Biff

Hey, so I just bought a used 98 Civic EX. It came with an aftermarket deck in it and it will shut off and turn back on randomly when I turn the lights on, turn the high beams on, the brake light goes on, and sometimes when I'm shifting. Guessing it's a voltage drop or short somewhere, just wondering where to start?

seanv98

I would start by pulling the deck and making sure everything is connected properly.

Dareng

Good Idea. If the deck is installed to dim when the lights are turned on, the wire could be spliced into the wrong one. If you know what your doing, you can try and find the install manual online and it should have a wiring schematic with it.

97EX

make sure its grounded properly

Biff

so i pulled the deck and everything seemed wired correctly. but now there's more electrical problems. the power windows will make the lights shut off, and even if i go over a bump in the road lights will flicker or the radio will go off. so it's more than just the radio. i checked my battery and it passed, though the terminals are pretty rusty. and all my fuses are good,. i'm guessing its a bad ground or the alternator? not sure what i'm checking for with the grounds? and am i right in assuming that every black wire under the hood is a ground wire? thanks for the help so far.

apoc

It's a feature.

h0lage

return the car :P

gaDJet

The lights = lights on the deck correct? Lot's of "lights" in a car.

If it's the lights on the deck, I would do a complete rewire on the deck. Clean up the installation following the DIY guides provided in this forum.

Let me know which "lights" though.