I have a 2000 Honda Accord V6, and over the last several months I have repeatedly had the same problem and cannot seem to fix it. The car will be running fine, and after having run several errands suddenly all of the lights on my dashboard come on. The last few times this has happened, when they came on they would only stay on for a few seconds and then go off and do this repeatedly. Once or twice all of my odometers fell to zero and the lights would dim and yet the car would continue to operate. Twice now after this happening, the lights would suddenly dim and then I start to lose power and the car slowly dies. I have replaced the alternator 3 times in the last 4 months (almost once a month to the day this has occurred over the last 3 1/2 months) and the battery is brand new and has been tested and checks out fine. After researching the issue I found that the ignition switch in this years models was recalled and so I bought a new one, but when I went to pull the old one out I tested it and the results showed that it was still in good working order. I recently had to replace one of the ignition coils as well, but only one was bad; it was replaced and there are no other issues with that. I have checked all of my fuses and relays and everything seems to be fine. I checked the battery connections and made sure they were snug and free of any corrosion. I just went through replacing the alternator for the third time and had my battery re-charged as it had been completely drained and when I went to start my car, it started right up, but the lights were all still on and stayed on. What else could possibly be the problem? If there is anything that I can do myself or any suggestions of what could be causing this problem it would really help! Thank you!!

 

When the alternator was changed, was the car's battery fully charged before starting and running the car?

Supposedly, an issue with one can cause issue with the other. For example, alternators are not designed to charge batteries with a low charge or batteries that can't hold a charge. Premature alternator failure may occur if that is the case.

On the flip side, a bad alternator will also not properly charge a good battery.

 

Yes, both times that I had the alternator changed, the battery was fully charged. This last time, yesterday, I replaced the alternator thinking that the battery was still ok, as it had been the previous times, but once I got the alternator in I still could not get the car to start. I tried jumping it, but as soon as the cables were removed the car died. So I took my battery in to have it checked and they charged it and said it was still good. I put the battery back in and now the car starts without needing any assistance, but all of the lights on my dashboard are still lit up, and remain lit until I turn of the car. I can't figure out what else would be causing the alternators to go so quickly? And subsequently they are draining the battery as the car will be running off the battery for a while before it even becomes a notioceable issue to me. I notice it when the lights begin to act erratically and then the car dies shortly after.

 

So as of today, there is a brand new alternator and a fully charged battery installed. Yet all of the lights on my dash are on; showing that all doors and trunk are open, the srs, abs, brake, battery, maintenance required etc. everything but the check engine light basically. Th

 

It could still be an issue with the alternator; but, check the belt and tensioner. See post #5 in this other thread for a link to an image of the auto-tension pointer.

• Where does the auto-tension indicator point with the belt installed and car off? Does the pointer move around with the car turned on?
• Look for problems with the other pulleys.

See this thread. In the end of that thread, a better quality alternator solved the issue. But, each car issue may be due to a different cause.

https://www.hondaaccordforum.com/for...effects-59077/

 

Do you know how many amps your replacement alternator is? Is it 110 amps or lower?

In the other thread, the person resolved it with an alternator with 110 amps from Napa.