My friend has a 1999 Honda Accord V6 and was wondering why the battery, brake, car door, and one other light turn on when he starts the car. These are the lights in the gauge cluster. They stay on, even after the car has started up. Any ideas?

 

Sounds like the alternator may be going out. he should get it tested at an auto parts store (they will test it for free.)

 

My 1998 Accord just started doing this last night as I was driving down the road. I feel like it's a short because at first it just was blinking on and off and even now they'll kick off for a few sec here and there and then kick back on. I know the Battery, Brake, and Door Lights are supposed to come on when you start the car, but then they should go off. Mine are staying on. Any help or ideas on this? It's extremely annoying to have a bunch of bright red lights on your gauge cluster shining in your face all the time. Any help would be appreciated!

 

They tested it (Kragen) and the guy was unsure as to what the problem was. He said it could be a bad alternator but also mentioned that there was some sort of charging problem and that the car was only running off the battery while driving. Is there a way to test this to confirm it is the alternator? Someone suggested unplugging either the positive or negative wires to the battery. If the battery dies, then it's the alternator. If not, then the problem is something else.

Also, we went to a Honda dealership and they said that installing a new alternator would cost over $500 for parts and labor. If they were to only test it to diagnose the problem, that would cost $95. Kragen said it's easy to install a new alternator and quoted us $140 for a brand new one.

 

yeah, that's the easiest way to test the alternator... pull a terminal and see if it dies under load or even drags any - then it's def. the alternator...

i'm a bit hardpressed though to believe an alternator would cause all your dash lights to stay on (especially the door and brake lights).


I haven't had to replace an alt. on the honda yet, but i've replaced plenty on all my other cars... generally it's pretty easy, might take 1-2 hours for the first-timer... usually a tensioner bolt, and 2-3 mount bolts; a ground contact and the hookup to the battery... i've even had to pull a radiator hose (drain first!) to get it out of my 4runner; which sucked...

 

Hondas are known for behaving that way if the alternator is on its way to the graveyard.
I haven't replaced an alternator on either of my hondas yet. but I have replaced them on my mustangs. It was super easy on the Mustangs. Just looking in the engine compartment of my V6 though, the alternator belt goes around a fricken motor mount. if you want to change the belt you have to remove the motor mount. of course, if you are just swaping out the alternator, you could probably re-use the belt if it isn't too worn.
$500 for an alternator replacement is downright robbery. I can change one in under 30 minutes, and I am not a tech. I merely dabble in car work. An experienced tech could probably swap it out in 10 minutes easily.
Oh yeah I almost forgot...don't waste your money on a genuine Honda part alternator. the alternators they put on 6th gen accords (the V6 ones anyway) were garbage.

 

Thanks for all of the input. I'll be sure to relay this info to my friend and tell him to try pulling one of the terminals to confirm it's the alternator. I'll post back here to update you guys.

 

my brake light door lights and battery light seem to come on at random times. but i found out that when i flick my headlights on they turn off so i figured its something to do with that since one of my sockets is not working

 

believe or not I started my car up after getting a new battery., while it ram(idling) I took out a small hammer and gave my alternator a few brish tsps on casing, viola!!, that bad boy been working ever since 2012, ilI hav. 1998 Honda Accord Ex. 4 cyl, 2.3L