Electrical problem...lights in gauge cluster...

[Big Ego]

Hey everyone...I'm having some sort of problem with my car, and I have absolutely no clue where it's coming from...

about 1 week ago, the brake, battery, and coolant lights in the gauge cluster came on all at the same time and stayed on for as long as the car was running. then, the next day, the car wouldn't start. the symptom: the battery wasn't getting charged. well, when I found that the battery wasn't charging when the car was running, I replaced the alternator. made sense, right? well, when I did, the brake, battery and coolant lights all went out, the car started, and everything was hunky dorey. well, yesterday, the lights came on again. same exact thing that happened from last week. the car hasn't failed to start yet, but I fear that it will soon, and I'm baffled. I'm wondering if anyone has had this same thing happen to them and if anyone may know where the problem is coming from.

PLEASE...*sniff sniff*...my baby's not working...*sob*...

 

[GonePostal]

I have a similar problem.

I just got my capacitors replaced on the ECU thinking that was possibly the problem but there is still a problem. Sometimes when I hit the brakes, I see the ABS light go on, than the car will start to stutter, all the lights will flash on and off, I can here the ECU reseting itself over and over and over as the power cuts out and comes back again. If I bring the car to a halt and press the brakes, it will cause the car to die. Than, sometimes I can start the car back up again no problem, or no power will be there at all. I have determined that this only happens when I hit the brakes but not all the time. I have used different batteries, checked the altenator, and replaced the capacitors on the the ECU. Any ideas?

 

[thump]

I have a simliar problem if anyone cares to help =) On my center console like half of the lights are dim. Like directly down the middle, the left side of it is dim, all hte buttons knobs are on.. but they are dim. Then everything else is bright as can be.

 

[eclipsegs96]

yup me too, just had the same problem last night, now the car is in the shop. I think it couild be altenator but not sure after reading these posts.

Anyone solve this yet ?

 

[Mystikal_1788]

this happend to me make sure you have a altenator belt because i thought it was my ecu until i realized i just blew a altenator belt so check that!

 

[thump]

Did any of you guys ever solve the problem with half the lights on the center console being dim? Any solutions? Mine are still #@%#@%#@%#@%ed up.

 

[happywarrior]

hey guys my gauge lights are out completely and I read somewhere it could have been when I was installing my aftermarket in dash tv. there are 2 wire that dont hook to my tv and they just dangle there (i guess these wires are for dimming the stereo). the colors of those wires are same as 2 wires on the dimmer switch. hmmmmmm sounds fishy.......I will look further into this and keep you up to date

 

[1stGENracer]

CHECK YOURE BATTERY CONNECTION !

Clean all terminals, and try again.

 

[Zerocygnal]

GonePostal...the last time I read something about that was in the vfaq I think. It was the speed sensor that was causing that problem. Something about pressing on the brakes causes more vacumn pressure and it kills the car....crap I wish I could remember exactly what it was.

Well anyhow if I read that somewhere like the VFAQ you should have no problem finding it.

Others: I don't think I have ever heard of these particular types of symptoms. All the lights on the dash coming on and then the engine not starting the next day.The last time I dealt with anything remotely like that it was the ignition switch backing off of the "On" position and reseting the power to the ECU, YET...it would not kill the engine. Basically the accessory power was still on when you pulled the key out but there were no dash lights to indicate this and subsequently the battery would die. Hope this helps. Try testing your ignition switch out.

 

[happywarrior]

hey 1st gen racer my car would start and run but the lights wouldnt come one...its not abattery

 

[Big Ego]

hey everyone...i solved the problem almost as soon as i posted all those months ago...I first replaced the battery (it was very old and leaked acid...not a good thing) and it worked for a day, but didn't charge. I put in a new alternator and solved the problem...haven't had any probs since. that was basically all i needed to do. check those two things before anything else. make sure your battery's fresh and holds a charge, then make sure the alternator charges the battery. if it doesn't, it's not necessarily the alternator, but may be the belt just isn't there or isn't turning the alternator. reply, email, or pm me for details, cause i spent several hours on that stupid problem and can definately help you.

 

[happywarrior]

I dont think the problem is the alternator or battery in my car. I got 12" subs, in dash tv, pioneer speakers in enclosures, and all that makes a 10 speaker sound system. but glad that fixed your car!!