Hey guys...hopefully someone can help me out. I have tried searching and cannot find anything.

Here is the issue....About two months ago I was driving normally and the radio cut out and then back on. This happened twice on the drive. When I parked and turned the car off, my intrument panel (speedometer, etc.) freaked out. The gauges flickered and made a "ticking" sound, like when the battery is dead. I tried starting the car again and it started right up, no problem. The radio still had the pre-sets stored, but my trip meter below the speedometer was reset.

I figured I would watch the issue to see if it got worse. During that time, the same issue has happend a few more times, with the same result. Trip meter resets, radio fine, starts right up and drives fine.

A couple weeks ago when driving, I noticed the ABS and SRS lights come on and then go off, like they do when you start the car up. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary when driving. When I parked, it did the flicker thing again.

Well...yesterday driving home, the ABS and SRS lights came on, then went off. A few minutes later they came on again, and then off. Again they came on, and off, then I lost acceleration. The engine was still on, and downshifted due to decrease in speed, but I could not accelerate. I pulled over and turned the car off....again the flicker thing. Started back up no problem and everything seemed ok. Got home no problem. The ABS and SRS lights popped on and off on the way, but I did not lose acceleration again. When I parked in my garage....the flicker thing.

Obviously something is goofy and I am going to take it in, but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas before I did. The best I can figure is a computer issue, or short? Not sure. Mechanically the car works fine.

Any ideas or help is very much appreciated.

 

Well....I took it in to have it checked. While it was in I had them change my timing belt and water pump.

Anyway....they couldn't find a thing! They had the master technician perform a bunch of tests for the main computer, relays, solenoid, etc. They could not pin-point anything.

They did clean and tighten connections to/from the battery.

So far no more problems. Maybe it was just a crazy battery connection.

Do you think a loose connection, or short, could cause the problems I listed before?

 

This is usually caused by bad connections at the battery. If it won't do it while they have the car, the best expert can't tell for sure either. So hope it doesn't reoccur, it probably won't.

 

I have the same problem on my 2001 Civic EX. I have cleaned the battery terminals and greased them. Still same problem. When I start the car, the trip meter resets and the speedometer and tachometer click and the needles jump around. I noticed that sometimes the car won't start at all if the AC is on. I also noticed the the "key" symbol blinks until I turn off the ignition switch. Could this be a bad battery cell?

 

You need a voltmeter. Connect voltmeter to the battery posts, the lead posts that are part of the battery, NOT the terminals on the car. Should be about 12.5 volts. Then have someone turn the key and try to start the engine. If it drops below 9.0 volts, battery is bad.

If battery checks out OK check the other end of the battery wires, especially the (-) one where it grounds to the frame and the transmission.

 

Always turn your AC of before shuting the car off. I have been told it is hard on the AC if its on when starting the car.
When i worked at the GM dealer people were burning up AC compressors left and right by leaving the AC on and starting the car with a remote start to cool it down before they got in it.

 

i happen to be read ur post and i do a lot of electrical work and it does sound like u have a bad ground go throu the hole car and make sure all are super clean and tight a bad ground can do some crazy things

 

The battery looks fine. I checked and cleaned all of the ground to chassis points and checked with an Ohm meter. Same issue. I took the steering column cowling apart to check for loose grounds around the ignition switch. I disconnected the battery. I sprayed some WD40 type of lubricant inside the key switch and turned it off and on several times to lubricate and clean the contacts. It got worse!! Now it does this every time I start the car. Should I replace the ignition switch?? Is the switch cleanable? Is there any thing else to check/clean in that area?

 

I double-checked the battery again. It showed 8 Volts while trying to start. I took it to Auto Zone where I purchased the battery. They tested it for me. It WAS bad!!! I bought a new one and still had a little left on the warranty. When I replaced the battery...PROBLEM SOLVED !!! Thanks everybody, especially mk328 !!

 

Glad to hear your problem is sorted ajdauphin.

krusher, I had a similar problem, ABS light would come on randomly and recently the car would actually cut out randomly mid drive.

Turns out it was my aftermarket alarm. The alarms cpu was faulty and was cutting ignition and fuel when it damn well felt like it.

If you have an alarm, get that side of things checked out at an auto-electrician, mine diagnosed the problem and basically had to uninstall the alarm to fix the issue, sucks, but have had NO electrical problems since.