Completely dead as in no power at all, nothing lights up? If yes, that's probably a fuse, because even with discharged battery you should be getting some power to the dashboard at least.

If you still have some power, charge the battery and try to start it. You might have a seized accessory pulley (could be AC compressor, for example, or alternator). Check your serpentine belt for damage.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the help! Sorry I was trying to simplify things a bit. When I first came to the parking, there was still a bit of juice left in the battery. When I turned the key, the dash, at least part of it, did light up. However, just about 5 minutes later, nothing was on. It turned dark. So I don't really know. I will check the belt tomorrow for sure. Thanks for the reminder.

In the meantime, if anyone has any good suggestions on how to deal with this situation, please let me know. Really need some good ideas on how to diagnose this situation. Also where to buy the alternator? How much am I looking at? There are new and Honda refurbished alternators, which ones to choose? Now I am going to do some search and see what others have done for the 'check charging system' warnings. Thanks.

 

Don't screw around with a rebuilt alternator, buy a new one. Amazon is usually a good choice. And check your battery sensor, they sometimes will give you a fit.

 

I read many threads on check charging system tonight. It seems that the symptom is not the same as mine. Typically check charging system, if really due to alternator, won't leave people stranded. People typically will have plenty of time to debug it. However, typically, people got stranded due to a bad battery, which can lead to a 'check charging system' warning and a sudden death. Does it make sense to others?

My batter is 3 years old from Costco. Damn the quality of batteries really went down these days. And Costco's warranty is only pro rated 3 years. If they really give me this BS, maybe I will buy the battery from other places. Does Auto Zone/Napa/Oreilly's sell better batteries than Costco? Thanks.

 

I had a NAPA battery that was loosing capacity. Still within 2 year warranty. Paid about 30 bucks to get a 3 year battery.

 

RockAuto sells a Denso Reman for 148. Also need $70 core. Maybe that is the way to go if I have to replace the alternator. My current plan is to replace the battery tomorrow first. Then take the car to Auto Zone for a Battery/Starter/Alternator test and see what to do next. Welcome any ideas. Thanks.

 

It’s a good idea to have this in your car.

 

This thing won’t work for my problem 🤣

 

My gut says alternator. Not sure if the old DIY fix of changing the brushes inside the alternator is still something people do.
And was the charging light really on for just 10 minutes...ha!

 

That is what my daughter told me. We took care of our cars. Whenever there is any lights warnings, they let me know.

Reading the past threads, people usually have days or weeks to fix alternator issues. We only got 5 minutes.

 

Should I get the reman denso from rockauto or a new one from Honda? Difference is more than 400 dollars

 

Update: I got a new battery. After I put it in, the area in the engine bay near the alternator started to release smoke within 2-3 seconds. Not a lot of smoke. But it definitely was there. I haven't had time to do anything with the car yet. (Didn't try to start, just dropped the battery in.) I quickly disconnected the battery.

What does this mean? Is there a short inside the alternator? I want to save the cost of towing since the car is only less than half a mile away from our home. Is there a way to quickly disconnect the alternator, then I can use the juice inside the battery to get the home and repair at my own leisure?

 

Your alternator is gone. That is good news! Now you know the culprit!

 

The last few post in this thread is similar to my issue. Tnoy2012xer and Sax6MNJ also have the same symptom as mine. 'Check charging system' then all the lights then suddenly car is dead. Sadly they never bothered to report what really happened to them.

https://www.mdxers.org/threads/check-charging-system-and-other-warning-light-on.51969/page-2

 

Is there any chance this smoke can be caused by something related to AC/compressor/clutch? At least we didn't turn on AC today. If we can pin down the issue to be absolutely due to alternator, then I can do it. If it involves further and more intricate diagnosis, I really don't have the time right now.

 

Remove the alternator and put on the bench and conduct a smell test.

110% the alternator is toasted

 

Based on your symptomps, I'd say the diode bridge in the alternator is toast. To confirm, disconnect the wires from the alternator completely and reconnect the battery terminals again. If there is no more smoke, that's the alternator.

Get a reman Denso installed and you should be good.

 

Thats how the Electricians i worked with troubleshot... 1 Ae holds the circuit breaker, another looks for the magic smoke coming from the suspect Avionics😁
Was Good enough for govt work.

 

Oh well. Don’t have time to mess around. So I just did it rough in the parking lot. At least my daughter chose a quiet one

 

I hate this little sucker ruined my whole day

 

So what's the verdict?

 

Thanks for keeping this in mind. I don't know what was the cause of the problem. I removed the old alternator, drove 20 miles and picked up the new one from a Napa. I directly returned the bad one and didn't bother to check. It has been 19 years and 150k miles. If it died, I will let it pass. If I am retired or have tons of time on my hand, I probably will have fun playing with it. But sadly, I don't have time. Just need to get it over. Also don't want to drive 20 miles just to return the core again.

In the end, Napa did a good job and helped me out this time. Here is the bill from Napa

REMAN ALTERNATOR
Part #: DEN 2100580
Qty: 1

$289.79
$255.99 /each
+ $85.00 core /each
- $51.20 Email Promo
Estimated Pickup Date: 30 mins
Order Summary

Subtotal (1 Items): $289.79
Estimated Tax: $28.62
Total: $318.41
You Saved: $51.20

The list price is $255.99, I found a coupon which knocked 20% off. So total is $318.41. But Napa refunded me the core with tax of the core, so I got $93 back. Total is $225. Buying from RockAuto is $252.42 total, shipping and tax included. Core is $70. I guess I can get $77 back. So total would be $175. But I need to send the core back. Shipping for me is more expensive than for business. Say sending the core back is $20. So total from RockAuto is 195. It is still cheaper than Napa, but Napa can help me finish the business today. So I think Napa is pretty good. Much better than AutoZone and O'Reilly's. Both of them don't have the Denso Reman in stock. In addition, I also got a nice hat. I am tired today. Will continue the story tomorrow.

 

Can you please let us know if the problem is solved?

 

Sure. I only did a 3 minutes test run yesterday. Everything looks okay. I am going to take the car to AutoZone for a real test this weekend. Will keep you guys posted.

 

OK. The problem is solved! I took the car to AutoZone for a test. It passed all the tests for battery/alternator/starter. All in, I spent $225 for the alternator and $18 to get a new battery. My battery died one month short of the 3 year warranty. Since when I bought the battery it was 3-year full replacement warranty, I got a new one nearly free. (But if we buy from Costco now, it is pro-rated 3-year warranty.) So considering I got a pretty good deal on the battery, it doesn't seem to be such a bad occurrence. Also my alternator died in a pretty dramatic fashion relative to others. So the diagnostic part is actually pretty much non-existant.

There is such a great satisfaction to get things done by oneself. Otherwise, justing towing the car to the dealer or a shop would be almost $100. (San Mateo is a pretty expensive place in the whole coutnry.) And I don't even know how much it is nowadays to get it fixed with the requirement to use a Denso alternator. Considering just the alternator without coupon is more than $270, I guess the bill wont' be lower than $800, right?

For the actual work, I followed this video exactly. This kind of almost professional production is indeed much better than normal videos made by mechanics or home warriors. After I dug out the old battery. I drove it back home and get the rest done in my garage. It would have been a gigantic hassle if I have to reinstall the serpentine belt in the parking lot. The drive home was pretty scary because power steering was gone. Expect to turn the steering wheel like a mad man. Thankfully, I have only 0.5 miles to cover.

The only thing I want to point out to the fellow MDXers in the repair process is that Denso replaced the stud on the top nut with a bigger one. The one I got from the old unit has a 12mm nut. The new stud requires a 13mm one. It took me a VERY long time trying to put the 12mm nut on the new stud without luck and eventually I lost the nut in the engine bay. Then I grabbed a spare 13mm nut to put it on and it worked in the first attempt. In this aspect, Denso is actually not as nice as other reman/aftermarket unit like the one in the video. They came with a new nut. I was not experienced enough to try it out before the alternator was put into the car. Lesson learned.

It is really sad that I always planned to do a real thorough alternator/starter DIY and take a ton of pictures and put them on the forum to share. But when it really happened, it was not an option. Hopefully, I can do a better job next time. Happy motoring guys! Thanks for the help.

 

Replacing the alternator on the MDX pretty easy.

 

Same happened to my MDX at 150k, but less smoke sensation. Replaced alternator, and all was OK. And yes, dashboard lit up like Christmas tree, there were lights I never new they existed. When battery is very low, computer is reporting a lot of sensors as bad.
I hope it was same for you, just alternator.

 

Yeah. I did not know that these alternators quit around 150k miles en masse I could have replaced it as preventative maintenance item. That’s a much safer and easier experience.

 

I had almost similar experience in the middle lane of three lane access road after dark. 135,000 miles 2007 MDX. The car gave significant number of warnings which I ignored - dashboard lit up with multiple symbols, engine would intermittently come on and then almost die.. Lights would flicker and finally the car died. Thankfully no one rear ended until the cop and tow truck arrived. Got it towed in the middle of the night.
After fully charging and testing batteries and alternator loads, changed out the alternator from RockAuto. And it was back to normal.

 

I have 150,00 miles on my 2010 MDX about 3 years ago my car would not start so I bought a new battery from AAA. A month later that battery died, then a third. My uncle told me he once had a similar problem but discovered it was a live wire in his trunk, that apparently never shut off and was draining his battery. After my 4th jumpstart I decided to take his advice and shut everything off when the car was parked. I turned off EVERY inside light, the radio, AC, unplugged phone chargers. I have not had a problem in over a year. Problem fixed.