I own a black 96 Civic HB DX 5 spd. 147,000 mi.
I Love it, but have a few gripes and questions.
The manual windows are cheaply made. Spent $200 to get my regulator fixed, now my window keeps falling off the track when even after ive fixed it countless times. i fix it, slide the tracks back on with the door panel off, and it falls off track again when i open it a few times. hmm so i just keep it shut. the pass. side seems to be working ok but its tight.

anyway on to the real issue.
About 2 days ago after a few hrs of driving, in the midst of a ride, every light inside and outside the car started going from dim to bright,along with a mild whistling "wheeeoooowheeeeeeoooow...." sound in a steady waving kind of rhythm coming from the car (alternator?).
The sound/dimming is going on simutaneously in this steady rhythm. does this sound familiar to anyone?
I drive delivery with this car and want it to last. I hope its nothing serious.

Also at this time the check engine light went on, and the speedometer needle is just freaking out. It just jumps all over the place. I dont understand.

I looked for a group along the lines of "odd problems that even your mechanic cant figure out", but decided to drop it here.
thanks for any thoughts

 

yeah i know. Poor choice for a subject title.

i would change it if i knew how.

 

I would have to say that your alternator is busted. I know that when I absent mindedly start to let the clutch out when I forget it's not in neutral, the lights dim as the RPMs drop and the car is about to stall. you should definately get that checked out. get all the belts checked too.

 

This may or maynot help but I would look at your grounds as well. Had this happen on one vehicle but was really noticeable in the cold and wet. Found the ground lug common connection was green with corrosion and the wiring was reduced to one strand. I had put 2 alternators in before discovering this. If your concerned about the alternator take it off and have it checked. A lot of parts places usually do this for free.