2007 Accord SE, 4 cyl, 4 door, 5 spd. Bought it brand new in Feb 2007. At 2 years old and 20,000 kms the battery light turned on. The dealer replaced the alternator and the battery under warranty claiming that the alternator was not charging and this, in turn, killed the battery.

Now at almost 4 years old and 40,000 kms the battery light turned on again. It doesn't stay on however. One day the light is on and the battery drains, then for several days it's off and everything works. Then the light turns back on again.

The dealer again diagnosed that the alternator died but refused to fix it under warranty because the coverage for it is only for 3 years.

My problem is that I believe that something else is wrong and that kills the alternator. 2 alternators in 40,000 kms and 4 years is too much.

Did anyone have similar problem? Any suggestions are highly appreciated.

Thank you very much.

 

I would have the battery/alternator tested at a parts store like autozone. I would also inspect the wiring harness that goes to the alternator for any sort of damage.

 

You should also have the harmonic balancer/crankshaft pulley inspected. I've run into a failed harmonic balancer (rubber bushing between inner/outer parts) failing allowing the outer pulley to slip relative to inner drive part.

Rubber bushing slippage prevents the alternator belt from driving the alternator at full speed. It is devilishing difficult to spot because alternator will generally turn at idle and low load. It's at night when high load (lights) that battery will be run down, ultimately until engine will not run.

One way to diagnose this problem is to mark the outer ring, bushing, and inner ring w/ a radial black marker line and watch for the lines to separate in circumferential direction (rotate relative to each other). If you see this happening, the bushing is slipping at either inner or outer contact.

It's more likely the alternator or wiring, but 2 Honda alternators on a 2007 Accord sounds suspicious.

good luck

 

Check for corrosion on your battery terminals and if found clean and add some anti corossion protection. If you drive in could weather your battery is prone to failure at any time so you could have that replaced I think they give 5 years on the battery.

 

Thank you PAhonda.
The battery is good, the alternator is not charging. I still have to test whether it is the battery itself or the wiring as you suggested. Thanks a lot for you advices.

 

Thanks a lot TexasHonda for such detailed post. I definitely need to check the wiring and harmonic balancer. Can't do it in the next several days (will be out of the country) but will update as soon as get some results. Best regards and thanks a lot again.

 

Thank you IH8SPM for the advice. Unfortunately it is not the battery or the terminals. I wish it was that easy. I am on a third battery now, which makes it an average of 15 (!) months of life time per battery since I bought this car. Best regards

 

The problem is finally fixed. Honda dealer diagnosed the wiring and found that the connector was bad. This connector plugs the wires into the fuse box. Honda did it under warranty. Unfortunately I had to tell them to run this test while the expectation is that they would know what to do.
In any case, it's fixed and I again enjoy driving my Accord.
Thank you all for your tips and advices.
Cheers

 

I have the same issue with the alternator not charging the battery but alternator checks good. I found out by accident what the problem was with my accord. I was testing the plug on the alternator when I pushed the probe into black wire side of the plug I had to force it in. This made it start charging again. I drive a lot on bumpy roads and something works loose in the plug. I can take punch and push that black wire into the plug and it will work fine for a while. The symptoms are just like what everyone else is describing . The batter light will come on, eventually car will die after battery is completely drained. There is definitely an issue with the plug for the alternator.