1997 Accord SE Automatic, 276,000 miles.

I was driving home tonight and I went to use my turn signal to change lanes and the dash lights started flickering to match the turn signal as did the RPM and Speed dials, then they went to zero, even as the car kept driving down the road. The radio went dead, the cruise wouldn't turn on and the the remaining lights thru out the car slowly started to dim as I kept driving. I was 10 miles from home so I kept going. As I got closer and closer to home, all the lights on the car including the headlights kept getting dimmer. I started to accelerate on a long hill and 1/2 mile from my house, the car just died. No power, no lights, nothing. Alternator and battery are less than a year old. I did get a CEL yesterday but the code was the O2 sensor and the car was running fine until tonight. Had the car towed to my house and now I need to figure out what to check. I have a basic code reader but since i can't start the car I don't think that'll do me any good. I did get a cheap alternator so I guess that COULD be it but I don't suspect that would cause the RPM and Speed dials to zero out and not work while the car is driving down the road. I hear a crackling noise when I try and use the turn signals now. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Low voltage can cause all the problems you listed.

Now the question is if your alternator, battery, or wiring is the issue.

Charge the battery. Use a volt meter to see if it has over 12.4 volts when fully charged. Start up the engine and check the voltage on the battery (should be greater than 13V).

 

I'll do that tomorrow and report back. Thanks for the quick reply!

 

should I also remove the alternator and take it to Oriellys and get it tested?

 

You can, it is up to you.....heck if you are going to do that take the battery in for testing as well. They can "load" test the battery, which is another test that should be done to the battery as well.

When you put the battery back in, take the time to be sure the cables are clean and tight.

 

So I was going to take out the battery and alternator. Out of habit I pressed the key fob to unlock the door and it opened. I opened the door to pop the hood and the lights came on. I got curious so I turned the key in the ignition and the car started right up like it always does, ran fine. Does this new information send me in one particular direction?

I wasn't able to get to the auto parts store to get the battery and alt tested but I'll post those results up as soon as I can get over there. I'll get both tested. Thanks!

 

The parts store can check your battery and alternator in the car.

The battery wasn't completely drained, since the car started up. I'd start with the simple stuff first. Disconnect the battery and clean the battery connections and posts.

With the battery disconnected, you should disconnect and clean the battery cable connections on the other ends (fuse box and the grounds) and clean the eyelets and bolts. Look at your connections at the alternator.

When you tighten the clamps on the battery use a 10mm socket and not a wrench. I thought I securely tightened the battery cables with my boxed wrench and they were still too loose.

 

update - took the battery and alternator to auto parts store. Both checked out fine. He said the battery was a tiny bit low and could use a charge but it wasn't anywhere near low enough to cause the issues I'm having. He did do a load test and everything was fine. He was nice enough to check the alternator twice and it's fine.

 

A flaky connection (loose, dirty, corroded) at any end of either battery cable can cause the operating voltage to become too low, then you touch the cables & it works OK this time. All this without the battery or alternator being "bad".

Since it started up, then the battery & alternator tested OK; that tells me it's likely a wire problem somewhere. I once had a similar problem that drove me nuts for awhile. Ends of the cables were OK, but moisture had gotten inside the insulation of the ground cable & lay inside the low-point, corroding the cable strands inside the insulation.

 

OK so the latest is this. I reinstalled the battery and the alternator I snugged down every connection related to the alternator and the battery, I found no obvious loose connections or major corrosion anywhere, and now the car starts up just fine. I say just fine, I do have a check engine light for a po141 which my scan tool is telling me it's a post cat O2 sensor so I ordered a denso. The start up on the car stumbles a little bit but then it gets going so I'm assuming it's the O2 sensor that's causing that.

I've checked all I know to check and I'm not even sure where to begin to look for corrosion inside a wire sheath......any suggestions or direction is appreciated.