To begin, I have relatively 0 maintenance experience when it comes to automobiles. I am a current college student who does just the basics with getting brakes/battery checked and oils changes etc.
So I have inherited the “Family” Honda and through the many years we have had this vehicle there have been little to no problems other than regular maintenance with the car. Today however, I noticed something peculiar during my drive to school. On the highway my Brake light AND Door/trunk lights came on after having driven 10 miles then proceeded to stay on occasionally turning off very briefly for 2-3 seconds half a dozen time. These lights stayed on for approximately 5 miles. I drove off the highway and proceeded to go a secondary route to class using smaller roads and after a 2nd stop light the lights went away after stopping for a few seconds. For the next 3 miles to class I did not see any problems with the lights coming on and successfully got to my destination with no problems.
During this drive I have done nothing different than any of my previous drives.
Lights on because of cloudy weather.
AC off and Radio off.
Within the last 3 months I have replaced my battery and had a standard oil change and routine inspection back in November.
The check engine light and battery light did not show up before during or after the ride after parking the vehicle.
I noticed no drop in RPM or anything on my gauges other than the lights.
My biggest concerns today are:
Can I drive 25 miles home 15 of which on a highway or should I take more alternate long routes.
Will the vehicle even make it home?
What is the potential problem and possible cost outcomes.
Probably a loose or corroded electrical connection, likely ground.
Check the cables (both ends) to the battery, ground strap between the motor and body.
If it is the battery connection as circuitsmith suggested, I would suspect the positive clamp/cable connection. I had problems with this connection on my 2006 Accord which resulted in intermittant cranking problems. This connection is poorly contructed in my opinion. Unlike the connection on my Ford Explorer where the cable is completely fused into the clamp, this connection is just crimped on. Battery acid or fumes permeated into the strands of the cable from the end to about 4 inches up into the cable: the strands were coated with green stuff. I uncrimped the cable-clamp and stuck the end of the cable into a solution of baking soda/water about 5 times, replenishing the solution each time until the water did not turn blue. I then wrapped the cables with 20 gauge tinned wire and soldered the whole thing and used a new heavy duty cable clamp. Btw, I also replaced the solenoid/starter assembly just to complete the shotgun philosophy!
Have someone check to see if your brake lights are working. What you might be seeing is the indicator that one or both brake lights are out. Check your owners manual, it will be in there. You may have an intermittent connection in the brake lights so if the door/trunk indicator is off, the brake lights might be working at that time.
BTW, your second timing belt change is now due so if it hasn’t been done lately, it should be done. The belt has a 7 year replacement, because its rubber, time is just as important as miles. Belt failure is catastrophic.
Well as for the Timing belt issue that has already been replaced a year and a half ago so that I am not worried about.
As for the battery suggestion I am waiting to take my car somewhere once I am no longer snowed in from this weeks eastern winter shutdown.
I did happen to stop by an Advance on my way home that night just to have them check the alternator and battery at least and nothing notable. (Although sometimes I have trouble trusting someone I have 0 history with he didn’t try to sell me on anything so there is that.)
What I did notice is my Battery light was now on with aforementioned Brake light and Door lights.
When he did go to check it after starting my car with the battery checking device attached all those lights disappeared and there was no problem after disconnecting. However once driving for another 10 miles on my way home thinking it was just nothing the lights came back on and proceeded to stay on turning off briefly at random intervals when driving.
TLDR:
Problem is persisting.
The Battery Light is now showing.
I quickly got the battery and alternator tested but quickly from an Advance.
Its snowing so I’m trapped at home for a couple of days.
Timing Belt has been changed about a year and a half ago.
Anyone check the brake lights yet? When the battery and the parking brake light come on at the same time, that indicates that the alternator has a shorted diode in it. It may be intermittent.
I agree about the grounds,check the grounds they can drive you nuts.I always like nice tight clean connections the current has to return to the battery some how and some strange things can happen, had a Pinto once that someone put an oversize battery in and didnt reconnect the chassis ground,it was grounding back through the instrument cluster somehow and somehow it didnt ruin anything,I remember about bad grounds on Corvairs burning the clutch cables up-Kevin
Concur w/Keith above, battery and brake dash lights on at the same time, the first suspect is an alternator on the fritz. (The manufacturers often light the brake light switch as a fail-safe, just in case the alternator dash light bulb has burned out, to alert the driver that some condition has arisen that needs immediate att’n.) This is a safety issue. If the alternator stops working during a drive, the charging operation will cease, and the car will completely stop running as soon as the battery is drained, leaving you stranded. So you need to know for sure whether your alternator is working or not.
The door light may be a separate problem, a stuck or frozen door switch or something to that effect. You could go around the car, open the doors, look in the door jam area of each door for a protruding switch, press on it, see if it does what it is supposed to do.
Another thing to try: Next time you get in the car, turn the key to “on”, but don’t start it. Make sure all the dashboard lights that should be on, are in fact on. That is a way to test the bulbs and some of the wiring in the dash board. Usually most of them, including the check engine, oil, battery, and brake light come on then. After you start the car, within a few seconds they all should go off.
As mentioned above, if any of the car’s wiring harnesses or connectors or grounds are not functionally properly, pretty much anything can happen, including this.