99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

so, ive had this problem since i got my car. apparently its a common problem. and it happens to me often, my lights pluse for very long periods of time, sometimes it doesnt but most often it does. its easy to tell at night time. all of my interior/dash lights pulse, tail lights and turn signal bulbs (not my headlights because i have hid's installed)

lots of people tell me its due to my sterio. i have a subwoofer and amp setup along with a big 3 upgrade. but i know for a fact this has nothing to due with it simply because ive had this problem before i installed the sterio.. when the car was bone stock.

ive looked online at some tsb reports and fix-it procedures and they say that its due to some "electronic load sensor" that is placed under the intake maniford. ive taken out this harness and inspeced it as best as i could and didnt notice anything unusual about it. the electronic connectors seem to be connected well. some other people say its a blown fuse but i have NO blown fuses at all.

so im a bit stumped and dont know where to go from here. any help would be great. its really annoying even though im pretty sure no one else notices it.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

Any Cels?

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

nope. none at all

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

Yikes.

Start with your grounds. There may be something that's dirty or corroded.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

could be ur alt going out ... but also could be #15 fuse check that

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

EDIT: Never mind

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

I'd take off the alternator and get it bench tested, it will check the voltage regulator. Like Hunana said, check your grounds and for corrosion depending on climate a 12 year old car may have issues.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

alt is working fine. i have 0 gauge wire running from my alt to my battery with 200 amp fuse in between it. all my grounds are 0 gauge wire and ive checked fuses both under the dash and under the hood.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

Post data (e.g., voltage measurements) to support this conclusion.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

None of this means your alternator is "running fine". Have it tested or test it yourself using a multimeter.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

used a mmeter im at 12.7 volts with the car off. when i start the car im at 14.5 volts. all my connections and grounds are clean.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

this means nothing .. what is the alt doing under load

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

well i had my brother turn on the ac and turn on the radio. the voltage dropped to 13.5 and then very quickly went back up to 14.7

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

Turn all the electrical accessories on with the warm engine idling and watch for whether the voltage across the two battery posts fluctuates over a few minutes of observation. You'll get the most information if you make voltage readings when the lights pulsate.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

found the problem, my charge wire (connects to alt and battery) was rubbing on some other wires, no bare wire contact. all the rubber around the wires are fine. just a wierd electrical issue. to fix this i losened the 10mm bolt on the alternator and turned the wire closer to the engine block.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

SOLVED!!

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

who would have known it was somthing this simple

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

It usually is. And it makes me mad.

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

well... car got in front end collision (not my fault) got it back from hinshaws honda body shop a few days ago. problem is now back. could it be this electronic load sensor under my intake manifold?

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

Did you ever perform this test?

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

will do now. i got a new dmm

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

so, car off it was reading 12.87v

turned the car on (cold) it would sit at 14.57 then in a second it would jump around to 14.6 to 14.8 to 14.9 then back down to 14.57 (not so stable)

then once car was warmed up it sat at 14.5 and after a while it would go to .6, .7, down to .4 then back to 14.5 and repeat after a while.

turned on my cd player (sub off) at a moderate level where you can still have a conversation, heater on fan half speed voltage was steady 14.46 to 14.47 volts

then i turned on my headlights (hid bi xenon) would jump around 14.35 to 14.47


so, quite alot of jumping around on the mm

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

new alternator maybe? take it off get it tested at autozone?
just my .02

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

I know it's an old post but any conclusions? I have a 97 dx and am having the same issue. Any help would be appreciated

Re: 99 civic ex pulsating lights
 

the only thing that would cause this on a number of different circuits is the alternator or it's wiring, it's possibly a regulator failing or possibly a bad diode, turn the meter to low voltage ac and see if you read any AC component, also why are you running such a huge wire from the alternator, is it a stock alternator? you shouldn't need more then 2 gauge, I wonder if the huge wire is putting a mechanical strain on the output terminal at the alternator, this is very possible. the fact that it did this when rubbing the other wire also says this, this caused more load on the alternator terminal, that terminal is not designed for 0 gauge wire