Honda - Cr-v :: Momentary Electrical Drop Outs At Unpredictable Times
May 5, 2013
At unpredictable times, all of the dashboard gauges, the factory installed car radio and a ham radio which is directly wired to the battery terminals, loses power for about 100 milliseconds, plus or minus, and may occur from 1 to 10 times in varying succession. Bumpy roads or bad weather do not seem to influence the electrical drop-outs. The ignition, and headlights if night time, are steady and unaffected. The battery terminals are tight. This has been occurring over several years.
I have had problems with chipmonks chewing on the wire harness on top of the gas tank, causing the check engine light to light. The harness was replaced and the check engine light has been off during the latest drop-outs. The above senario does not seem to be logically possible. What could cause this problem?
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My manual 98 Honda civic hatchback has 435,000 miles. But for the past 5 months, it has had a reoccurring problem: it loses power at unpredictable times while I'm driving. The gas stops responding and the check engine and battery lights come on. Have to pull over, turn the car off and usually have to wait on the side of the road 5 minutes before it will start again. Lately, it can take as long as 15 minutes. Sometimes, it will restart immediately or after only two minutes.
So far, trying to get at this problem, the car has gotten: new battery, new alternator, new spark plugs, new coil, new distributer, new ignition switch, diagnostic testing (that indicated the coil [replaced] and the catalytic converter). There does not seem to be any consistent environment that goes along with the car turning off while driving. It happens regardless of how full the gas tank is and regardless of the weather.It's pretty bad to be going 70 on the highway and suddenly have to throw on the flashers and pull over... especially when there is no shoulder because of winter weather. What this is? Or is the car just old and tired?
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my 1997 town and country van with the 3.8 liter engine keeps stalling at unpredictable times. sometimes when it is cold first thing in the morning, other times when fully warmed up at a stop light and sometimes on the interstate at 70 mph. The tach drops to zero, the speedometer drops to zero, the check engine light blinks on and then back off, the computer doesn't record any error codes. it causes the cruise control to drop out while on the hiway. the engine always starts right back up, for how long, its unpredictable. Mechanics have replaced the three engine sensors twice, checked and cleaned wiring contacts at sensors and engine computer. And also the Knock sensor has already been disconnected per a chrysler bulletin. At highway speeds the engine usually bucks and then keeps running, but sometimes dies.
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Having problems with the electrical unit on 3is? A while back it had sudden black outs or freezing with the screen. When that happens my entire multi media does not work including gps. Recently it keeps telling I have a system update but when it finishes loading the same cycle of it updating keeps appearing.
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I've had light steering issues at speeds above 60 MPH on smooth roads where my Civic FWD 1999 ( 230K miles) feels darty, dangerous and unpredictable when I put in the slightest steering corrections to keep my car going straight. One possible cause, i assumed, could be my front alignment. I'm lowered on lowering springs but never had this darty feeling before.
Inner tie rod boots have been torn for awhile but there is no play left right top bottom with each wheel so I assume they're still fine. Rack could also be worn out. It's been 7 years since my last alignment.
First, I measured my front toe using the string method. Aligned the string to the rear wheel front and rear to keep it parallel, inches away then measured the front. These are the readings from the left and right tire.
Left tire/Front- 9" 3/8
Left tire/Rear - 9" 5/8
Right tire/Front 10" 1/4
Right tire/Rear 10" 3/16
Difference b/w L and R = +5/16th inch toe out.
To confirm, I used another method by choosing a tread line on my left and right tire that are identical and using a 2x4 to keep my tape level measure and taking a reading on each tire.
Distance b/w L and R in front= 62" 1/4
Distance b/w L and R in rear = 62"
1/4th inch toe out in front
So I know I have slightly toe out by a little over a 1/4th inch. Could this cause darty and light steering? And why is my left front farther away from the center of my car then the right front (using the first method above?)
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Basically i have an integra here used to be a gsr with a type R engine. Basic bolt on's and 8lbs flywheel, 6 puck racing clutch. Here are the problems, i hate fixing other shops messes but here we go. When sitting at a stop light if we hit the brakes a few times every time we do it the rpm's drop and start going up and down, some times when the car is just sitting there idleing it does it. Had the same problem on a del sol with a gsr engine and b16a2 head on it done from the same shop. Also when its cold the owner complains that it will take him like 1/2 hour to start it. I was thinking that the grounding wasn't good enough. The check engine light is on as well, but how to get the ecu codes out of this ecu.
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I travel and often live in a 94 chevy g20 3/4 ton van. Today I started it up and the electrical was flipping out, I got to the end of the road and I smelled electrical smoke and the van died.
I opened up the hood and the piece of wood that I usually wedge between the battery terminals and the metal frame of the van (the battery is very poorly placed and slides around) had slid out of place and the positive terminal had melted a bit and fused to the frame.
After I got it unstuck, I got a jump and it started right back up fine, but now when I turn on anything electrical my gauges drop slightly for a moment and my gear wont shift from low gear (it's an automatic transmission). This definitely won't do...
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It just doesn't end lately. I've noticed over the last several months, when it rains and I start the engine I would hear an underhood squealing noise. Like a belt or pulley. After the engine warmed up a bit, and the engine bay dried out, the squeal would go away. After a rain about a month back, I opened the hood to listen but wasn't able to locate the exact source of the squeal. Never gave it any more thought.....until this evening. I was driving in our New England Nor'easter in 4 whl drive mode with the wipers on HI, the defroster and blower on HI, and the headlamps and dash lights illuminated, when suddenly the dash lights dimmed about 40%, the blower slowed down about the same, and the wiper speed dropped as well from HI to about low speed. This was shortly followed by an underhood squeal which sounded a lot like the one I've experienced recently. After about 20 secs, the squeal would disappear and the power would quickly return to all accessories! This happened about 4 or 5 times and I returned home and parked it as I did not want to be stranded during the blizzard with a dead truck. The battery voltage gauge needle on the dash never seemed to move so I'm a bit stumped.
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My fuel gauge indicates empty at all times. The first suggestion I received was to replace the sending unit in the gas tank. I did that but the gauge still indicates empty.
I tried the HEC Dealer test mode and I now know that FUEL reads 255. Which should be an 'open' state. The connector near the fuel tank does appear to be making good contact, so my suspicion is a broken wire somewhere between the rear of the truck and the front.
I tried following the wire on it's way towards the front of the truck, but I quickly loose sight of the wire as more branches enter into the wiring harness. Where does this wire end? Does it terminate in the engine compartment, at the instrument cluster, somewhere else?
I just can't figure out how to narrow down where the break in the wire might be. Or am I chasing down the wrong root cause?
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98 Ford Expedition 4.6L, 198K Miles, New Battery, Alternator replaced, but battery light still on and after a minute charge indicator drop until left indicating zero, temp gauge on top while temperature motor is cold, gas gauge drop, when lights are turned on oil light turn on also check engine both for a few of seconds.
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While trying to remain positive regarding my current truck fiasco, I was thinking about future mods. I really like the way Dodge has the exhaust cut outs in the bumper and was wondering if anything like that exists for our trucks?
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With the many discussions on F150 spark plug blow outs, is there any consistency in which Cylinders usually go or is it completely random. In my 2003 F150, 4.6, 2wd, I've replaced #3 cylinder with insert and now #2. Currently I'm at 154,000 miles but want to travel cross country with a load. I don't want to stall out on the hwy, would it be wise to go and insert the remaining cylinders - not cheap. My mechanic is willing to inspect with a bore scope the threads and re-torque. Is there a point at which if it hasn't been a problem it won't be. Truck is used primarily for commuting and to pull a single jet ski in the summer. Both blow-outs happened at a stop-light about 20,000 miles apart with no load.
Follow-up. Did inspection, found cylinder #7 nearly stripped out - it was actually pushing up the coil. Funny thing is, this plug had already the small insert which was coming out with the plug. I bought the vehicle new. Was this a factory repair? or did my previous mechanic strip-it when replacing all my plugs at 95,000 miles? Lucking the large inserts my current mechanic uses was able to find some metal and make a good repair. Looking at the cylinder order, I have now replaced 3 of the inter four cylinders (2,3,7) should have I done #6 too, this is probably the next high risk cylinder or not?
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*1996 Honda accord LX. 255, 498 miles.
Well, a couple months ago I think I overdid it on the seafoam spray in my PCV valve. It was kind of hell to start, I put some starter fluid in there and it finally cranked right over. I thought that was the end of it, but now I'm thinking it was a coincidence.
Today I went to start my car and it wouldn't rev up to about 200 max out and then drop. If I stopped cranking it with the key, it would die. Well I put starter fluid in the car and it still wouldn't go! I had to crank it for about 12 seconds to get it to turn over, normally when the engine catches(My foots full on the throttle when it won't start) it soars to 2.5k RPMs pretty quick. I started it later at school and it acted like it wanted to give me trouble, but a second past and it turned over and started running. I pull into the driveway today and I see my oil light flickering a little bit. First time I've ever seen it, a little worried! I turn the back on, starts up right away, to see if the oil light comes back on and nothing. But still worried.
I also got a coolant leak somewhere that I haven't been to diligent about finding. I don't see coolant anywhere on the driveway, my cars drinking coolant and I don't know where it's going. I checked it the other day and the reservoir tank was bone dry and so was the top of the radiator. I just added some UV dye to see where it's going, UV flashlight is on the way.
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I have a '05 Honda odyssey that has recently started showing drop in rpms at approx 30MPH. At that speed, I see that RPM suddenly drops from 2500 to 2000, pressing on gas really hard, triggers downshifting of gears and everything comes back to normal. I suspect some issues with how gears are being shifted...
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It usually takes three times of trying to start before it actually completely starts,it starts then immediately stalls usually twice and on the third try it starts right up.
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I did a compression test on the Prelude. Pulled plugs, cranked thru the test, but did not ground out the ignition. Put it back together and no spark. Changed the coil, no start. Changed the ICM and it coughed and sputtered, then cleared and ran well. Shut it off, then it wouldn't start. Sometimes it starts, sometimes not. Air temp doesn't seem to effect it.
Honda shop told me it was out of time, then I left Honda, kicked it into V-TEC and went onto the freeway with 3rd gear maxed out. Timing isn't the issue. The battery is fully charged and it has great fuel pressure. So far I have replaced the coil, ICM, distributor, battery and main relay. Still won't start. Could it have burned the ECM? I have run thru the wiring with a meter and cannot find anything wrong.
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I've had my 2000 Honda Accord V6 for about 3 years now and have had an idling issue pretty much since I purchased it. After driving for at least 50+ miles, and if its hot out it can easily have this issue as well, and leaving the car be for around 15 to 30 minutes, on start up the car drops RPMs immediately and dies. Multiple tries and it will do the exact same thing. Recently I found out a trick to make it work correctly which is revving the engine to 2000RPM for about 3-4 minutes, slowly dropping it down to 1500 RMP for around the same 3-4 minutes and finally down to 1000 RPM for an additional 3-4 minutes and letting off the gas. Usually after doing this the engine idles fine, car drives great. However, it must be noted that on Summer days with temperatures in the 85+ range, if I'm climbing (going up a hill for a long distance) the car might bog down on me, will not go above 50MPH and I have to pull off the side of the road for 45+ minutes before the car will run correctly again. This has happened about 3 or 4 times in the 3 years I've owned the car.
I would rather not have to rev the engine in hopes this fixes the issue each time so I'm wondering what could be the cause in the first place? I've replaced so many things including spark plugs, ignition coils, battery, idle air control valve, gasket, fuel pump, fuel pump relay and on. I gas the car up with Chevron gasoline, I've dumped in I don't know how many different fuel injector cleaners and have also tried Heet as well as Sea Foam cleaner. I've also had the car checked for vacuum leaks.
I've asked multiple mechanics if this could possibly be a vapor lock issue, but they all turn that idea down. They tell me that since the car is fuel injected this can't be the issue..but, I don't know, could it be the issue?
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This has happened a few times now. First time at a stop light, and most recently while coming down a hill. All of my needles drop and I get no response from the engine, brakes and power steering work for a little while and then they cut out. I pull over to the side of the road, turn it off, sometimes it turns back on immediately, other times it will do the same thing needles go up and back down.
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My 2008 Honda Fit has been getting 32-34 mpg city and 37-38 mpg highway, with the AC running. Suddenly I have two tanks full that clocked in at 24 an 27 mpg, for mostly highway driving. I have not changed type of fuel. I have owned the car since April 2011 and had consistant mpg driving everywhere.
What should I have the mechanic check out first? I have a full warranty, but want some guidance before I just take it in and say "Fix it." I just turned 63000 miles.
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I have a 1990 honda civic dx. with only 115,000 miles. For the most part it runs great, but for the past year it has given me problems when I try to start it. What happens is that at random times, it just cranks, but it doesn't start. Sometimes, if I try it several times (as much as 20 attempts) it will eventually start. Sometimes I have to leave the car for some time (10 minutes up to a few hours) and then it will start. I checked the spark, when it doesn't start, and it has a good spark. This seems to happen mostly when it is hot, never at night. My mechanic changed the distributor and that did not solve the problem. The ECM gave 16 flashes. My mechanic is frustrated in dealing with this because often it starts right up.
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There is a grinding/squeaking noise coming from what sounds like the front driver side wheel area. It is not constant... the interval between each occurrence is relative to vehicle speed. When moving slowly, like in a neighborhood, the gap is about a ½ second. The gap lessens til I hit ±65mph, when each occurrence runs into the next and the sound is pretty constant. The 10 fill-ups before this started I averaged 42.3mpg, my last 2 fill-ups average to 37.6mpg...Oh, there is no audible sound when the car is on a lift...
At first I thought a dragging brake but there is no change in the sound when the breaks are applied...I bled the lines anyway...no change.I thought CV joint, but, from what I've read, the tell-tell clicking and worsening under heavy cornering is not present.Maybe a wheel bearing? I've done the simple bearing test of trying to wiggle the wheel left-to-right & top-to-bottom...no movement.
By the way, this is a manual transmission and the sound is present whether in gear or in neutral or coasting with clutch depressed.
One more thing I should mention, and this might be important... my first poor mpg result coincided with me disintegrating a rod bearing...(low oil) I did replace the bearing with the appropriate size. I measured the crank journal with a micrometer and it still seemed to be right at the factory specs. There were no scores or gouges in the journal. (As soon as I heard the loud ticking associated with a bad rod bearing I shut the car off and pushed it to work where we have a lift. Luckily it was only about a mile and was pretty flat...it doesn't hurt that the car only weighs 1,800 lbs. either.) Anyway, I reassembled the bottom end, torqued the rod cap according to the factory service manual, torqued the oil pump and the oil pan, added new oil and started it up. It ran, and still run, nice and smooth.
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