Alright. So it started about a month and a half ago. My Alpine head unit has a USB hookup and i always play my own music since the antennae is broken off. A month and a half ago my stereo randomly cut out. I looked at the screen and it said READING, then after a moment the song resumed. It did it again a minute later. After that it stopped for about a month. Now it has gotten WAY worse. It happens multiple times per trip. Here are a few triggers I have noticed (in order of frequency), maybe somebody can string these together:

Pressing on the brake pedal.
Shifting gears.
Just randomly.

Also, sometimes when the car is running and I turn it off (to accessory mode, not completely to LOCK) the stereo will shut off and won't come back on. Normally when you turn the ignition from ON with the engine running to ACCESSORY the stereo will keep playing. And I won't be able to turn it back on either. I have to wait a few minutes.

So here's what I did. Since some of the songs were a bit crackly (NOT due to the files) I cleaned my ground wires. The battery to ground, the transmission to ground, and the valve cover to ground. Like REALLY ******* good. As in remove them and sand the crap outta them and the contact points, as well as the bolts. And then tightening em real good. And it didn't help at all. Can somebody please tell me what is going on?

Also, sometimes when I press the brake pedal the headlights dim a lot more than usual and then brighten back up, as well as all the interior lighting (dash, console, etc).


CLIFFS: pressing the brake pedal disrupts my head unit

 

Sounds like you'r alternator is on it's way out. what happens if you turn you'r highbeams,fan,interiour lights on i'd bet it cuts out really bad

 

but how does that have anything to do with the god damn brake pedal? and i suspected that a couple months ago, but the 'boyz' at autozone kept saying it was good. i need to replace the damn thing anyway. the belt squeaks like all hell when i start it cold sometimes or when i floor it in high gear at low revs. i wasn't gonna replace the damn belt until i did the alternator because the damn thing is hard to get to... so please tell me how the alternator relates to the brake pedal??????? thanks.

 

and actually, turning on the high beams only drops it about 150 revs then it goes back up. interior lights, doesn't do anything, fan, maybe 100 revs. windows, they go a little slower than id like, but then again its an 18 year old car on the original alternator.

 

coincedence.... regradless replace the alternator and have a look at you'e head unit maybe one of the wires is lose. wouldn't make sense that just the brake pedal is cutting it out. when you press the pedal when the car is stationary what happens

 

Part of a scientific theory is being able to REPLICATE RESULTS. If I go outside right now I guarantee that I can replicate this by pressing on the brake pedal. It ONLY does it when I do that. I'm not kidding. It pisses me off too because every time I get to a stop light or stop sign the damn thing stops for a second and I get off my vibe.

 

Here's my theory with this: you say it cuts when changing gears ? the engine spins down whilst you'r on the clutch, braking again the engine is slowing down the alt runs of the CP so it would make sense that those two things make it noticble. but that should mean that if you revved it up and down it should do it(maybe more noticible under load). Don't quite know why it would if the car's stationary and the pedal still cause it to cut out tho. i'd say do the alt as you said it needs to be done see if it still persists.

 

Bump! This is kinda urgent. I'm fishing everywhere right now. I'm sick of this ****.

 

I'll think about it. Thanks to Honda they decided that the power steering pump would need servicing more than the dang alternator and put the alternator way down in the bay. So ima have to get out ol red and jack the muhfucka up and pray to sweet baby Jesus that the salt hasn't frozen up my alternator bolt. Cuz I'm gonna go ape **** on that if it has.

 

And also, just as an example, if I'm in 2nd gear turning 3k rpm and I VERY LIGHTLY tap the brake pedal, so lightly that it doesn't slow the car, but lights up the brake lights, it will do that. I think it is moreso tied to the brake lights than the actual slowing of the engine. Hence the title of the thread... but thanks though. ANYONE ELSE PLEASE???

 

Going up.

 

What is the history of this car? When was the last time the car worked fine? Have you changed anything recently? ( you have owned the car five years, changed nothing and now problems. or you just bought the car, and paid the lowest quote you found on craigslist to some random guy working out of his trunk to install an alarm/stereo/fuzzy light up dice?)

Since you cleaned up the grounds

Do load test on your battery 1st.


If battery passes, test generator.

If battery fails load test, buy new battery and test the generator again. If just install a new battery with out testing the generator you might have the same problem several weeks from now.


Your car also seems to have a lot of after market stuff installed. You might want to disconnect ALL the fusses for them and seem if that is part of the problem. ( you might have a short/ground wire/parasitic draw/ etc.. )


Another thing you can try after you have done the above test first. Hookup multimeter ( or led test light ) to the positive and ground of your stereo. See if the power stays consistent when you drive around/hit breaks etc... If the power and ground is good at your stereo, maybe your stereo is on it's way out.

 

I would say alternator, b/c when the brake lights come on its a big draw and revs are low as has been discussed above. Definitely is if @ idle your headlights dim when blinker is flashing or almost stalls when headlights on and brake pedal is pushed(heavy alt load)- dead giveaway.
Imho, I wish other cars alternator belts were as easy as d/b series. I think they're cake, but its relative to your experience, like everything else.
Only reason for it to be the batt is if alternator is on the way out and its compensating by giving up charge. Ie:multiple subs and a big amp
X2 what above poster says about checking for parasitic loss.

 

have you checked your ground points behind the dash? having something odd happen when you step on the brake is a common indicator of a broken or loose body ground connections

 

assuming you used the existing ground wire from the factory harness, try this, attach a wire to good solid point on the body .that you know is grounded, now temporarily connect this to the ground wire from the head unit, and see if it continues to do this, Honda likes to group a lot of wires together and connect it to a single ground point, if this comes loose, all kinds of strange stuff happens, the current can't take a normal path, so it follows odd paths to ground however it can get there, this can cause you to think your car is possessed, when it's just a bad terminal connection

 

No there isn't any aftermarket electrical stuff, just the Alpine head unit. And I bought the car back in January, a 2 owner car, and for 3 months straight I didn't have a single problem with the stereo.

 

How do I do that? And thanks.

 

I haven't read where you actually pulled the headunit to check the wiring.
Pressing the brake pedal interrupts forward motion which causes loose things like loose/bare wires to jostle around and possibly short themselves.

Or your headunit could just be crapping out.

 

see if someone has a master electrical manual for that car they can look at, it will tell you exactly where each ground point is

 

You're right and thanks. However, I said that even if I very lightly touch the brake pedal, just so that the brake lights turn on and the car isn't actually slowing down, it does it. Because it does it the INSTANT the brake pedal is pushed, not when the car is slowing down. I've tested it numerous times, I'm not confused.

 

Well that's my advice. Check the wiring. I don't really care about the brake pedal at all. As of right now you don't know what it looks like under your dash. And since it's only affecting your headunit I'd pull it an inspect.

 

About to do that now. Too bad I can't listen to music while I'm doing it...

 

update. I noticed that when the stereo cuts out I hear a pop in the exhaust, as if the engine is losing rpms for a moment. also happens when the brake lights light up. I'm thinking it is an alternator issue.

 

Also, when the stereo cuts out, half the time the speedometer needle will go haywire, but only for a brief moment, then will go back to the right speed at the same time that the stereo cuts in.

 

sounds like the voltage regulator in the alternator is failing, possibly ac is getting into the system through a bad diode in the rectifier