To start off, yes I searched and no I didn't find anything.

This morning it was fairly cold outside. I started my car, let it warm up. I came outside and got in it. It was idling alittle below 1000 rpms. I turn my steering wheel to proceed to back up and the car bogged way down and almost died. Now normally it has always bogged down a hair when you turn the wheel. Which idk if that's normal but that's my "normal" experience since I've had the car. Although this morning it was alot worse. I went to class, everything was fine. Got out about 20 mins ago and got in the car to go see if it does it again. It didn't other then the "normal" bog I've always had.


Did this happen because it was so cold this morning?
(50 degrees or so) or is my alternator going bad? Also is the Bo I get from turning the wheel "normal"


Thanks for any help,
Josh O

 

Hi- I am not exactly an expert here, but it sounds like you may have a bad battery or alternator. Since our cars have electronic power steering, your battery or alternator may be the issue. EPS uses a LOT of power and cold weather has a negative effect on batteries. When you turn the wheel at little or no speed, there is a huge load on the EPS system. This drop in Volts, Amps? causes the engine to stall since the coil packs are not getting enough juice.

I would check your battery voltage while at idle. I think it should be in the 13-14v range. If it is in this range, the alternator is good and the battery is most likely the culprit. If it is, buy a battery that is better rated for cold weather performance.

Anyone- please correct me if I am wrong. I hope this helps.

 

I'm running a deka 14lbs battery. It's rated at 325CCC.

I also though it was the battery and was thinking about putting on a stock for winter but my cousin (a honda tech) said that once the car is started that all the power comes from the alternator. We are going to test it this afternoon.

any input?

 

I am not 100% that all the power comes from the alternator once started. That may be true for some cars, but with EPS- I think it takes more current (amps) than the alternator can replace. Since when at speed the EPS does not have to work as hard, this allows the alternator time to recharge the battery under normal driving conditions.

Since you mentioned that the car returned to "normal" once warmed up, this makes me think your alternator is fine and your battery is the problem. The way to verify this is to check your voltage. I also know that if you take your car to an auto parts store, they will usually test the battery for you for free.

 

Let me know how it turns out...

 

we tested the both and they both came up good. My battery had 558CCC and the alternator tested good. Wierd. Although it did bog this morning

 

Thats odd. I guess this may be more complicated than I thought. I think the next step is to check for any loose connections or wires (bad ground?). The cold could cause loose connections which would possibly cause these problems. Once things warm up, metal expands and things work normally? Just a thought...

I want to check this on my car when it is colder, unfortunately it is 110+ out this week in So Cal. I want to see if I am experiencing the same thing, maybe it is normal as long as the car does not stall? I have experienced similar problems with cars with conventional hydraulic power steering.

I wonder if anyone else on this forum has experienced this.

 

it could be that your car needs to relearn how to idle due to the cold condition? Mine bogs when it get really hot. Try map wacking the map sensor, if you haven't already.

 

Another thought-

Do you have any fancy stereo equipment such as amps and subs installed? This could be causing a drain. You also might be having the battery drain overnight which could make the problem more noticeable in the morning.

Other accessories such as a radar detector could cause a drain depending on how they were installed/wired.

 

no fancy stuff at all. I'll try the map wack thing.