96 Accord electrical problem
Thread Starter
Registered Honda user
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 675
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From: Texas
96 Accord electrical problem
1996 Accord LX 4 cyl.
I have an usual electrical problem that I have not been able to diagnose yet.
When driving, the radio will flash off momentarily from time to time. When it does, the speedo will drop to zero then back to normal again. One time, the car even died and had to be restarted. It almost always happens when moving and not parked. A couple times when I turned the ac blower on the flash happened, and other times it is when I let off the gas. No clear pattern it seems.
It has an aftermarket radio, but it has been in there for a couple years with no problems, and I installed it with the proper adapter harness (no hack job).
The car used to have an alarm, but I removed it.
I took out the ignition harness, removed the remaining wires from the alarm, repaired and re-soldered the connections to make sure it was working o.k.
I tried moving the key around in the ignition with it "on", but the dash lights stay steady (no flickering). The car turns over and starts quickly every time.
I had the alternator and battery load tested in the car, and they passed.
I have made sure battery connections are clean and tight.
Fuses are tight, and all wires I can see are wrapped up.
Still, the problem persists. Has anyone else seen this happen, and is it some part trying to fail?
I have an usual electrical problem that I have not been able to diagnose yet.
When driving, the radio will flash off momentarily from time to time. When it does, the speedo will drop to zero then back to normal again. One time, the car even died and had to be restarted. It almost always happens when moving and not parked. A couple times when I turned the ac blower on the flash happened, and other times it is when I let off the gas. No clear pattern it seems.
It has an aftermarket radio, but it has been in there for a couple years with no problems, and I installed it with the proper adapter harness (no hack job).
The car used to have an alarm, but I removed it.
I took out the ignition harness, removed the remaining wires from the alarm, repaired and re-soldered the connections to make sure it was working o.k.
I tried moving the key around in the ignition with it "on", but the dash lights stay steady (no flickering). The car turns over and starts quickly every time.
I had the alternator and battery load tested in the car, and they passed.
I have made sure battery connections are clean and tight.
Fuses are tight, and all wires I can see are wrapped up.
Still, the problem persists. Has anyone else seen this happen, and is it some part trying to fail?
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,335
Likes: 1
so some times your engine die it could be a bad ignition switch or main relay some main relays die when thy get hot will your hole car lose electrical power or just you gauges and radio let me know so i can pin point the problem.
Last edited by Fuse; Nov 5, 2006 at 04:07 PM.
Thread Starter
Registered Honda user
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 675
Likes: 0
From: Texas
Main relay? Thanks, I'll keep it in mind.
The only other things I can think of is the clock will flash off when the radio does, and occasionally the clock will lose time after being parked. Yeah, I guess you could say I'm losing complete power at times. It's my wife's car, so I'm pretty interested in getting it fixed asap. I took it to Honda, but of course the problem would not show up. I stood there in the shop while we tried to replicate the problem, but to no avail. When I left it happened twice before I got off the lot.
It's looking like 99% of the time it happens only when rolling. Possible loose ground? Connections to the underhood fuse panel are tight. I had gone out earlier and unplugged the relays and replugged in case some corrosion had built up, but connections looked good.
The only other things I can think of is the clock will flash off when the radio does, and occasionally the clock will lose time after being parked. Yeah, I guess you could say I'm losing complete power at times. It's my wife's car, so I'm pretty interested in getting it fixed asap. I took it to Honda, but of course the problem would not show up. I stood there in the shop while we tried to replicate the problem, but to no avail. When I left it happened twice before I got off the lot.
It's looking like 99% of the time it happens only when rolling. Possible loose ground? Connections to the underhood fuse panel are tight. I had gone out earlier and unplugged the relays and replugged in case some corrosion had built up, but connections looked good.
