On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 23:43:25 GMT, "Pat" <hotpatpar@hotmail.com> wrote:

>A dead '95 Civic battery gave unusual results. Jumpering the battery allowed
>it to idle the engine, but the moment I attempted to move it forward or in
>reverse, the engine would stop. Its as though the battery was too weak to
>muster enough energy to propel the car, but it could idle the car. Does that
>make any sense? Does the Civic have an electric fuel pump that uses up a lot
>of energy when in drive? What UNDER THE HOOD things use up electrical energy
>while the car is running?
>
>Once I replaced the battery, the car was back to normal. I have no idea if
>its just a weird battery problem or if the alternator needs to be replaced.
>I would like to find out before taking it to a Sears, for example. If I
>know the alternator is bad, I'd rather pick a Honda specialty shop.
>
>Any hints on testing the car's ability to charge the battery, without moving
>it to a Sears, for example? A friend told me there was a headlight test to
>check the alternator working properly.

Yeah I had a battery do something almost the same once. It was getting
near dusk and I could drive the car (a CRX) but if I turned the
headlights on the engine would quit. Park lights I could get away
with. No the alternator belt wasn't loose or anything like that. A new
battery the next day and all was well. When cars had generators you
could even run them without a battery if you kept the revs up, but
alternators do funny things when the battery isn't right.