Around 3 weeks ago, I picked up a used 97 civic DX to use to commute back and forth to work.

I commute to work 40 miles one way on Massachusetts highways where the speed ranges from 70 - 80 mph. The car starts up fine in the morning even with temps in the morning approaching 10 degrees and runs fine all the way to work. No noticeable problems.
The commute home is a little different. The speeds on the way home range 75 - 85 mph. Not sure if the speed thing is significant or not, only one variable that I have noticed.
When I get home in the evening the first thing I have noticed when I pull into the driveway, is that the car seems to be idling rough. (first symptom). Symptom two I noticed after getting home, then jumping back in the car after about 15 minutes to run an errand. I noticed that the radio had been reset (after-market radio). All of the programmed stations were lost as well as the time had been reset. These first two symptoms were noticed the first day. The second day, now being accutely aware that something is going on, I noticed that the car did the same thing on the second day (radio reset) but this time, while the car was in this state of failure, I tried turning on other things that required power; with the key turned to accessory, I tried radio, nothing, I tried the blower, nothing, I tried starting it up, nothing, not even a sound from the fuel pump, no dash lights, no exterior lights. All dead, as if the battery had been completely disconnected from the car. I let it sit for a minute or two, then tried it again and volia, it started right up and everything worked fine.This same set of symptoms happenned at the gas station. I let it sit and it finally came back to life. Since it has only happenned a couple of times, I have not been able to coorelate whether it has something to do with the igniton switch. Although, I have noticed that I have not become completely accustomed to getting the key out and I fumble and jiggle a little to get it out.

I took it to autozone, they tested the alternator and battery and both came back good, except that the battery came back "low charge". I suspect the battery is pretty old.

Does anyone have any ideas of what the common component could be that would cause all power to the car to die but then suddenly come back on ?
I have a computer based Chiltons guide but have yet to find anything common to all.

Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

So far, I love my little civic.

Thanks !

Oh by the way, I got the civic because I was driving a V8 4x4 Dakota to and from work. The gas was killing me. Its now parked in the garage only to be brought out when the weather gets really bad or me and the kids want to play in the snow a little :-)

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sounds like a possible electr part of ignition switch,, but it should be properly diagnoses

 

I may be missing something, but I can't see how a faulty ignition switch would cause the radio and clock to lose their presets. The battery would need to be disconnected to have this effect. Therefore, I would recommend that you:

1) Clean the battery connectors and electrodes to ensure good electrical contacts.

2) Charge the battery.

3) Make sure the battery ground wire is not badly frayed or corroded and is making a good tight electrical connection to the body frame (see picture).

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man I love these forums. My wife has an '02 Ford Escape and I fixed many things because I was a member of the Escape owners forum.

Thanks for the suggestions on the battery connections and ignition switch.

OnceI figure out what it is, I will re-post.

I also just read up on the IAC (idle air control valve). I was thinking the rough idle might have something to do with the electrical problem but it is starting to become evident that I might have a couple of problems to contend with. I guess it is to be expected, the car has 194K miles on it. A little TLC and it should serve me well.

Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

update;

I installed a new battery this evening. I also put in a new set of plugs, sprayed off the throttle body with carb cleaner and poured in a bottle of injector cleaner.

I will post the results after a couple days of commuting next week.

 

I was going to recommend a new battery.
If it still happens then I would guess a loose connection somewhere.

 

update;

I am now going on day 4 after putting in a new battery. So far so good. No more weird electrical problems.

I went for the battery replacement after reading in one of the other posts about a battery that was shorting internally.

glad I went for the battery first instead of the alternator.