Sometimes when I'm driving at night my headlights and cluster brighten up drastically then go back to their normal brightness a few times and then back to normal. I need to know if that it's something serious like my alternator, battery or something electrical. I have a 98 Civic hatch.

 

First check whether 7.5A fuse 15 under the dash is blown. If the fuse is fine, then drive your car to an auto parts store to have the alternator tested.

 

+1 on the alternator especially if it is original.

 

thanks i asked a coupe of guys I know who know cars and they said that it might be a solenoid in the alternator. Can't really get that fixed, i'll look into this some more.

 

get a reman one from a parts store. they come with lifetime warranty or make sure it does. Mine did.

 

Do yourself a favor by first properly checking fuse 15. Otherwise, you might replace your alternator for no reason.

 

Alright I'll take a look at it.

 

i say check your grounds also, poor connection can cause your lights to do that.

 

Well my car is currently dead. Battery died on my way to work two weeks ago, getting a new alternator and battery soon. HOPEFULLY this will be the cure to that little problem.

 

Sounds like classic fuse 15 syndrome. Did you ever check it? If the fuse is blown (due to wires behind the engine shorting out) the alternator will not power up and charge the battery properly.