Piranhaz

Hello all. I'm new here but really hoping someone can help me out. First my car info: 2004 Civic EX, just hit 201K miles

Car has been great for me with very minimal issues until now. My wife was driving the car and said the headlights started flashing on her way to work. Only lasted for a little bit and they worked fine after that. Also said the radio cut out. I cleaned both ground spots on the front of the frame under the headlights and thought I fixed the issue. This morning I was driving to work and headlights started flashing along with the radio cutting out at the same time that the lights went out. The lights almost seemed to flash in a steady pattern also. There was also a few lights in the dash that would blink at the same time; ABS, brake and something else (sorry, can't remember). I turned the headlights off thinking maybe it was the headlight switch but the lights in the dash kept blinking and radio shut off completely. Eventually when I turned them back on they worked again. I have checked alternator previously and it is working fine.

Some details about the car worth noting: (this was all on car when I bought it)

- Has aftermarket car starter (Python brand)
- Has HID headlights
- Has new battery 2 months old


I'm not really sure where to go from here. My first thought is the remove the remote start system. Maybe that is causing issues. The remote start works fine and it's a nice feature though, so would be nice to know that's the issue for sure, but why else would all the lights in the dash flash when the lights do.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

Chris

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Own a DMM ?

You need to look at your voltage while this is occurring to get a better ID.

Piranhaz

Yes I do own one but I have never seen this happen while not driving. I am having a very hard time replicating the issue when it's parked.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Tap into your 12V ACC socket so you can check it when occurring.

Sounds like low voltage with all those symptoms.

Piranhaz

Sorry if this sounds stupid but I'm no mechanic. Would the car still run fine if I have a low voltage issue? And would it be so intermittent? That's the part that has me going nuts. I just wish it would fail so I could find the issue.

And by voltage issue do you mean the alternator could be bad?

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

If the voltage is still up when this occurs.... then I would think about the major grounds next. The ones with a bunch of different grounding lines leading to 1 terminal.

If you live where they salt the roads the connection points get really bad over time.

Piranhaz

I got ya. I live in MN, so salty roads are norm. I did clean the two grounds under the headlights that have like 7 wires all coming into one ground bolt. Don't really know where to look for the other ones though.

Colin42

Alternator could be failing or the bolts holding it could be loose. The bolts being loose can fry the ecu if not fixed quickly.

Piranhaz

I'll check bolts when I get home. Just ran out for lunch to run errands and it was fine. Lights worked fine, radio was good. So frustrating when it is intermittent like this.

Colin42

Measuring the voltage output of the alternator with the engine running is a good thing to test as well

Piranhaz

Already did that and it is good. That was one of the first things I checked.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

You want to see voltages when the problem is occurring.

Piranhaz

Right. I actually have a 12V inverter plug in the dash that the previous owner added. I should be able to hook my VM up to that. Guess just need to wait and see when it happens again.

Colin42

Define "good'. Above 14.5?

Posting actual numbers instead of generic terms makes it easier for us to help you.

Piranhaz

Sorry I didn't respond exactly as you wanted. I already stated in my original post that I checked the alternator and it was working fine.

I don't remember the exact number when I checked it but I think is was around 14.1 but I can't say without checking again.

Colin42

14.1 sounds a little low, was that between the battery posts or alternator + and ground?
Do you understand how voltage drop works? If you find a spot where there's a voltage drop that shouldn't be there you may have found the source of your problem. Someone posted a few days ago with low voltage issues and the problem was their negative batter cable was totally rotten on the inside but you couldnt tell from the outside.

Piranhaz

Let me check when I get home tonight. I don't remember the exact number but it might be helpful to retest and post here. I think I checked at the battery last time but I'll check direct from alternator tonight when I get home.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, the ELD will have that voltage all over the scale. Above 14 look for any higher up to 14.5.

Piranhaz

OK, I didn't get a ton of testing done because we lost power until after 10PM from a storm (in MN in March? go figure).

Anyway, here are some numbers I got from battery only.

- Battery alone 12.95 - 13.05
- Battery with car running 14.5
- Battery with car running with everything on (lights, air, fan, etc.) 12.2

NDNV

Good advice here.

Piranhaz

Sorry this took so long but the problem happens so intermittently. So I got my volt meter hooked up inside the car and have been watching it for several days. Mostly sticks right around that 14.5 range. Well today when I was coming home from work it finally acted up again. Radio went out and the brake and ABS lights flashed on the dash. While this was happening the voltage spiked up to 16.8-16.9 range.

Any ideas? I talked to my local mechanic and he seems to think alternator with that kind of spike. Something happening internal.

What do you guys think?

Colin42

Sounds like you might be having the same issue as this guy:

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...ping-help.html

If you do end up replacing the alternator make sure you get a good quality one. or even get your old one rebuilt by a reputable shop

Piranhaz

Thanks! I didn't see that thread before. Sounds exactly like what I am going through. Doesn't look like he figured it out yet though.

ezone

Replace your alternator ASAP before it ruins things like lights, battery, and electronics.

Piranhaz

On it! Putting it in tonight.

Glad I checked out here and finally got my answers. Thanks!!

ezone

Make SURE you get the bolts tightened properly...Forgetting to tighten the hardware can/will burn out the PCM.

Piranhaz

I saw somebody else post about tightening the bolts. Do people normally not tighten them to torque? I don't understand how this could be an issue if you follow spec, right? Or a, I missing something else?

ezone

SOME people forget to finish all parts of a job.

It's a common enough oversight/mistake that Honda issued service information about this problem specifically.

Piranhaz

OK, good. I should be OK then. I appreciate the advice though. Never hurts to be thorough.

Can't wait to get it fixed though. Not good when you are driving at night and your headlights start flashing randomly!

Piranhaz

Got the new alternator installed last night. Thank goodness for Youtube videos because there were some great tips for removing the old one. Hopefully the issue is solved but we'll just see how it is for a week. I could go days without it acting up before so I'm a little leery yet, but I am guessing the alternator was the issue.

I'll update in a couple weeks.

Thanks to all who responded. You were a great help!