hey guys, my car is a 1999 civic sedan. its been acting up since the day i bought it. the interior and outside lights dim, and it bugs when i put pressure on it. like when i open the throtle to accelerate more it starts acting up. i cleaned all the grounds up the other day, went to the auto zone and they checked my alternator and said it was good. the battery is good, and the ECu is the right one.
even though the guy in auto zone didnt look like he know what he was doing, i still think my laternator is good. what else should i check?

 

no one?

 

check timing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check timing.</TD></TR></TABLE>
would that effect the dimming of the lights?

 

if you can see yoru lights bright and go dim...thats another issue. check timing will determind if your car is running advance or retarded. a retarded distributor can cause your car to have slow acceleration when you press down on the pedal. it would feel like slow at first but then it would start to slowly go fast and faster.

i see in your first post that you were concern of the feel of the car when you open the throttle. so check timing. make sure spark plug and spark plug wires are up to par.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you can see yoru lights bright and go dim... </TD></TR></TABLE>
yes i can see my interior lights go dim and brighten up in day light.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">check timing will determind if your car is running advance or retarded. a retarded distributor can cause your car to have slow acceleration when you press down on the pedal. it would feel like slow at first but then it would start to slowly go fast and faster.

i see in your first post that you were concern of the feel of the car when you open the throttle. so check timing. make sure spark plug and spark plug wires are up to par. </TD></TR></TABLE>
my car feels exactly like your explained it. im gonna do that later today. thanks alot for your help

 

yeah, it doesn't take much to adjust the timing for it to run correct. all you need is a timing gun and turn the distributor until the lines are lined up with the marks. if you like further details on how to re-timed your car let me know. i'll get you a detail pdf post.

about yoru light. i'm not a big fan of electrical, so i'm not sure of whats going on with your lighting. sorry. good luck on the timing.

 

people at autozone are idiots. take it from me, i had to worked there for almost 2 years and left cause i couldnt deal with it. it probably is your alternater. i know how thwe machine works there and you have to read the numbers it puts out and determine yourself if it is telling you its bad or not. most of the idiots at AZ dont even know what the hell they're looking at. not to mention, it could be an intermitent problem like mine was. i just changed my alt. last night actually. i had an AZ one in there... they suck.... luckely it has a lifetime warranty.

 

i guess i'm lucky and have good service from all the auto zone around my area. i like their brand. their brakes works somewhat very well for its price and it has lifetime warranty. best bang for the buck.

carefully try pullling out the positive while the motor is running. it should run for a bit still afterwards. if it doesn't then your battery is bad.

or carefully try pulling out the positive off yoru battery hile your motor is running. it should run for a bit afterwards. if it doesnt, your alternator is bad.

 

Have you seriously checked your grounds, negative, and positive battery terminals?
my '99 ex had low rpm bogging issues / low interior electronics voltage before i
got out some acetone, a scrub brush, re-crimped and cleaned some wires some wires, bought a negative battery terminal, and an aftermarket ground ( the nology one ). Now it runs like new.

Just an idea.

There are 3-4 grounds btw.. one important very one is on the transmission, hidden beneath the stock air box

 

yes i did, i didnt replace them. but i sanded them all down. now about timing, ill check my timing belt tonight. but for the distributer, doesnt the ECU adjust the timing on a OBDII car anyway?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lv6l &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

carefully try pullling out the positive while the motor is running. it should run for a bit still afterwards. if it doesn't then your battery is bad.

or carefully try pulling out the positive off yoru battery hile your motor is running. it should run for a bit afterwards. if it doesnt, your alternator is bad.</TD></TR></TABLE>

you should never disconnect your battery while the car is running. the battery acts as a shock absorber and absorbs any voltage spikes the alternator puts out. without the battery, the voltage spikes get sent right to your computer. bad news.

 

often times there is grunge between the wire itself and the connector that you bolt on to your car.. so if there is a black/brown dirt buildup, your job is not finished

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Neptronix &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">often times there is grunge between the wire itself and the connector that you bolt on to your car.. so if there is a black/brown dirt buildup, your job is not finished </TD></TR></TABLE>
hehe, i checked that already. i looked at all the wiring through the car (the visible parts) and i couldnt find anything. i took my laternator off and ill take it to autozone to get it tested again. ill let you guys know how it will go