Hey guys.

I know! Long time-no write.

I wanted to talk about the wires. Check to see if the wires are getting hot in the middle. If the wires are not getting hot, then the wires are thick enough. If the connectors are melting, it means there's resistance in the connector...a bad connection, not a bad wire. The fuse box and connectors have cheap connection material that corrodes. If the connections are clean and tight, they should work fine. Even a small amount film of corrosion can decrease amperage.

Here's my story....
My divorce is final now and finished numerous projects around the house. I've sold many things on ebay and cleared room in the garage so I can start working on the Civic again. I've also been working towards my electrical engineering degree, but it'll take a while.

Have a great day,
Darrell

By bruce (67.200.12.71) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 07:01 am:

the red circles is where I have had problems with melting plugs and wires, 3 seperate harnesses in the front, the two that run from the dash to the front are pretty easy to replace, the main dash harness is not fun.

By juan salguero (152.163.253.2) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 01:54 am:

have any pics of the thing you just said justin why does that problem happen

By Justin (199.60.112.10) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 12:59 pm:

The biggest problem with the civic wiring is that the main battery leads and regulator harness runs thru four connector points, it's very common that the main dash connectors melt and fuse together, I suggest you run a new line directly from the alternator to the fuseable (sp?) link, and atleast a 8ga, the factory twin 14ga wires just don't cut it I would also suggest you upgrade the ground wires aswell

By juan salguero (152.163.253.2) on Friday, January 16, 2004 - 01:02 am:

i also have the same problem but the line that has melted in my cvcc is the white one it melted into another line which makes my blinkers not work but i move the harness around and it functions but the harness still warms up really bad has anyone found the solution to this problem?

By Xavier (M267) (24.82.105.121) on Thursday, January 15, 2004 - 11:31 pm:

Hi there,

I've got a 78 Civic, and I have had exactly the same problem this week. I first started noticing a plastic burned smell, then the charge light came on. I wanted to check wether or not the car was charging so I took the negative terminal off the battery while the engine was running. The engine died immediately, so the alt wasn't sending power to the batt. Anyway, My buddy told me it's a voltage regulator problem. I pulled a new (used) one off another civic, and stuck it in. Worked great for about 1 mile, then the charge light came back on... I openned up the first regulator up and noticed it has the same damage as you have already described Brandon... Did you figure out what the problem is? I will be testing the electrical out further tomorrow morning...

By Brandon B. (Yellow78) (65.128.20.56) on Sunday, November 02, 2003 - 02:28 pm:

Add another problem to the list: I was driving today and started to smell plastic burning, I reach under the dash behind the choke and feel that the harness clip is heating up, I open the hood and see that the harness clip coming from the alternator is melted but the wires aren't fryed. I took apart the voltage regulator suspecting that it was the problem and found that one of the solenoids in it was deformed, the outer wrap on the red coil was a little melted. I'm wondering if this has been keeping the charge light on and caused the recent melting problem. I hooked up a Amp meter to the screw post of the alternator and the battery ground and I got 17.8 Amps coming from the thing, I don't know enougth about these specifics but it seems like that is excessive not to mention that the wires heated up and sparks flew when I grounded the tester. I'd don't want to put on a new $35 regulator and have this happen again. Any tests that I could perform before hand?

P.S. I'm not too sure if the engine is properly grounded.

By Brandon B. (Yellow78) (65.128.20.136) on Saturday, November 01, 2003 - 09:14 pm:

thanks for the info, scratch what I said before because the battery is charging now, I think it was just really low to begin with, I just put it on the charger overnight and it has been turning the engine over strong since then, all the fuses are in good order and I replaced a bunch of wires in the harness just above the fuse box in the dash. My problem is that the CHG light is coming on now and when I shift into gear my lights dim slightly but come back on as soon as I let off the clutch. It also backfired a few time tonight on my way home which I'm chalking up to really worn spark-plugs that I haven't changed since I got the car.

By bruce (67.200.12.14) on Thursday, October 30, 2003 - 06:16 am:

sounds like there is a broke wire in the bundle from the alt. to the battery, chck the first connectoin on the bundle from the alt, I have found that area corrodes really bad.

By Goodriver (Goodriver) (64.180.222.241) on Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 06:21 pm:

did you check your fuses if they are ok...

By Brandon B. (Yellow78) (65.128.20.194) on Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - 04:39 pm:

SO... I've had a 78 cvcc for about a month and been pouring alot of energy into fixing it up, I've fixed a fuse problem on the regulator line and now I don't seem to be getting a charge to the battery. I bought a new (rebuilt) alternator and popped that in but it still isn't charging (the CHG light is coming on and the battery dies out after running around for a day). all the connections are tight and the voltage regulator seems to be in good condition (its new) but I will take it apart and check out all the connections. any ideas?

thanks
brandon