Rep Power: 0

Ok...purchased this car use in Jan. 2004. It's a 2001 Honda Civic EX, 2-door, manual, 91,000 miles. 100% stock - only addition is XM Commander. It was originally purchased from the dealer from which I bought it at, so I've seen all the service records since new. Followed regular maintanence, only repair has been the A/C Condensor.

I've noticed an increasing occurance of electrical "quirks" as I call them and today when trying to put in some Sylvannia Silverstar head lights, I decided I've had enough.

I've read about possible alternator problems causing some of these things. I'll just list my "issues":

1 - SRS light periodically goes on and off. There's really no pattern to it whatsoever, passenger or not. Occasionally I catch it happening when I shift or turn something on/off...but otherwise random.

2 - Check Engine light periodically on and off. I notice it almost always happens after my mom drives my car. I don't drive hard, but she drives like a grandma and when I get the thing back and drive it, it usually goes off.

3 - ABS Light...I only notice this when it's cold out. The light will flash about once a second until the car is warm, then if i turn it off and start again I'm golden. One strange thing is that when the light flashes on, the dash dims.

4 - Whenever the A/C condensor kicks on, even if during a hot defrost, it draws like crazy on the system...headlights and interior lights dim, windows go slower, washer motor is slower.

5 - During normal driving, periodically, the whole electrical system pulses about once a second...I can see the dash lights and headlights pulsing a little, most noticeable on the interior lights.

I know this is an excessive list...what scares me are "gremlin" problems like these. I know if I take to a dealer, I'm gonna walk out of there with a $1,000 bill.

Any direction you guys can provide would be great, and if anyone has specific experiences like this, that'd be even better. I'm hoping that somebody will say "buy a new altenator and stick in an Optima battery"...we'll see...

Thanks!

-Nate

 
Rep Power: 0

Forgot to characterise my Sylvannia Silverstar problem...

Treat myself to some high class headlights, install them (gloves and everything), turn the lights on, high beams, every thing is good. Then start my car, turn the lows on, turn the highs on - flicker, flicker out...within like 2 seconds.

Thought maybe I had a pair of defective bulbs so I took them back and exchanges, same thing happened again.

It just makes me wanna cry...

 
Rep Power: 289

welcome to the site and sorry to hear about your problems....have ya taken it to like autozone or someplace like that to see if they will do a charging system test? <<< easiest thing if you're not familiar with your cars electrical workings....

 
Rep Power: 308

Have a volt meter handy ?? You could tell a lot with it.

 
Rep Power: 0

I do have a volt meter...I'm going to show some of my ignorance here. I'm a pretty mechanically-minded person, but mostly an idiot when it comes to electrical. What/how should I test and what should I be looking for?

-Nate

 
Rep Power: 308

Simply read across the battery terminals with engine running and charging system loaded somewhat (headlights on, blower fan on medium, etc...) voltage should be no higher than 13.8 Volts and must be above 12.5 Volts if normal. Also see what the voltage is during the pulses and the dimming you mentioned.

 
Rep Power: 303

Actually, the max is 14.5 volt. 13.8 is normal, but it can go higher if the battery is low and the alternator is pushing more to charge. The ELD tells the ECU when to turn on the alternator. The ECU also senses Battery voltage, and turns on the alternator if it drops too low. So measuring across the battery with a volt meter will tell you if the alternator is charging, and when. Also rev the engine a little (2000 rpm) for the alternator to turn fast enough to fully charge.

Finally, don't forget that loose ground connections have been found to cause a lot of troube on these cars. Take a socket and screwdriver, and make sure all the main chassis and engine grounds are tight.

 
Rep Power: 0

yup, that solved my ABS flickering problem

 
Rep Power: 0

Finally did some fooling around with my volt meter.

Started the car and tested across terminals:17.5 volts.

Let car warm up 5 min.: 16.5 volts.

Turned on all electrical accessories: 14.6/7 volts.

Took engine up to 5k rpm with all accessories on: 16.6/7 volts.

So...does this give anybody some ideas?

Thanks!

-Nate

 
Rep Power: 308

If the meter is reading correct that is quite high IMO. The problem could be alternator or ELD (assuming ELD was used in 01) I would confirm meter readings and if correct get charging system checked soon. Your lights would be super bright and the wipers would run faster at the higher voltages.

 
Rep Power: 303

That's too high. It's the alternator, unless you have a really bad volt meter. The ELD ONLY tells the alternator to turn on and off. The voltage REGULATOR is inside the Alternator. This failure was also a problem with a run of Bosch remanufactured alternators. They would fail at full power, NOT go dead. This can damage the electrical system. Get it tested and probably replaced.