Here's A Good One

[imported_mntdewred]

1998 Honda Civic EX 89,XXX miles

It may seem like an obvious fix, but then again, nothing is certain. Let's go back to when it all began.

It was November 27th, 4:35pm...irrelevant. Last month, I noticed the battery system light come on after driving for 25 minutes. Light was solid as a rock, car performed as it always has, no worries...Next day, no light. Light hasn't been back for quite some time.

Three weeks later...our good friend mr. battery light returns, but this time his stay is short lived or so we thought. The light likes to dim like an interior household light. When at idle, the battery light is a giant red pimple on my dash. Under slow acceleration, the pimple seems to heal, aka fade away. Oh, but when off the gas, it's like the night before school pictures, the pimple is back.

Today, one week later. Battery light fluctuates like the week prior, but now we're noticing lack of accessory lighting. Car starts strong, car drives strong, car doesn't illuminate strong. The interior lights (lights behind the dash) seem to be illuminating 30% of original full-power illuminocity. I checked the switch near the steering column to see if anyone has moved the dimmer, nope.

Went to Autozone to have them check out the alternator, see if it's going bad. Nope, a strong 13~14 amps coming from the baby, and the battery is brand spank-a-child new. Although, like any good patient, we need a second opinion. Trip two, going down to Advanced Auto Parts. Different machine, same results. Alternator pumping out 13~14 amps and battery is strong.

New twist, or maybe a psychadelic coincidence, you decide. Radar detector, brand: Cobra, age: 3 years. When driving, the Laser signal of the detector goes off and stays on....constantly, no matter where I turned. When at idle, Laser portion goes off, and our new 'Emergency Vehicle Approaching' signal comes on. Weird? Yea, I thought so. At a stop light, I decide to rev her a bit (remember, 'Emergency Vehicles are still Approaching'). Low and behold, E shuts off and L (Laser) comes back on. Drop to idle, L shuts off and E (Emergency) comes back on. What could be emitting a signal to trip the radar detector? I highly doubt the radar detector is defective, but then again, I could be wrong...

Who wants to be the mad scientist and pick apart my brain? You've got questions, I've got answers.

Enjoy!

[imported_micah]

Whenever something electrical happens to the car we always assume its the battery or alternator.. most likey 60% chance its the wiring.. check ALL your wiring, loose connections, check your grounds, i had dimming "fluctuating" check engine light once.. messed with spedometer too.. ended up being an exposed wire in the harness underneath the intake manifold. patched it up and everything was golden... oh also check your voltage regulator.

[imported_mntdewred]

well, i do have my tps wire semi-exposed because i tapped it for my nitrous unit. maybe water finally reached up there. but would the tps wire really affect my symptoms?