Honda Car Forum

Hi, I have a 2000 Accord, just noticed that when I drive car the light
behind clock and the light in radio goes dim/ actually goes slightly
dimmer then lighter. This happens only when driving, not when in park.
Is this an alternator? Car has 30K miles. Thanks
KOS

When did this start? Did you buy the car new? Is the brightness constant
for as long as you are driving?

The clock and radio backlights are supposed to dim when you turn on your
parking lights or headlights, in earlier days Daytime Running Lights
were often so poorly intedgrated with the rest of the lighting system
that the clock / radio backlight would be dim whenever the DRL's were on
(which is to say any time you are driving the car).

So, in short, I would suspect some kind of interaction with the parking
/ headlights rather than an alternator problem.

KOS wrote:
>
> Hi, I have a 2000 Accord, just noticed that when I drive car the light
> behind clock and the light in radio goes dim/ actually goes slightly
> dimmer then lighter. This happens only when driving, not when in park.
> Is this an alternator? Car has 30K miles. Thanks
> KOS

Randolph <trash@junkmail.com> wrote in message news:<41AE0F4C.A776B9AD@junkmail.com>...
> When did this start? Did you buy the car new? Is the brightness constant
> for as long as you are driving?
>
> The clock and radio backlights are supposed to dim when you turn on your
> parking lights or headlights, in earlier days Daytime Running Lights
> were often so poorly intedgrated with the rest of the lighting system
> that the clock / radio backlight would be dim whenever the DRL's were on
> (which is to say any time you are driving the car).
>
> So, in short, I would suspect some kind of interaction with the parking
> / headlights rather than an alternator problem.
>
> KOS wrote:
> >
> > Hi, I have a 2000 Accord, just noticed that when I drive car the light
> > behind clock and the light in radio goes dim/ actually goes slightly
> > dimmer then lighter. This happens only when driving, not when in park.
> > Is this an alternator? Car has 30K miles. Thanks
> > KOS
Thanks for the reply. I bought this car brand new 4 years ago- its a
2000. Never had this before. Again, when I have the lights on (you can
really see it) when I drive the light in the clock and radio fluctuate
higher and lower. Not on and off, but almost as if you have a digital
watch and put pressure on the face of it, that type of dimming effect,
up and down.
Thank you

KOS wrote:
>
> Randolph <trash@junkmail.com> wrote in message news:<41AE0F4C.A776B9AD@junkmail.com>...

> Thanks for the reply. I bought this car brand new 4 years ago- its a
> 2000. Never had this before. Again, when I have the lights on (you can
> really see it) when I drive the light in the clock and radio fluctuate
> higher and lower. Not on and off, but almost as if you have a digital
> watch and put pressure on the face of it, that type of dimming effect,
> up and down.
> Thank you

What if you leave the lights on and the engine running and walk around
the car, do you see anything strange with any of the exterior lights?

When the clock and radio lights pulsate, is it at a constant rate, or is
it random?

Do you have an after-market alarm in the car?