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96 DX Coupe

My issue is that at odd times the battery light will not just come on and stay on, it has a tendency to flicker on and off really quickly.

This happens consistently when I am going slightly uphill, in 5th gear, climbing slowly from about 45mph to 60mph. Right when I get to about 50mph, the light will start to flicker.

If I leave the accelerator pedal pushed with the same pressure, to hold it at about 50, the speedo will start to act as a tach (i dont have a tachometer hooked up in the car - its a DX).

Any comments? I'm really not trying to have another issue with the car by just letting this slide.

 
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I'd get your alternator tested at autozone/advanced auto. Should be free... And you don't need to take it out.

@45mph in fifth with a load on the car (the uphill part), your alternator may be struggling to keep up with electrical demands since the engine isn't turning very fast.

 
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yeah, im going to do that tomorrow. how does that explain the speedo acting like a tach though? i still dont get why the battery light would not just stay on, either. as supposed to it flickering on and off, like it does now.

for example, when im going uphill - if i leave it at about 45-50mph, the needle on the speedo will shoot upwards to about 65mph (about the range on a tach [which i dont have in the car] where it's needle should be).

 
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Hmm well... it doesn't explain the spedo, I think I missed that part somehow last night lol. In addition to the alternator check, check your ground from the engine to the chassis, then the neg. battery terminal to the chassis.

A poor ground COULD explain both... But the fact that this only happens when you go uphill is very strange. You can also check the connection to your wheel speed sensor (the input for your spedometer), but again, going uphill should have no differnt affect on your WSS. But I've seen stranger things...

 
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so these codes came up - had the CEL on:

P0135
P0141
P1298
P0500

im pretty sure the first 2 are the o2 sensors and one of the other ones is the vehicle speed sensor

maybe this explains something?

 
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Hah, my bad... Should've told you that autozone/advanced auto scans for free... And codes should be the very first thing you get when you have a problem, even if the CEL Isn't on. (I got my guys on my VW forum that I mod, trained in this habbit lol so it didn't cross my mind).

o2 sensor bank 1 sensor 1 heater malfunction

o2 sensor bank 1 sensor 2 heater malfunction

High voltage in ELD circuit (ELD = electric load detector). A quick google search said that this can be caused by a blown fuse, which is probably caused by shorted wires under the intake manifold.

VSS circuit malfunction



So, looks like you're gonna need some o2 sensors which aren't causing your problems at the moment..

The VSS/WSS probably has a bad connection, is dirty, or has a short. You should try to clean off the sensor and make sure its plugged in good and tight.. Then see if the wires are corroded at all which could indicate a short. This should solve your spedo acting like a tach.

And that ELD thing sounds pretty simple, just see if that wiring harness under the intake mani is cracked, plus check for blown fuses. Much cheaper than an alternator, especially if you can fix those wires yourself (if that happens to be your problem).

I'd still check for bad grounds, but the ELD thing should fix your battery light problem as soon as you take care of the fuse/wiring.

Good luck man.

 
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should i just sand down the connections on the grounds to make sure they are actually good? or is there anything else i can do for that part?

is there a way to clean off the o2 sensors? would i need a degreaser or something like that?

if i dont get the ELD issue fixed, could that cost me another alternator?

 
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yup very possible, if the alt runs non stop, it will burn out quickly.

 
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hey also when u replace theres a short in the wire. its right under the intake... theres a braket that holds the intake and if you take that braket off youll see a bundle of wires.. youll see the one that has been rubin on the braket. fix that wire youll be good.. i just went though this with my 96 civic dx. but i still have the bank 1 and 2 o2 code and vss code.

 
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one more think when your tak went nuts did your car start to bog down around 5 thouand? cuz my did that and still does it after i fixed the eld. itll do it and every gear but frist ill hit my rev limter but second itll just bog down to about 2 grand and the moter will take off again. also i still got a wacked out speedo.