it's an automatic and i just had a couple of questions. first, when i turn my parking lights on only a few of the gauge lights work, and when i turn the headlights on none of them work. the previous owner told me that they had to have the ignition re-keyed(not sure if that helps). also if i haven't driven it for a while it starts up fine, but i went to wash it today, and after 10-15minutes of washing it i got in and it took quite a while to start up. 8 or 9 tries. was reading some other people's threads on here and i'm thinking maybe the main relay. once it gets started it runs very well. thanks in advance for any help, and if i left out anything important just let me know.

edit: one more thing. it has an alarm on it that locks the doors when i start, and when it does it makes a grinding/whining noise in the drivers door. i assume it's a worn out motor, but i'm really just guessing on that.

 

first off, welcome to the forums glad to have you.

for the lighting problem, do the headlights actually turn on or are the dash lights the main problem? i would check your fuses under the hood. theres a 15a interior light fuse that can cause that. it might also be the dimmer switch going bad.

as for the starting issue, having trouble starting it warm could be a few things, fuel filter, air filter, or generally the car needs a tune up. check the air filter first, if dirty replace it. heck if it seems old at all just replace it, they are cheap. check your wires, cap, rotor, plugs for wear and tear. replace if they seem old or look damaged. also check all the electrical grounds, clean and tighten them good. maybe run some injector cleaner or sea foam in the gas tank. might be missing something so maybe someone else will chime in.

as for the alarm sounds like its trying to keep locking the locks, like the motor keeps going and grinding in there. not sure on that one though.

 

thanks clutch.

the headlights work fine, it's just the gauges, which oddly enough seem to work(the park, reverse, drive, etc.) when the headlights aren't on. yeah, when i don't need them. i'm gonna head out to a junk yard soon, so i'll be sure and hunt for a dimmer switch, and if i'm lucky maybe just a whole new cluster.

as for the starting issue.... i replaced the plugs, wires, and air filter. however i hunted around on here a little more and found a few people having problems when it was wet outside, and being i had just washed my car, and engine, i think that might have been the case.

and as you said i'm pretty sure the door noise is probably motor related. another junk yard gem i'll be hunting for.

all in all the car has some little things that need to be done to it, but i'm happy with it so far. for $1400 i can't complain too much right?

thanks again, and you'll probably see me on here with plenty more rookie level questions