Battery, Check Engine, and Door Ajar flashing intermittently w/video
 

'98 Honda Accord V6 with 78k


For about the past year the battery, check engine, and door ajar lights have been flashing occasionally. I have no idea what causes it and either does a dealer or a well respected local mechanic. It seems to happen on its own at speeds below 60mph. Sometimes the lights just strobe on and off together, other times they stay on for a few seconds.


What I know so far:

Sometimes the car will goes days without acting up, not one blink
Never observed any flashing above 60mph
Happens both when accelerating and decelerating
Alternator and battery were both replaced with the last year and did not fix the problem
Rough roads vs smooth roads have no effect, problem happens equally on both


Video attached shows the lights flashing. Usually the lights only flash once or twice for a few second and aren't a problem again for the rest of a trip. This day they were particularly active which allowed me to create a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QkGhvjQzTc

Service Bulletin 02-031 ?? Link for you;

http://www.freewebs.com/hondadude/A02-031.PDF

Both the MIL and Alt light are always hot so any grounding would cause them to come on. Probabaly same for door ajar light, but circuit is not shown in detail in my manual (not a 98 Accord manual but an 97 Acura TL).

Looking at possibilities, I would access the instrument panel (a manual for your vehicle is essential to avoid damaging trim and IP) and check all the connectors. Some metal debris in the circuit board strips/connector, damaged circuit board contacts, or perhaps a damaged or loose connector might cause your symptoms. The instrument panel diagram I have shows two, 16 pin connections and one 13 pin connections to contact strips on the IP circuit board. The location of the contact strips for three intermittent lights may be on the same connector, however this was not the case on my wiring diagram.

Only other possibility I can suggest is a wiring fault allowing all of these to ground. This might be caused by wires being pinched by some add-on equipment or modifications (under the hood or under dash).

good luck

Resolution?
 

Have you corrected this problem yet? My 1999 Accord (127,500 mi all factory equipment, orginal owner) just started with the same problem Oct '09. Can't find resolution.

Symptoms:
Starts flashing intermittently when car is completely warmed up
Flashes on deceleration between 1-1 1/2 rpm
Doesn't flash with headlights on
Majority local driving to/from school, shopping, etc., minimal highway

Attempts since Oct 3
Replaced Alternator 2 times
Replaced Battery
Dealer Service :mad: claims ABS code (which has yet to flash) (big $$)
Dealer Service :mad: claims requires new alternator (done twice) ($$)
Waiting for repair shop to check alternatives

Any help greatly appreciated.
CA - Illinois