Joined
·
291 Posts
Can a bad alternator cause a check engine light?
Engine light
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
Joined
·
368 Posts
What year / type of vehicle?
Joined
·
37,786 Posts
Yup,,,and about another zillion other things....get the code read.
It should be a "check wallet" light.
Yep, I’d get someone to read the code before starting to replace parts. Autozone and a few other parts stores will read the code for you for free. Once you have the code or codes, you can get a lot of info off the net.
Joined
·
368 Posts
More than likely the battery not charging caused a low voltage situation and the cel.
Joined
·
2,033 Posts
Yeah if you know your alternator is bad, then the voltage has dropped and your coil packs can’t supply enough voltage to the plug, and you’ll get a random miss
Joined
·
291 Posts
1st....2006 Honda Accord. 2.4
Back story, 2 days ago I had to pull the intake to replace the starter. It was all good until today when I got the ck engine lite & battery lite. I checked running voltage at 12.2, 11.8 with headlights on. Just bought an alternator and wondering about the ck engine lite being attributed to it.
Car only has 116K on it, I bought it new.
Getting mad at everything going bad. 2 months ago it was an ignition switch.
Back story, 2 days ago I had to pull the intake to replace the starter. It was all good until today when I got the ck engine lite & battery lite. I checked running voltage at 12.2, 11.8 with headlights on. Just bought an alternator and wondering about the ck engine lite being attributed to it.
Car only has 116K on it, I bought it new.
Getting mad at everything going bad. 2 months ago it was an ignition switch.
Joined
·
37,786 Posts
Could be something as simple as a bad ground connection.
Wish you the best of luck, but check the simple stuff first,.
Not pinging on you, but a lot of times, the last thing you did caused the problem. Go back and check any wiring connections you moved when you did the starter and then go from there.
Joined
·
24,305 Posts
Yes, but so can a bad batterer, And a bad battery can kill the alternator.
May or may not be.
Without knowing what code is set, impossible to know.
Anytime voltage drops that low it will starve different systems and cause all kinds of issues.
So whether the check engine light is on due to the low voltage situation or possibly something you did or missed during the previous repair doesn't really matter you need to fix the charging issue before even bothering with anything else.
Get it charging, clear the codes and see if anything comes back then worry about that, some things take multiple drive cycles to show up.
Joined
·
9,601 Posts
A 2006 isn't a newish car. I'd get somebody skilled in auto mechanics to determine what got messed up by your repair. No offense intended, just shade tree repairs cause what you got about 95% of the time. Seen it A LOT. Have a pro fix it, then trade it off. A 2006 isn't going to get less troublesome/expensive.
Is it acting like it don't want to start? Well, the Espanol Hablas screw up about one in three starter or alternator "rebuilds." You bought a cheap one, didn't ya?
CEL could be almost anything, and most probably something you got wrong by removing the intake system. You're just blindfold dart throwing at this point. Get some real help.
Is it acting like it don't want to start? Well, the Espanol Hablas screw up about one in three starter or alternator "rebuilds." You bought a cheap one, didn't ya?
CEL could be almost anything, and most probably something you got wrong by removing the intake system. You're just blindfold dart throwing at this point. Get some real help.
Joined
·
13 Posts
You probably left the gray plug unplugged that is on the drivers side of the manifold. Check that. It’s a multi wire plug and will cause check engine and no alternator function. It’s underneath the manifold. easy to overlook it when reinstalling the manifold.
Joined
·
759 Posts
Running voltage should be about 13.8, 12.2 sounds like the battery alone. Have the codes read at a parts house and go from there. Have the alternator checked before blindly replacing it. As mentioned above, check for any connections that didn't get plugged back in when the intake was reinstalled.
Joined
·
6,677 Posts
Have you tried putting a piece of electrical tape over the check engine light?
Always worked for me.
Always worked for me.
Joined
·
671 Posts
This is a tough crowd. OP, my 2007 vehicle is still fun to drive, so if you’re still enjoying your Honda, find a good Honda forum and read for an hour or two about similar problems before even posting a question.You’ll be wanting a code reader, too.
Joined
·
101 Posts
Battery voltage needs to be proper before any diagnosis can be made. Approximately 13.5 volts.
Low voltage can cause all kinds of fault codes that wouldn't normally be there.
Low voltage can cause all kinds of fault codes that wouldn't normally be there.
Joined
·
4,872 Posts
Ck Engine light is usually an emissions problem. Could be just a gas cap, but could be something worse.
But, your voltage should be more than 13 while running. At the very least, you need a battery but have the alternator checked. Autozone does it free.
But, your voltage should be more than 13 while running. At the very least, you need a battery but have the alternator checked. Autozone does it free.
1 - 20 of 34 Posts
