hello everyone , so my car (97 honda accord) was running just fine and i pulled into my driveway , shut my car off and five minutes later i went to start it and it totally struggled . i shut if off immediately , tried again , and didn't start at all . thought battery at first til my key got stuck in the second place off the ignition .

i then cleaned the connections to my sparks out since my piston rings are shot and oil gets into where the spark plugs are . it then struggled to start again but it did .

as i was driving my tachometer and speedometer went to zero when i left off throttle , then started happening when i hit my brakes , and then stopped working at all . i don't have signals anymore , but i do have warning lights , and when i turn my lights on my car almost dies . i'm thinking electrical issue , or possibly two seperate issues ? any input or help would be great , thanks !

 

Hmm sounds like a charging issue. I would think maybe your alternator is not keeping your battery charged or your (-) or (+) cable.

Start by checking your battery off and running with a multimeter. Should be about 12.5 volts with the car off and 14.5 volts with the car running. I bet with the car running it is about 13 volts.

 

Oil in the spark plug tubes is not a piston ring issue. You should think about changing the VC gasket and tube seals to correct this issue.

 

If your spark plug tube seals are filling with oil, I would fix this problem. That could cause the engine to not want to start. Replace teh tube seals(I want to say that on a 97, f22B, theres only top seals...not bottom and top like on the f22a engines. But if im wrong...and theres top and bottom...definitely replace both.

 

thanks everyone for the input and corrections , what would be causing the electrical problems on my dash though ? and now it's just ticking so i'm thinking the starter is done too ? or there could be a possible short somewhere causing my battery to drain ? i'll check the battery when i get back and get back to y'all .

 

12.2 off and 4 while ticking , won't turn over at all right now .

 

just charged the battery , while running it's sending 12.37 volts . all electronics are working atm , gonna let it run for a few then try and start it again w/o charging in 30 min or so .

 

12.xxx at the battery while the car is running.......you have a charging issue. Many reasons for this that you will have to figure out.....bad connection some place, bad alt, ect.

"tim73" - since the OP has not given the trim level it would be hard to say if the car has "two" sets tube seals or one set.

 

Yup sounds like a charging issue. Check the belt and (-) & (+) cables. Next thing would be is to test the alternator or have it tested. Pretty sure, if your cables and belt past a visual inspection, is that your alternator is bad. You can YouTube how to bench test your alternator using the diode setting of a multimeter.

 

As suggested be sure to check the cables to be sure they are clean and tight - both ends of both cables.

If I remember correctly the "charging" post on the alt is pretty east to get to on the 5th gen - what is the voltage on the charging post of the alt when the car/engine is running?

Be sure the "plug" to the alt is fully seated. From there you have a decision - there are some more tests you can do (could be a blown fuse, wire issue, ect) or you can pull the alt and take it to a parts store and have it tested. Just me but if this is the OE alt and IT DOES TEST BAD, I'd check the brushes. If they are worn they can be replaced for ~$20....many have changed them with the alt still on the car

 

With all do respect to the OP, I don't think he is knowledgeable enough to swap out alternator brushes. The alternator is so easy to remove, I have no idea why someone would want to swap brushes while still in the car. Seems like only a hack would do that.

 

Id do it...if I could find a place to sell the brushes. Years ago, you could go into the auto parts store...and the common practice was to rebuild your starter/and or alternator. Now a days that isnt an option any more. Pretty much brushes and bearings are all that go out on these devices. Even today...instead of spending the $65 on a crappily rebuild alternator...ill many times...go to the junkyard and get 2-3 sets of brushes.

 

Have a good day