On Tue, 07 Sep 2004 02:54:10 GMT, "Caroline" <caroline10027remove@earthlink.net>
wrote:

||1991 Civic LX 4-door sedan, 1.5 Liter, manual transmission, no air
conditioning,
||156k miles, here.
||
||Voltage at the battery terminals when the car is
||-- idling = about 12.7 volts
||-- stopped, ignition off, also about 12.7 volts
||
||In February, these numbers were 14.5 volts and 12. 4 volts.
||
||Internet sources say a voltage when the car is idling of around 14 volts or so
||indicates a properly operating charging system. So something is wrong, IMO.
||
||I put in a new battery (Interstate) today, replacing the old one (4-years-old;
||Diehard; wrong climate design as I moved from up North to the Southwest in the
||past year?). The voltages above didn't change.
||
||The car is on its second alternator (OEM). This 2nd alternator is 5 years and
||50k miles old.
||
||I installed a new alternator belt in June. I originally had the belt too
loose,
||as indicated by a squeal at cold startup. I tightened it and the squeal
stopped.
||Unfortunately I did not at this time check the battery terminal voltage.
||
||I did shake out quite a lot of white powder (indicating some corrosion) from
the
||battery's positive terminal's cable connector while changing the batteries.
||
||I'm going to do the checks at
||http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/Concert...k301/16-66.pdf this weekend.
||
||Meanwhile, has anyone seen a condition like this? If so, what was the fix?
||
||I think this is not critical unless I do a lot of driving with the lights on
||(which I do not, as I drive mostly during daylight hours). But I do feel my
||battery isn't going to be maintained at optimal charge and so, as winter
||approaches, I need to fix this.

Caroline
If your boltage reads 12.7 with motor off, motor on, and motor revved up a
little, then you alternator is toast. 13.2V is a bare minimum and it should have
that at idle of just above. 12.7 means a fully charged battery.

Texas Parts Guy