Last night, our '06 Honda Odyssey’s red “charging system indicator” light came on. I quickly looked it up in the book, as sudden red lights on our car scare me, and it said that “The battery is not being charged. Go to a service station or garage where you can get technical assistance.” Well, that was helpful. It’s Sunday.
We turned off all the extra electric (a/c, lights, etc)on the way home. On the way home (less than 5 miles) several other indicator lights flashed on and off periodically. The ABS, VSA and brake system indicator lights. We also noted that the headlights seemed dimmer than normal. When we got home, the front end smelled hot, but no smoke or anything. This morning, I looked to make sure all connections were tight, and they were. We had turned the master light switch off last night, but the door lights (on the bottom edge came on when I opened the door. Other than that, we have not tried cranking it, as I’m afraid that it will totally drain the battery.
As I said, it’s Sunday. Garages are closed. I have an able bodied husband who is home today and stores that are open. Any suggestions as what we can do?
TIA!
Stop by an auto parts store that does a free battery check, and have them check the battery. If they determine you need a new battery request they use a memory saver for the car computer.
Your alternator could be toast, in which case a new battery isn’t going to solve the problem. If your able bodied husband is up to the challenge, he could pull the alternator and take it into a large auto parts chain that has an alternator tester. If it’s bad, buy a new one and install it. But that may not be a one-day job for certain husbands.
If your battery is original it needs replacement based on nothing but age. The other warning lights came on because the car’s electrical system was falling below the needed voltage to operate these things. But the battery isn’t the cause of the warning lights coming on. You more than likely need an alternator. The battery provides power to start the car, once it’s running the alternator provides the electricity to charge up the battery and run the electrical system on the car.
Many auto parts stores offer free electrical tests. But you’ll need to get the car there. If you do need an alternator, I believe it may be more than your hubby can handle. I don’t remember if it requires radiator removal, but you will need to drain the cooling system, remove the radiator fans, hose, and at least loosen and move the radiator.
Thanks everyone! Forgot to mention, the battery was bought new this last January, so it should be ok. Well, hopefully.
I was thinking alternator also. Bleh. Guess we’ll try and get it into the shop tomorrow morning…another bleh.
I’ll ask him to check both the battery and the alternator.
Thanks again guys!