An Alternator replacement on the Road Trip from Hell....

[Kerry & Kathy]

Replacing the average alternator is Childs play…right?
Most cars are a 20 min job…MAX…start to finish with a handful of tools.
Well…NOT on an Acura RSX.

We just returned this past week from the road trip to hell…
We drove 2200 miles over six days to attend a wedding for Kathy’s niece but had voltage regulator trouble that prevented us from getting any closer than 40 miles from the wedding venue on the day of the wedding.

The internal voltage regulator in the Acura failed at night, in Rural NY State and running with headlights on, we drained the battery in only 20 mins on a Tollway with no turnoffs and no nearby exits.
We were stranded on I-90 Tollway 30 miles from the nearest town. We went all night with no sleep trying to get 70 miles to our motel. We stayed outside a police station during the early morning hours trying to charge our battery for 3 hrs. in an attempt to get another 30 miles.

Do you know how hard it is to find an Acura RSX alternator in rural upstate NY at 11 pm on Friday the 13th...?
Damn near impossible. Even the police were trying to find one for us.

Once we found one the following day...it took me 15 hrs. over two days to install it… in direct sun with no shade with temps in the high 90's and 70-90% humidity as intermittent rain showers passed through.
Because in Acura's infinite wisdom...they position the alternator under the power steering pump, on top of the AC compressor, behind the power steering rack and hard lines, next to the intake manifold and 12" below the top of the radiator/condenser in a space only 3" wide at the top of the engine compartment. Plus...I had no shop manual and had only a few "ricer" YouTube videos to get a feel for what had to be removed in order to access the alternator.

On an RSX you have to remove:
- the front fascia/bumper
- passenger headlight with wiring harness ( a bitch to access the two hidden lower bolts)
- power steering pump
- power steering reservoir
- coolant overflow tank
- front grill
- radiator upper support ( another real bitch to access the lower attachment bolts)
- radiator fan
- A/C condenser fan
- radiator cover
- radiator
- condenser
- power steering lines
- hood latch
... and do it all with tools that you didn't bring along.

I had to buy $260 worth of tools at a Harbor Freight, including jack stands and a floor jack, and $160 at Walmart that included a battery charger, and a new battery. Plus an extra day at a $100 Motel, plus $215 for an alternator that I could have bought online for half that price. No repair shops were available within 80 miles to work on a "foreign" car over the weekend and had we found one it would have required a minimum of two additional days at $100 a night.

I learned after getting home that an Acura Dealer gets $1500+ to replace an alternator. They charge 9 hrs shop rate for labor at $150 / hr + parts. That's 9 hours for a shop with a lift, pneumatic tools and prior experience on what has to be removed to just access the alternator. But... the closest Acura dealer was 70 miles away and was closed untill Monday.

As it was…my final cost after I had everything repaired and back together, including the purchase of needed tools, parts, and extra motel room...was over $1700...including multiple bruised and cut arms from attempting to wrench in a confined area only 3" wide and 12" deep.

Even after the headlight assembly was removed the alternator had to be turned less than 1/8th of a turn to remove three cables that were too short to allow removal by any method other than "feel". These cables were too short to even allow the alternator to be raised more than two inches and unable to turn upside down in the confined space in order to access the terminal connectors. The three attachment bolts were positioned so that once loosened...there was not enough space between the engine and radiator to completely remove the bottom two bolts… forcing the radiator to be moved forward in its mount. It was the “Alternator replacement job from Hell”. It was unquestionably the most frustrating automotive repair I have ever done in 54+ years. Plus...we missed the wedding we drove over 2,000 miles to attend... getting no closer than 40 miles from the venue by the time the wedding occurred.

I finally had it installed and running by 8:45 Sunday night…a day and a half after the wedding. We rested that night then drove the 1100 miles back home without further incident.

Acura makes a very nice high-quality product.
Just don’t ever work on one at night…on Friday the 13th… on a tollway with narrow shoulders and exits only every 20-40 miles… with no tools… 1100 miles from home.

The red dots on the photos below illustrate the alternator location.

 

[Tim M]

Good night! I woulda found the nearest car lot, sold it to them for $500, bought a new one and drove home...yeah, I'm that impatient Good for you Kerry...now, if you can do that in a weekend, just think on a Factory 5 Cobra with all that extra elbow room to work with what you could get done....just sayin'

 

[Kerry & Kathy]

...now, if you can do that in a weekend, just think on a Factory 5 Cobra with all that extra elbow room to work with what you could get done....just sayin'

Building the Cobra is not that simple…I wish it were.


Finishing the Cobra is only about 27 spots down the priority list of:

Killing 300 feral hogs that are destroying our hay fields (have only killed 20 so far)

Removing a defective well pump and installing a new well pump.

Running 220 v power cables 100 ft in the shop to a new electrical panel for the well.

Building a 105 ft x 18ft extension to the current shop building for cold storage.

Building a 40 ft x 60 ft open shed for storing the farm equipment.

Installing sprayed foam insulation into the large shop building.

Installing the two industrial heat pumps for the large shop.

Organizing the current 40 ft x 105 ft shop building into an automotive service area and air-conditioned fabrication shop.

Installing and running power to a two post lift at the Farm shop.

Installing/organizing 9 tool chests now on hand at the Farm shop

Organizing the fabrication/welding/machine shop.

Installing the 30 hp rotary phase converter on hand.

Installing overhead airlines to the big shop and running power to the Ingersoll 60hp two-stage compressor.

Running power circuits to three lathes, two bandsaws, two cutoff saws, three mig/tig/stick welders, one plasma cutter, one Bridgeport and one 3 axis CNC milling machine.

Getting the excavation and plumbing run for the new house

Contracting for major concrete work at the farm to include driveways, aprons, walkways, and patio.

Finalizing the plans for the new house

Contracting to build the new house

Keeping the fields mowed at the farm every 10-14 days

Maintaining 9 pieces of farm equipment that are constantly in need of repair including three mowers.

Maintaining six licensed road vehicles

Getting a newly acquired TO-35 Special tractor serviced and ready to replace an older TO-30 to be sold.

Once the farmhouse is complete…move the Cobra Project to the farm to a dedicated workshop/build area attached to the new house.

Moving all furniture and personal contents of the Farmington house to the farm.

Complete landscaping and needed maintenance/repairs to the Farmington House to prepare it to list.

List and sell the Farmington House.



When all the above is complete…

Continue building the Cobra.

 

[Tim M]

Hmmm, ok so that'll take a couple days....what's your excuse?!

 

[Richgrsc]

Ya, like Tim said, what you doing next week?

 

[MPTech]

Get off the forum and avoid out-of-town weddings! Think on the progress you could have made!

Wow! You have the determination and problem solving abilities, no doubt!

 

[TBULL]

Wow Kerry, that hurts. I would have called AAA. I've been there and done that kind of repair on the side of the road when I was younger, not for 2 days though. Cars whizzing by, heat and all, and vowed to never do it again. You don't quit though. Great problem solving skills too. BTW My arms and hands hate small spaces too. Glad you're both home safe.