Not a song title but now that I think of it I'll have to find that on the internet later.

89 LXi, 2 door coupe, 5 speed in play here:
Anyway, looking for the "what do you think". I have my opinion but want to hear from you folks.

So on the way home tonight the charge light comes on...headlights, dash, ect get bright...oh s@*$, overcharge.

I'm about 15~20 miles from home. I nurse it, trying to keep rpm's down where I can, short shift the 5 speed, trying to keep the rpm's under 2K. Closer to home on back roads I cut if off and coast for as long as I can, then restart. Get a little speed and repeat.

So I get home, change clothes. Start the car and put the volt meter to the battery.....16.7v at idle

I've stolen the alt off the 88 LXi and installed it. All seems good now.....14.3 at idle and no load, yes a tad low.......14.2 at idle with lights, blower motor on high, ect.

So besides a shorter life on a battery that is already "past due" (7 years old).

Do you think I need to worry with anything else? Again it is running with the used alt from the 88 LXi and I have checked that everything is working (no blown fuses, ect).

I think I'm good, just want to hear from you folks on anything I should worry about....if nothing else I don't get to post my own issues/worries much . I've got to go out in a bit and button a few things up when it cools back off (air cleaner, intake hoses, double check belt tension, lock alt down, ect). Let me know.

 

proof is in the pudding...if everything is working ok and driving fine you should be ok...i'd change that 7 year old battery out though, that stint of overcharging may have shortened it's already "on borrowed time" status a bit more.

 

I think you're good. If something were going to blow it would have done so while you were driving it with 16.7V on the battery. Maybe drive it close to home for a day or two before taking it on a trip, see if anything funky happens.

 

Thanks folks....about to go out and button up.

Been putting it off but I guess I should buy a battery for myself...nice Christmas gift for me .

It is an A to B car but I try to take care of it. Sunday it got two new injectors (leaking), new seals on the other two and a new upper control arm/ball joint......have the other side but I messed up when getting/ordering the bushings and only got one side instead of both.

 

An increase in voltage would cause an increase in current. If any fuses got too much current due to increased current, they would have blown.

My suggestion is to clean up the grounds that you can access. I would think that unplugging the alternator and using minimal electricity may have gotten you back home under battery voltage. Or the complete opposite turn on everything electrical to drain that excessive voltage (radio, brights, defroster, blower, etc....) while leaving the battery plugged in.

Is the voltage regulator part of the alternator like the 90s accords?

 

If you're using this as an excuse to buy a battery, then good. If not, then I'd do some maintenance on that battery.
- Fluid level OK on all cells?
- Fluid specific-gravity OK on all cells? Same on all 6 cells?
- Got a battery charger with a de-sulfating cycle?

If it was my car for only local driving, I'd be tempted to keep a couple wrenches in the car. Then when the battery dies I'd limp to the store & change the battery in the parking lot.

If it was my daughter's or my wife's car, I'd put in a new battery even if this one looks OK. You think 7 years you got your money's worth?

I assume the real problem was the voltage regulator and you can change that. Or just leave the swapped alternator in because the '88 has morphed into a parts car?

Got a scope you can check the alternator that caused the problem? Smooth or spikey voltage? It might be a flaky diode bridge that caused the trouble in the first place; taking out the regulator which in turn caused the high voltage? So you might want a new diode bridge along with a new regulator for that '89 alternator.

 

Grounds are clean, did that ~a month ago chasing something else.

Regulator is inside the alt. Will spend time testing the old one to find the issue. Using the alt from the 88 was a "quick" fix at 6:30 at night.

Battery passed testing about four months back.....I just don't like the age of it so that is why I say "it is on its last leg". Tests good and gives no signs of going bad...hot/cold starts like a champ. I just know that five years is the "point" where they start to act up.

The set up on the 3rd gens is a bit different....only way to unhook the alt would be to pull the "high" amp fuse from under the hood fuse panel.....or remove the cable going back to the fuse panel and wrap it in tape or something.

The alt is on the firewall side of the engine below the brake master...if you follow the service manual it says you have to remove the drivers/left cv shaft to remove it from the bottom of the car. So the 4th, 5th and 6th gen's (haven't spent much time with the newer gens) are a cake walk compared to the 3rd gen's.....think about the newer ones and put the alt just behind, firewall side, of the water pump.

Driving a 23 year old car to work ...yes I have tools in the car.

At over 200K, it still gets ~30 MPG.....Nice

So I think I've answered all of the questions......

 

Yeah, my 95 Integra alternator was back there. Glad I didn't ever have to change that out on a rainy night away from home.

Knowing you, I'm not a bit surprised you carry tools. I was just thinking out loud. Or, you know, on the keyboard anyways...

23 years old, 200k miles, you can buy a LOT of repair parts for the price of a new-car payment. Around here, corrosion gets em long before the mechanical problems.