Sorry in advance if this is the wrong thread for this post. But I have a 1990 Honda Civic DX hatch that I just bought. Originally we were thinking a bad alternator because the battery just keeps dying. So to start I bought a new battery, car drove perfect, guages would occasionally reset but I just figured bad terminal. I replaced the terminal and crank the car, it starts on the first crank and then all the dash lights start cutting in and out and all of the guages keep jumping around like they’re constantly resetting, the car also starts sputtering like it’s gonna die. My dad suggested that it sounds like wiring but I’m honestly not sure.

would anybody have an idea of what could cause this? I still think (hope) it’s the battery being low but since it cranked first try (twice in a row) I’m unfortunately starting to think it’s a wiring thing.

any advice or feedback would be AMAZING 🙏

 

Some things I think that might be helpful would be to clean every ground wire connection that you can find to bare metal (there's a ecu ground on the thermostat housing too off the harness)
Remove the 2 - 12mm bolts for the IACV and flush it out with carb cleaner then blow it out with compressed air, you can get those air in a can things that are helpful. Re-seal the figure 8 o-ring with a thin coating of sealant or replace the o-ring.
Check spark plugs condition and gap, then inside the distributor checking caps 4 internal prongs and rotor for build up and wear along with the spring coming out the coil for surface rust.
Check for any loose connections on the fuse box under the dash..
Just some basic things to look at.