2002 Accord 4 Door Special Edition- need a new alternator

[02AccordSE-Guy]

Hello 6th Gen Fam!

I am looking for an alternator that will match my engine. My mechanic recommended I get an alternator that is meant for "Ultra Low Emission Vehicle" ULEV.

I bought an alternator from O Reilly 2 months ago and now it is giving me a P1381 code about camshaft position sensor wiring.

I checked a lot of videos online and they said the code is either caused by distributor or alternator. I changed the distributor and it didn't fix the CEL check engine light. Mechanic said it could be the amperage and either too low or too high. Not enough power going to the car.

Any recommendations for an alternator (brand, model, and website) or how to resolve a P1381 code?

Specs:
2002 Honda Accord SE Special Edition 4 Door Automatic. ULEV engine

Thank you for your time.

 

[RedRyder]

I would look for a Denso unit on Rockauto

 

[Sil2DrV6]

I would look for a Denso unit on Rockauto

I would stay away from the current Denso products. It's because their parts aren't really made in Japan anymore.. At least my new Denso ignition coils for my CL weren't.. They only lasted for a few years until last month.. On the other hand, my Accord's 22-year-old factory coils are still rock solid (well, one failed 8 years ago, but that's still 2x longer than my CL's!)

I also bought the alternator from Denso, a couple of years ago for my CL, and I'm suspecting that it might not hold up well like the OEM Delphi's I had, or the OEM Denso one I'm having from the 2nd gen Odyssey's. Sadly, my CL's Denso alt wines a bit noticeably with the AC turned on, too..

Basically, their stuff is about half the price of OEM factory parts nowadays. However, that is NOT including OEM Denso parts, that were manufactured a long ago. Also, it seems like their parts are pretty much all made in Ch*na now.. At least, my Denso coils' top head had a huge sticker that it said so..

Tasted a little bit of "You get what you pay for" with the CEL flashing itself telling me that 3 out of 6 coils were misfiring lol. Got a feed back from this guy, when I was whining, like my CL's Denso, about how expensive the factory coils were: (Yes, I had to renew all 6 together lol!)

Denso is not the OEM part, nor are their parts what they once were years ago. I posted a picture a while back on Azine about OEM replacement coils available from Rockauto. In short, look for 05-08 Acura RL coils made by Hitachi. They are the same part number as the original j32a2 (CLS) coils, with a minor cosmetic difference.

With that said, getting new Denso parts is becoming more equivalent to getting cheap eBay aftermarket parts imo.. But hey, it all depends on the OP dude's preference, right? If he's only planning to drive his Accord for a short amount of time, getting Denso's might not be such a bad idea to be cost-efficient. It's just that they might not "meet or exceed" the OEM quality, like other OEM parts replacement manufactures would usually say.

 

[WHEEELMAN]

hmmmm. Do you think they may have been counterfeit Denso coil packs?

Maybe Japan has begun outsourcing certain or all of the components from China...geeez, I hope not.

I went back to American Muscle 5 years ago and I can tell you China is making all kinds of fake/counterfeit OEM parts for American cars. And yes, they are junk...dead parts right out of the box and they don't last for crap.

 

[Sil2DrV6]

hmmmm. Do you think they may have been counterfeit Denso coil packs?

Maybe Japan has begun outsourcing certain or all of the components from China...geeez, I hope not.

I went back to American Muscle 5 years ago and I can tell you China is making all kinds of fake/counterfeit OEM parts for American cars. And yes, they are junk...dead parts right out of the box and they don't last for crap.

I can almost be sure to say, pretty much anything made out of that country is very hard to call things "genuine". Did you know that they have a fake Disney land? Their cars look all copied out, too lol

I remember Japanese brands did outsource cheaper production lines in China at one point around in the late 2000's. (Toyota had massive recalls later in '08 because of that iirc.) But I believe a lot has changed, and I see stuff made in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and other surrounding countries are producing things in better quality now.

Yea it's messed up, and that's what their philosophy is all about -- Don't give a ****, as long as you get a profit. What can I say, they've been doing that shit for thousands of years. A crooked and pathetically profit driven mercantilism. They just can't help it, so it's better to stay away. But I do like their food haha.

(Sry, OP. Didn't meant to jack the thread up here..)