NHTSA Complaint #10148524 — 2000 HONDA ACCORD

DRIVING HOME AT NIGHT IN HEAVY RAIN WITH FAMILY WHEN THE SRS LIGHT CAME ON FOLLOWED LESS THAN A MINUTE LATER BY THE ABS LIGHT. LESS THAN 1 MINUTE LATER CAR DIED ON THE ROAD. BATTERY WAS SO DEAD THAT STARTER WOULD NOT EVEN TURNOVER. HAD TO BE TOWED HOME. IT WAS DETERMINED THE NEXT DAY THAT THE DELPHI ALTERNATOR WAS PUTTING OUT NO VOLTAGE. IT HAD BLOWN OPEN 4 OF ITS 6 DIODES IN THE RECTIFIER ASSEMBLY. BEHIND THE BACK COVER OF THE ALTERNATOR WHEN OPENED UP. CAR NEEDED A NEW ALTERNATOR AT 68,000 MILES. I WAS TOLD BY MANY THAT THIS WAS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH THE '1998 TO '2002 ACCORD V6 MODELS WHICH USED THIS DELPHI BUILT ALTERNATOR. COMPLETE ALTERNATOR FAILURE CAUSED THE SRS AND ABS LIGHTS TO COME ON DUE TO A LOW VOLTAGE CONDITION IN THE CAR'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM POSSIBLY RENDERING BOTH OF THESE IMPORTANT SAFETY SYSTEMS USELESS WITH THE WARNING LIGHTS ON. THE BATTERY LIGHT NEVER CAME ON. I REPLACED THE ALTERNATOR WITH A BOSCH UNIT AS I DID NOT WANT THE PROBLEM TO OCCUR AGAIN. I CALLED HONDA IN CA TO INFORM THEM OF THIS PROBLEM ON 1/18/06. I STILL HAVE THE DEFECTIVE OEM ALTERNATOR.*AK