Hi everyone, I have a problem that's been driving me insane for the last few days. I drive a 2000 Honda Accord 3.0L V6 Coupe. This car has been running very well for years, and then a few days ago, out of the blue, I started the car and all (I think all) the red dash lights were on, and stayed on while driving. This includes the battery light, handbrake light, both door lights, brake light. I thought this was really weird, but started to drive.

10-20 minutes later, I felt the battery cut in and out a few times and the car almost died on the road. I pulled onto a side street and drove around a bit giving it a lot of gas. After 10 minutes of doing that the lights stayed on but the power wasn't cutting in and out. I parked for about 3 hours and when I started the car again, no problem, and the lights weren't on anymore. I got home about 30 minutes later and parked on the driveway.

In the morning, the car started again with no problem, except the red dash lights were on again. I drove for about 20 minutes, and then the power cut and the car died on me. I had to get a boost and charge my car battery a bit in order to get home. Once I got home I parked for about an hour, then started the car again and no problem, and the red lights weren't on anymore!

I drove straight to my mechanic (whom I must mention that I trust and he wouldn't BS me). He did some diagnostic tests, ran the scanner for any codes, tested the battery too. Everything came up clean and working fine. He said it is an alternator problem, and then he replaced the alternator and belt (the belt was almost broken). As I turned the car on to leave, red dash lights were on again. I'm glad it happened then so he could take a look. At this point, the (new) alternator wasn't charging the battery. He tested continuity with the main fuse or something, and then from the battery to the alternator and no problem there. Needless to say this confused the heck out of him.

While he was checking random things, I went online and found some forums where others had similar issues. One guy said he replaced the battery, alternator (three times) and the problem was actually with the ignition switch. I figured, what the heck. So my mechanic removed the panels and tapped the outside of the ignition switch a bit and to our surprise the lights turned off and the battery started charging again. Weird.

The ignition switch was then replaced, and the red dash lights went away. Finally! Success! That was on Saturday night. Had no problems all day Sunday.

Then Monday (today) came around. Went to work with no issues and no red dash lights. Left work and the red dash lights were back on! I was livid. What the heck could be the problem?! As I was driving, the RPM and speedometer cut out a few times (all within 30 seconds) and now they are working fine again.

The weird part is that before replacing the ignition switch, when the red dash lights were on, the battery would not charge, even after a new alternator was put in. Now the red dash lights are on BUT the batter IS charging.

I don't know where to go and what to do . I need help from anyone with experience with this problem. Please help!!


Thanks in advance for your help!!

Sam

"Rolling around in a 2000 Honda Accord 3.0L V6 Coupe "

 

I'm back to basic things. Be sure the cables (both ends) off the battery are clean and tight. I know this sounds strange but in the new ones all kinds of electrical issues show up with bad/dirty connections.

Please confirm these before we get into other issues.

 

Hey Poorman212, thanks for the reply. I actually got back from the garage today (went back). I'm happy to say I am now problem free

For anyone having the same problem, here's what happened to me and also how I got it fixed. Hopefully this will help someone out there.

On my 2000 Honda Accord there was a recall for the ignition switch. I was too late to claim on the recall so I had to pay to replace it. Though I did the labour myself and saved there (very simple job, took about an hour and a half). My mechanic told me that due to the faulty ignition switch, the alternator was charging the battery too much (overcharging) and this overheated my alternator and went bad. When the mechanic replaced the alternator with a rebuilt alternator, the ignition switch hadn't been replaced yet, so the same thing happened to that one.

I went in today and got the alternator replaced again, and since I already had the new ignition switch put in, everything was good.

So basically, if you're having this problem, first make sure to check your battery, all the terminals and connections (as poorman212 mentioned). If that's all good, then replace your ignition switch, *then* your alternator. Hopefully that should solve your problem.

 

Cool....

Thanks for coming back with the "answer".

 

I've just experienced the issue of these dash lights on ..
The brake , battery and all door lights..I've got 2001 honda accord
Lx v6 ..I tried to ignore it thinking it's a glitch ..it's not..and I continued to drive it and the ABS yellow light goes on.then the car did not want to drop the transmission into gear..not good!
Basically if this happens DO NOT IGNORE IT! Get it fixed! Its the alternator dying and you need to replace it ASAP! Be prepared to spend $400-$500..there is no way around it.if you continue to drive it serious electrical damage to overheating wires overcompensating for the low alternator volt output could result.
Good luck