battery conditioners....discuss

[unclebob]

well finally got my alternator from the US and got the old girl back on the road just in time for the two days of good weather we are supposedly going to get this summer....

Anyway i digress, the point of this post is that my recent alternator mishap has left me puzzled, in over thirty years of driving hondas (1978 honda accord, 1981 Honda accord ex, 1982 honda prelude ex, 1983 honda prelude ex, 1987 honda prelude gsi DOHC (still own it), 1988 Honda accord gsi DOHC, 1989 Honda prelude 4ws, 1992 Honda CRX Vtec, 1991 Honda Civic VTEC, 1995 Honda Prelude VTEC 4ws, 1999 Honda Integra Type r (JDM), 2005 Honda Integra DC5 TYPE R and finally 2001 Honda NSX VTEC 3.2 Targa.

In all of these years and cars ive never suffered a major malfunction of any kind no matter how hard i drove the cars and how high the mileages were apart from the expendables, such as exhaust, brake pads etc. Not even a clutch replacement. And yet here i have a 2001 nsx with 60000 miles on the clock with a knackered alternator?! Its just preposterous to me at least.

Having pondered and puzzled over it for the last couple of weeks whilst i awaited my replacement alternator, i realised that in the thirty plus years of honda ownership the only different thing i did with the NSX is that for the first time ever, i used a battery conditioner this winter to keep the nsx battery charged in case the sun decided to shine one sunny dry winter day. Thats it. I connected it at the charge points in the engine bay not directly to the battery.

The logical conclusion that ive come to therefore is that the battery conditioner destroyed my healthy low mileage alternator.........thoughts anyone? ..........please discuss!

[Pride]

well finally got my alternator from the US and got the old girl back on the road just in time for the two days of good weather we are supposedly going to get this summer....

Anyway i digress, the point of this post is that my recent alternator mishap has left me puzzled, in over thirty years of driving hondas (1978 honda accord, 1981 Honda accord ex, 1982 honda prelude ex, 1983 honda prelude ex, 1987 honda prelude gsi DOHC (still own it), 1988 Honda accord gsi DOHC, 1989 Honda prelude 4ws, 1992 Honda CRX Vtec, 1991 Honda Civic VTEC, 1995 Honda Prelude VTEC 4ws, 1999 Honda Integra Type r (JDM), 2005 Honda Integra DC5 TYPE R and finally 2001 Honda NSX VTEC 3.2 Targa.

In all of these years and cars ive never suffered a major malfunction of any kind no matter how hard i drove the cars and how high the mileages were apart from the expendables, such as exhaust, brake pads etc. Not even a clutch replacement. And yet here i have a 2001 nsx with 60000 miles on the clock with a knackered alternator?! Its just preposterous to me at least.

Having pondered and puzzled over it for the last couple of weeks whilst i awaited my replacement alternator, i realised that in the thirty plus years of honda ownership the only different thing i did with the NSX is that for the first time ever, i used a battery conditioner this winter to keep the nsx battery charged in case the sun decided to shine one sunny dry winter day. Thats it. I connected it at the charge points in the engine bay not directly to the battery.

The logical conclusion that ive come to therefore is that the battery conditioner destroyed my healthy low mileage alternator.........thoughts anyone? ..........please discuss!

Hi unclebob, good to hear that you're back up and running again.
I will start this off then by stating that by putting a battery charger on your car when not being used can NOT damage the alternator. I stand corrected but I believe the diodes in the alternator would prevent any such problems.

I would however strongly recommend using a digital pulse battery charger such as C-tec, rather than the run of the mill battery charger, for maintaining long life and optimum efficiency from your battery itself.

What alternator did you buy in the end and from who and how much did it cost inc shipping???

Thanks.

[Mistercorn]

That isn't a logical conclusion, any more than me saying that the rocks in my garden keep the Zombies away. Well I have always had the rocks and never seen a Zombie so they are clearly working. Correlation does not prove cause and effect.
I have had my NSX on a ctek for the last year and my Porsche on one for years, no problems so far, and no flat batteries.

MC

[NZNick]

CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge for me as well with no ill effects (so far).





Nice list of Hondas there Unclebob.



I have had 2 x Mk1 Preludes, 1 CRX 1.6i 16v, 1 CRX VTEC, then a defection to another brand, now an NSX Type-S.

[WhyOne?]

Just to add fuel to the conspiracy theory...I have 2001 NSX with 54k miles on the clock and regularly use a CTEC battery conditioner.

Guess what?

My alternator failed 12 months ago!

However, from a position of great ignorance, I struggle to understand how using a battery conditioner would have any bearing whatsoever on alternator longevity.

[unclebob]

hello pride, i do have the ctec charger already. i managed to source a used unit from rha parts in california for 100 pounds delivered including taxes, amazing service, got the unit actually pictured, looks brand new off a 98 nsx, so fingers crossed and yes im very lucky to have got it at that price, the unit itself was only 65 pounds!!

[unclebob]

why one thats very interesting, i too struggle to understand it but is it a coincidence or what? like ive said ive never had an alternator burn out. never.

[Pride]

What a bargain!!

[L696ULO]

With all the coincidences flying around, Unclebob your NSX is 2001 and Whyone yours is....................

Unclebob pleased that you are up and running and only made a minor dent in your pocket

Rich

[Mistercorn]

Apologies for going OT, but this is a great article on correlation coincidences. I thought so anyway.

http://www.themarysue.com/spurious-correlations-engine/

Who would have thought that increased cheese consumption would lead to more deaths due to becoming entangled in bedclothes, they should put a warning on the packet.

MC

[goldtop]

And, as bizarre as it sounds, there really is a correlation between sightings of storks and the arrival of new-born babies: http://www.econ.queensu.ca/files/other/storks.pdf

[Pride]

God help the owners of the new NSX when they run out of warranty, no electric component on that baby will give you change out of a grand.:)

[markeyb]

Where do you get those rocks, I have a big zombie problem here

[unclebob]

man those mk 1 preludes were just awesome cars, beautiful cluster, go kart on wheels...one of my faves!




CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge for me as well with no ill effects (so far).




Nice list of Hondas there Unclebob.



I have had 2 x Mk1 Preludes, 1 CRX 1.6i 16v, 1 CRX VTEC, then a defection to another brand, now an NSX Type-S.

[Mistercorn]

Where do you get those rocks, I have a big zombie problem here

They don't come up for sale very often, but if you are really struggling PM me your email address and I will send a price and some pictures. I have way more than I need.

MC

[Nick Graves]

Speed limits & road fatalities, smoking & lung disease, etc, etc.

Please don't knock the spurious correlation; most received wisdom seems predicated upon it!