20 Most Recent 1988 Acura Legend Questions & Answers

Due to the nature of the battery technology used with vehicles the alternator is mostly incapable of charging the battery. The car alternator is designed to keep a fully charged battery fully charged and to provide all the power for the car equipment. The alternator charge rate is regulated by a voltage regulator. Because the alternator output is connected to the battery, the alternator and battery voltage will be the same and the voltage regulator monitors that voltage. The lower the battery voltage the more output the alternator will produce in order to correct the situation but because a lead acid battery has a high internal resistance to accepting a charge the terminal voltage will quickly rise to the alternator regulated voltage and fool the alternator into thinking the battery is fully charged when the output will drop to the order of just a couple of amps. Switch on the headlights or a similar load that will lower the battery voltage and the alternator will increase it's output again - but only by the amount of current the headlamps or other load is consuming. It matters not what the alternator rated maximum output is, it is designed to provide only the necessary current and no more. The only time an alternator should ever need to produce maximum output is when on a dedicated testbed and then only for a short duration to avoid damaging the unit. Testing the current output on a modern vehicle is not recommended except for the regulated voltage testing and a rule-of-thumb output test where all equipment is switched on and the engine speed raised while the battery voltage is monitored. Most modern alternators use an internal voltage regulator but a few systems use a separate voltage regulator. No alternator rebuild would be complete without a regulator test and probably a new or replacement regulator, which is where the majority of charging system problems are, or the brush gear. Assuming the wiring is ok, no alternator should suffer any harm if the voltage regulator and auxilliary diodes (if fitted) are in good order though fitting a defective or a discharged battery can cause it to overheat and be damaged. The alternator usually just about stops producing an output when the battery voltage is in the region of 14.5/14.8 volts. Your description indicates the voltage regulator is not working correctly - unless 40 amps was being consumed by the car equipment the alternator should not have been producing 40 amps.. I suggest you also have your battery tested

How old is the battery?

On the dash board

Does the shift lever move as it should? Or, can you move the shifter, but the transmission doesn't change gears? More info please.

carb engine or EFI? what engine, cyl count? displacement size>????????????????

i think you meant Ignition switch. really a 1988> no 1998? the latter has air bags, and BOOM are very very dangerous. yes, you are fiddling plastic covers. use a flash light. covers, are you talking the steering column combo surround covers? remove the screws , under under, do down, and look up, bingo? i hope its a real 88, i login to alldata.com i look at lock removal. 7 steps, you are stuck at step 2

1. Disconnect the negative battery cable.
2. Remove the steering column lower cover. Disconnect the ignition switch wire connector from the dash fuse box.
3. Insert the key and place on the 0 position.
4. Remove the 2 screws and replace the base of the switch.

1. To remove the lock, remove the steering wheel and the steering column covers.
2. Center punch each of the shear bolts and drill their heads off with a 3/16 in. drill bit. Be careful not to damage the switch body when removing the shear head.
3. Remove the shear bolts from the switch body.

end remove. ask questions.

Remove the cable which connects your coil and the distributor from the distributor side. Have someone to crank your engine while holding the cable (use insulated pliers to hold the cable by insulated part). Maintain 1/2 inch distance from the engine surface where is some bare metal without paint. If there is the spark, then replace your distributor's cap and rotor. If there is no spark, replace coil and check your cap and rotor anyway, if they look worn and black inside, then replace them anyway. Note: before removing spark plug wires from distributor cap, mark wires and distributor!

I suggest to search online for parts info on interior.Sometimes they show parts exploded

Hi, without knowing any further degtails of the failure, I will suggest the following, First, the most common cause of a cars taillights failing to come on is a failed fuse. Take note that a fuse can go bad on its own or it can be blown by a short circuit or an overload. In either case, the cause would have to be located and repaired. In your 1988 Acura Legend, the fuse is located inside the passenger compartment and on the fuse panel. The panel is located behind either the driver side or passenger side kickpanel.If the fuse is bad, replace it. If this solves the problem and the replacement fuse holds, then you're all set. If the fuse for the taillights is good, you must trace the wiring from the fuse block to the headlamp switch located on the steering coluum. If you have current up to that point, you need to track the current from the switch through the wiring and back to the taillights themselves. If you loose current somewhere enroute , then check for broken wiring or a loose or corroded connector. If you track current all the way to the actual taillight socket, then check the relationship between the socket and the bulbs themselves. Is the wiring pulled loose from the socket or not connected well? Use a 12 volt test lamp to check for current at the connections inside the sockets and of course insure the bulbs are the correct type and are in good working order. Now during you do not have any taillights, I suspect either a bad light switch or bad tailight fuse. Good Luck.

Its there for good reason, so you dont spear of the highway at 65 mile an hour, it deliberatly lowers stearing preasure/ assist at higher speeds. and in four wheel steer modles it switches from opposed rear steer to aligned rear steer. so i sugest unless it is broke dont remove it.

That old of a vehicle it could be leaking oil from a lot of different places,

best thing to do is go to Autozone,they usually will let you use scanner to hook up to your onboard diagnostics(usually located by steering column on left) andd see what the failure code is.From there you should know what part is faulty,could be as simple as gas cap or vacuum hose.

could very well be sensor has failed. have local shop run a scan to find problem....hope this info help and good luck..

Please, be more specific.