So i was driving and noticed my speedo wasn't working...then my engine light came on, and noticed Vtec didnt engage. Forty minutes later my rpm gauge...and then upon pulling into the airport all my gauges went dim and car died...I believe its the alternator but could be wrong..and please correct me if i am...So anyways...As for alternators...all B-series the same? I have a B16a jdm engine in my civic and want to make sure i have the right alternator..thanks
Any help by tommorrow would be awesome...

 

get some one to give ya a jump or charge ur battery and start your car as its runing remove the neg. wire from ur battery if car dies than alternator is bad. cars with good alternators stay runing when battery is unhooked. also im pretty sure all b" series are the same.

 

This sounds like the "fuse 15" problem. This fuse supplies power to the speed sensor (thus no speedometer reading, CEL and no VTEC), oxygen sensors (thus CEL and no VTEC), and alternator. This is a common bug especially with '96 and '97 models. The wiring rubs on the intake manifold bracket behind the engine, shorts out and blows the fuse.

I completely disagree with 94 on the alternator test. Never ever ever disconnect a battery while the engine is running. The charging system is easily checked by measuring the battery voltage with the engine running.

 

yea if you have the gauges to check. but my method is a easy and quick way to check and it harms nothing.

 

alright thanks..but if my fuse 15 is fine..then what? Would a bad alternator cause the car to slowly stop power from going to certain things? or would it just totally cut everything at once?

 

Everything would slowly go out as the battery became discharged. Like I said in the other thread, my friend's alternator went out on him. First went the radio, then the speedo, tach, and then the engine pretty much s**t out on him (started bucking like it was misfiring hardcore and lost what little power that poor v-dub had lol). What's weird is his battery light never came on.

Also, the alternator he had was a relatively new re-man. alternator; he had it tested and it came back good, but about a month after he put it in it died on him.

 

The fact that the speedometer died 40 minutes before everything else is a potential clue. It suggests you lost power to the sensor circuit and the alternator's control input. Make sure that you have battery voltage on the alternator's "I" wire (one of the small wires) with the key on. Also the "battery" light on the dash (actually controlled by the alternator) should come on when you turn the key on but don't start, then go out after the engine is started.

 

alrighty..ill check the I wire terminal with the key on and see...ill also check the battery light...thanks for yall help...

 

Is this still applicable though? He has an engine swap.

 

good point trust...i didn't even think of that...