newbie 94 civic electrical problem?

94 civic had radio "die-out" for a second or 2 during a 15-minute window last saturday. following thursday evening start car, turn lights on and radio cuts out for a sec as it did previous week (no issues in between). press brakes, lights dim. i think alternator and take a dark, scary ride home with fingers crossed (was in city traffic and stopping / parking not an option).

go to mechanic friday - alternator and battery test fine. there's corrosion on the battery cables that they clear off and all is good. BUT: 1 mechanic says probably the battery corrosion and should be fine now...2nd mechanic says get the electrical system tested out before driving regularly again.

problem is just spent $1K I didn't have on new distributor/rotor and axle boots last week. so - what are the chances it was just the corrosion? what are the chances its a bigger electrical issue? is there a way to dx the electrical system without going to a dealership and spending more $ I don't have?

any help or tips appreciated :) i'm a little "neurotic" and kinda scared to drive the car but don't have any other way to get to work :(


thanks,

Lisa and Monkey (my car)

if both the alt and battery tested fine, then i agree with mechanic 1, the only other cause would be if somewhere part of your electrical is not grounded properly and was drawing way to much current to run the nescessites like the headlights and shit.

do you have like a monster audio system, or like neon lights and all this other crap on your ride?

you have a short someplace in your electrical system. first off do you have any like stuped power suckers going like white trash stereo systems, rice boy neons, baha headlights, etc?? that would be your first step. unhook, shut off or whatever. stock civic electrical systems can't handle to much more than the stock power pull. ok so see if its still there, if it is then take a volt meter, hook it up to the battery and run it inside the car. Then go drive around and see if anything changes. It should probably be around 13-14 volts or so when the car is running. if that checks out and the car is still doing it then its something else asides from the battery and charging system. you might also have a connection that is loose someplace. your next step would be to start pulling fuses out one by one and see if anything changes. if you volts pop right back up when its doing then you know whats causing the problem. It isn't gonna be a quick fix, but you should be able to find it. Good luck!

thanks for the tips - much appreciated.

no monster power suckers - only thing other than factory stereo (yes, i'm embarrassed to admit that) is my alarm and remote start and i've had that for 7 years in the car with no problems.

i've been driving since saturday morning (after they got all the corrosion off the battery connections) without any repeats - including driving in the dark with the lights, radio and wipers...so hoping *hoping* it was scenario 1. but will work on the volt meter thing on the weekend cuz til i know for sure i'm gonna hold my breath every time i turn something on ;)

~~Lisa