For the past 2 days the electrical system in my 2005 Honda Accord 4cyl Sedan has started randomly going off and then back on.

The gap between off and on is typically 1-2 seconds, it has not as of yet impacted driving and it has not failed to come back on.

Most noticeable at night because of the lights, many times they don't go off as much as they just dim momentarily. The radio however will shut off and then back on completely, again, only taking a second or two to come back on.

Seems completely random, happens in stop and go traffic and interstate speeds, and it seems also random in frequency. Today only did it once, last night did it several times.

Not sure where to even start looking to figure out what is going on. Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks,
Michael

 

I would stop by a parts store and have them test the battery and alternator.

You may also want to clean and tighten the battery cables.

 

Not sure about the newer Accords, but the 98-02 have a Multiplex Control Unit which is the electrical brain of the car. If the new ones have something similar, try checking out and trouble shooting that.

 

I stopped by the parts store and had them check the batt and alt. both came up good they said. The positive battery terminal was very corroded though and loose. When they moved it, part of it actually broke off so we went ahead and replaced it with a new terminal and cleaned up all the corrosion.

so far haven't had it happen again, though I haven't drove much since. Hopefully that fixes it and I can get away with a pretty cheap fix. If it keeps happening, I will post.

Thanks,