefully he can look at it... :? anyways, sorry for the long post, but if i could source the part and have it replaced before i go home that would be awesome. -cheers!!!
Comments
http://hondacivicwagon.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=739
im thinking its the fuel pump. lights dont licker anymore...and it seems like the fuel pump, dont have time to explain now but yeah.
i've got a new fuel filter.
today the problem isnt very apparent :P but im thinking its the fuel pump slowly going out.
i got 44 mpg the last leg of the trip, could this be because its not getting enough fuel? my car never got this good before and i almost had a panic attack, haha. so yeah..?
but this BS electrical problem is still there. turns out my problem was my TIMING. somehow it got way off, and ended up throwing a code 4 on the CEL... anyways.... different story.
anywone still have any ideas what this electrical gimmick could be??