Project EF Civic Racecar: Witchcraft & Wizardry
Old alternator removed from the Civic and on the workbench along with the crankshaft pulley and mounting bolts.
Removing the alternator is annoying. The big, spider-like throttle body intake manifold on the D15B2 means removing the alternator from the top of the engine isn’t possible. It has to come out of the driver’s side fender instead. This means removing the lower mounting bracket and the crank pulley to get it to wiggle out. At least our car no longer has the inner fender liner, so that made the job slightly easier.
Old and new alternator mounting bolts. Old bolts are showing damage to the heads that indicate they could round off.
That lower bracket was a bear to get off. It required penetrating oil, heat, and prayer in order to break the bolts free without rounding the heads. We bought some used replacements on eBay from an EF Civic specialist junkyard. When we reinstalled the bolts, we used some anti-seize to make sure they would come free in the future.
Old vs new alternator on the workbench before the new alternator is installed in the car.
We needed the Civic up and running quickly so we ordered a remanufactured alternator. We were drooling over a high output racing alternator from Mechman Alternators, but they are a 3-4 week lead time, and we had an autocross in the morning. We ended up missing that event as parts stores no longer carry D-Series alternators, and the best anyone could do was 48 hours. We still ordered a remanufactured alternator so we could get the car up and running and confirm our diagnosis. Don’t be surprised if one of those Mechman alternators shows up on our doorstep in the future. We also ordered a new drive belt as our old belt was dried out and cracking. When we fired the Civic up again, it was charging at 14V. Perfect.
Comparing old and new master switches before replacing the damaged master switch.
With the electrical system now functioning properly, we turned our attention to the master switch. The master switch is one of the most important safety features in a racecar, and we want to be 100% sure it actually shuts off the car when we need it to. We decided to replace it preemptively with a new switch from Pyrotect. Pyrotect’s master switch has a removable key, which adds an extra layer of security to the outdoor stored Civic.
New Pyrotect master switch installed on the rollcage
The old switch is attached to the tab with a big nut through its center. The Pyrotect switch uses a pair of ¼” mounting bolts. We marked the holes, drilled and deburred them, and bolted the new switch into place.

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