so a few days ago, girlfriend of mine had left my keys on and my battery seemingly died. so i popped the hood and took a look to see my positive terminal was corroded. This has been an issue with me before. My connector was loose on the cable and talks of my cable eventually needing to be replaced were had. Everything had been running fine at this point in time, car started without a problem etc. Well, since that occurance, i've needed to jump the car everytime i get in the damned thing. The battery seemingly is fine, it just sounds like there isn't enough juice going to the starter to get the thing turning. All lights, radio, power windows, etc. are operational in the car, even the radio.

So i took an acid detector and cleaner and i cleaned out the positive terminal and whatnot, rinsed it clean and a bit later went on my way. While jamming some Walter Schreifels on the way to band rehearsal, and after getting a jump to start it, the radio started flickering, and the speedometer dropped from 40 to 0 without losing speed or anything of the sort, then the radio and speedometer would jump back to normal, etc.

My check engine light HAS come on. Before when i hadn't had this issue, the light didn't come on. This has me worried obviously. I'm in a huge bind as i just lost my job and will need the car to get to my next job. I'm low on cash, need a fix that will be incredibly inexpensive if at all possible and long term temporary, just until i can get working, get paid, and fix what the problem could be.

The car is running fine when jumped to start. I am boggled as to what to do right now. Any tips, or ideas would be incredibly welcome and appreciated at such a frustrating time.


R

 

ps.

1996 accord lx

 

Take your car to an autozone and have them scan for error codes and test the battery/alternator.

For the error codes, the connector is behind the ashtray. Write down the code(s), they will be P####. All of that stuff is free.

Report back on the codes and the battery/alternator test.