I have a 2007 Honda CRV. The battery warning light is staying on. New battery was put on a month ago. The battery shows 12.5 volts. I have a Bluetooth device that plugs into the accessory plug. This device shows voltage and displays 14.5 volts with the engine running and A.C. off. With AC on, it shows 12.5 to 12.6. Is that normal?
Charging Issue
- Thread starter Jango
- Start date
No. Not normal at all. It should stay about 14.0 with AC on. Also, your battery should be 12.6-12.8 when fully charged.
Your alternator isn’t putting out enough current when high loads are imposed on it.
Your battery is partially charged.
Time for a new alternator.
What do you get when you put the headlights on?
The CRV has an ELD in fuse box that does go bad as well as a battery sensor on the ground. All of it reduces alternator output for a .001 mpg increase for CAFE standards.
My daughters '08 CRV, my '17 Accord, wife's '19 Pilot all adjust. AC on high on the Pilot doesn't even trigger 14V+ unless it senses battery low.
The CRV has an ELD in fuse box that does go bad as well as a battery sensor on the ground. All of it reduces alternator output for a .001 mpg increase for CAFE standards.
My daughters '08 CRV, my '17 Accord, wife's '19 Pilot all adjust. AC on high on the Pilot doesn't even trigger 14V+ unless it senses battery low.
Thanks for feedback. Stopped by AZ and they tested system saying battery good but charging system bad. They said to replace alternator. I will do some more testing of my own.
When I was under the car, I found this detached piece stuck above the underbody plastic trim. It has the bluish battery acid look. Any ideas where this would have attached to?
When I was under the car, I found this detached piece stuck above the underbody plastic trim. It has the bluish battery acid look. Any ideas where this would have attached to?
See post #2.
Dear OP. Your alternator is bad. I understand that it is putting out voltage, as your testing has indicated. Astro 14 is correct.
Look at it like this. Your phone can charge with a USB cable plugged into a computers USB port. It will take a very very very long time. If you use the phone (say you are watching videos) while it's charging this way, it will continue to lose power. The battery will drop from 100% to 0% while plugged up because the USB port on your computer isn't putting out enough power to keep up with demand. If you plug the phone up to a 20 or 30 watt charger and use a good cable, you can use the phone while it is charging and the battery will continue to gain power. It will go from 0% to 100% because it's getting more than enough power to keep up with demand.
That piece you posted in a pic is LIKELY road debris. Tires kick up crap that they run over and it ends up everywhere.
I know you really want it to not be the alternator, but it's the alternator. It isn't putting out some but not full power. I've had several alternators go slowly. One day they are ripping along at full strength, next few month's they work a little, and then they die.
Your car is telling you it's bad, your AZ told you it's bad, your bluetooth thingy is telling you it's bad, and if you have a voltmeter and you do the same testing as you did with your bluetooth thingy, it will tell you it's bad.
Here you go, I'll give you one final test. Start your CRV and disconnect the battery. Turn on all your electronics. Car will probably stall.
Look at it like this. Your phone can charge with a USB cable plugged into a computers USB port. It will take a very very very long time. If you use the phone (say you are watching videos) while it's charging this way, it will continue to lose power. The battery will drop from 100% to 0% while plugged up because the USB port on your computer isn't putting out enough power to keep up with demand. If you plug the phone up to a 20 or 30 watt charger and use a good cable, you can use the phone while it is charging and the battery will continue to gain power. It will go from 0% to 100% because it's getting more than enough power to keep up with demand.
That piece you posted in a pic is LIKELY road debris. Tires kick up crap that they run over and it ends up everywhere.
I know you really want it to not be the alternator, but it's the alternator. It isn't putting out some but not full power. I've had several alternators go slowly. One day they are ripping along at full strength, next few month's they work a little, and then they die.
Your car is telling you it's bad, your AZ told you it's bad, your bluetooth thingy is telling you it's bad, and if you have a voltmeter and you do the same testing as you did with your bluetooth thingy, it will tell you it's bad.
Here you go, I'll give you one final test. Start your CRV and disconnect the battery. Turn on all your electronics. Car will probably stall.
Your running voltage should remain very stable when you turn on accessories, I agree with many here, replace the alternator.
I would strongly recommend going OE, my last 3 from 2 stores, reman and new all had faulty regulators...hard to get good quality aftermarket on a regular basis.
I would strongly recommend going OE, my last 3 from 2 stores, reman and new all had faulty regulators...hard to get good quality aftermarket on a regular basis.
That's not a good thing to do in a modern vehicle.
No, it's not. I should have made that disclaimer but OP is intent on testing and exploring every possibility. I did call it a final test, that was my subconscious speaking through my fingers.
f355spider
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Completely agree with this statement. Most starters and alternators that are remanufactured for chain stores generally are done on the cheap, regardless of the "lifetime" warranty sometimes offerred. They use very cheap Chinese parts and bearings. My friends and I learned early on the futility of the warranty when you waste so many weekends installing another alternator or starter.
I've had best luck with new or remanufactured from the dealer (BMW, Nissan,Toyota, etc), or in the case of when Bosch was the oem for my BMW, I had no issue getting a factory Bosch remanufactured alternator from an online retailer.
I'm not really sure where that part came from but the first thing that came to my mind was that it could be the remains of what's left from a ground connection that has had the metal around it corrode away.
So following up with that Chain of Thought, check to see if the wire from the negative of the battery to the chassis ground is still connected to a chassis ground. If you've lost that ground that would totally mess up some of the things that are going on here and could explain a lot.
In fact even if you see that the ground wire is still there make sure that the connection is clean and good. Good clean connections all around for the battery for the positive and negative at the battery, and any place else in the Electric System are very important.
