shaking? dimming lights?

[89AccordHatch]

my car shakes like a bastard when im at red lights. sometimes the idle drops then levels out and then drops again....or it jumps up then levels out and jumps. Also when..i turn on the ac..the dash lights go dim, when i hit the breaks..the dash goes dim and the ac or heat slows down. pretty much, one electrical component drains energy from everything else....any ideas?????

[89LXiCoupe]

Yeah, mine's like that too. Well, since I drive a real "Type R," I have no AC. But about the braking and idling thing, I do have those problems. The braking only happens when I turn on my headlights and stuff. Whenever I brake, all the lights kind of dim a little. The idling when stopping at a red light only happens once in a while and I have just been experiencing that lately.

[anchovies]

Go to Autozone or some other shops that can test your battery and alternator for free.

[ACCORD EX]

alternator out put should be 14.5 V at idle !

MIKE

[WhiteSpecV]

Yes, but is that 14.5 volts constant with all accessories on?
I can't check amperage on my car as I don't have an inductive pickup adaptor for my Multimeter.

Any info is appreciated , as my car, with 23,700 miles on it is exhibiting the same problems. I find it hard to believe an alternator with that many miles on it is already bad.

Maybe a better battery is what I need.

-Joe-:werd:

[ACCORD EX]

i said chcek voltage not amperage !
anyway to check the battery , it should give 12 V when the car is off !

MIKE

[WhiteSpecV]

Originally posted by ACCORD EX
i said chcek voltage not amperage !
anyway to check the battery , it should give 12 V when the car is off !

MIKE

Damn, you yell alot.

I know you said voltage, but you really should check the aperage output under load to determine if the alternator is bad.

Could you like answer the question I asked?

-Joe-

[AccordEpicenter]

Even if all that stuff checks out, make sure your battery cables arent dirty, it can make a big difference

[ACCORD EX]

Originally posted by WhiteSpecV
Damn, you yell alot.


-Joe-


did it sound like yelling ! ? sorry man i didn't mean that ! :tongue:

anyway i don't understand what's your question is !?

if you want to check the battery just measure it while the car is off 12 V

alternator 14.5 V > 15 V when the car is running and should increase when you press gas !

:D

MIKE

[cruznz]

Originally posted by WhiteSpecV
Yes, but is that 14.5 volts constant with all accessories on?
I can't check amperage on my car as I don't have an inductive pickup adaptor for my Multimeter.

Any info is appreciated , as my car, with 23,700 miles on it is exhibiting the same problems. I find it hard to believe an alternator with that many miles on it is already bad.

Maybe a better battery is what I need.

-Joe-:werd:

measure battery voltage ,key off,engine not going,....this is the VM base reading....with meter still connected to battery.....have someone turn the engine over,and run at about 1500 rpm...note the voltage .....it should be more than the base reading....but no more than 2.0v ...if more than 2.0v over,...could be possible regulator fault...if it rmains the same as base reading,possible alt,reg or wiring fault.
Increase engine speed to about 2000rpm turn everything on except wiper's...if charging sys working...VM reading should be 0.5v higher than base reading

Baes reading is normally around 12.5v for a good battery