Crusty_Cowboy
New Member
Hi all. Noobie here with an electrical problem that is driving me insane. I have searched the forums of this site as well as other sites. I've Googled for hours over the past month, more hours than I can count with no luck. My last resort...asking you good people for help.
I have a 1991 Integra GS, B18A1 with a 5-speed transmission, here is my issue:
While sitting at idle, when I press the brake pedal, the motor sputters and almost shuts off. When I take my foot off the brake pedal, it idles normal. It does this when I turn on the rear defrost, or when I turn on the headlights, or when I let the electric windows up and down. It does this when I turn on the front or back windshield wipers. Every use of electricity cause my engine to bog down. My Kenwood radio will turn on sometimes. When it does and I turn the volume up to about 20, the radio will shut down. It may come back on, it may not. From what I understand, the radio does this if there isn't enough power for it to work.
Here is what I've done already to try to solve the problem:
I've put an alternator on that falls in the OE specs for my vehicle, a 65 amp, 12 volt alternator. I installed it a little over a month ago. I had it tested last week. It's putting out 15.3 volts. I put new battery cables on it. When I saw I had the same problems, I grounded the negative battery cable to the engine block...same problems. I grounded the engine to the body using I wire the size of the negative battery. I cleaned the battery terminals. The battery was tested, it's fine. I cleaned the stud on the alternator that the electrical wire connects from the fuse box under the hood. I've double checked every fuse. There is a ground wire connected to the thermostat housing, I've cleaned that, too.
While performing my google search, I came across a a thread in a forum that talked about the ICU going bad. At that time, my rear defroster wasn't working. Neither was the intermediate wipers. My oil light was blinking and I had perfect oil pressure. I went to Radioshack, got the capacitors and diode I needed, took out the bad ones and soldered in the new ones. Now my rear defroster, intermediate wipes work and my oil light is off.
I don't know where to go from here. Maybe the ECU? Maybe another problem that I can't figure out? If you have ANY ideas, any at all please let me know. I've never let a project or problem beat me, but this one is getting close to. Thanks in advance...Crusty
I have a 1991 Integra GS, B18A1 with a 5-speed transmission, here is my issue:
While sitting at idle, when I press the brake pedal, the motor sputters and almost shuts off. When I take my foot off the brake pedal, it idles normal. It does this when I turn on the rear defrost, or when I turn on the headlights, or when I let the electric windows up and down. It does this when I turn on the front or back windshield wipers. Every use of electricity cause my engine to bog down. My Kenwood radio will turn on sometimes. When it does and I turn the volume up to about 20, the radio will shut down. It may come back on, it may not. From what I understand, the radio does this if there isn't enough power for it to work.
Here is what I've done already to try to solve the problem:
I've put an alternator on that falls in the OE specs for my vehicle, a 65 amp, 12 volt alternator. I installed it a little over a month ago. I had it tested last week. It's putting out 15.3 volts. I put new battery cables on it. When I saw I had the same problems, I grounded the negative battery cable to the engine block...same problems. I grounded the engine to the body using I wire the size of the negative battery. I cleaned the battery terminals. The battery was tested, it's fine. I cleaned the stud on the alternator that the electrical wire connects from the fuse box under the hood. I've double checked every fuse. There is a ground wire connected to the thermostat housing, I've cleaned that, too.
While performing my google search, I came across a a thread in a forum that talked about the ICU going bad. At that time, my rear defroster wasn't working. Neither was the intermediate wipers. My oil light was blinking and I had perfect oil pressure. I went to Radioshack, got the capacitors and diode I needed, took out the bad ones and soldered in the new ones. Now my rear defroster, intermediate wipes work and my oil light is off.
I don't know where to go from here. Maybe the ECU? Maybe another problem that I can't figure out? If you have ANY ideas, any at all please let me know. I've never let a project or problem beat me, but this one is getting close to. Thanks in advance...Crusty
