Hey guys, new member here

[danielkrall]

How's everyone doing, I just joined yesterday and you guys all seem pretty rad already. I'm out in NYC and recently bought a 2002 2.3 I4 Coupe. I got an amazing deal on it, 85k miles for 3 grand flat. It's fully loaded, leather and all in pretty amazing condition.

So far the only things I've done to the car is get some tints all around, changed the interior lights to white LED's, installed a pioneer stereo, got a full detail and plastic-dipped the grill black.

In the near future I plan on getting Spyder Euro smoked headlights (hope that's a good choice); AEM Cold Air Intake; Form & Function Type 1 suspension; and XXR 535 Flat black rims for the summer time. Btw the car is silver with dark grey/black interior.

It's my first car that's my own, so any tips for a young driver would be greatly appreciated. IE: maintenance habits, filter changes, fluid, electronics etc. Recently got the oil changed and brake inspection.

Although 1 thing I have noticed is sometimes the rpm's will jump while simultaneously all lights will dim for not even a second and brighten again. Sometimes while in drive and holding the brake, at a red light for example, this will happen and the car even jerks a little bit forward. I was thinking it could be an alternator issue or I need a tune up. Any input would be greatly appreciated


EDIT: Here are some pictures

 

[CokeZero]

Congrats on the car! sounds like you have a lot of the ground work covered.

Do you have a 5 speed or auto?

As far as the alternator, if you have an AutoZone or Advance Auto Parts close to you, they can check it for free! they can also test your battery for free.

 

[RedRyder]

Welcome to the site, that is a good price for those miles. If the RPM’s fluctuate at idle you could try cleaning the IACV, there is DIY for it. All info on regular maintenance intervals is in the owners manual if you have one, or a Haynes manual which you can get from a local auto parts store.

Basic things to check on a used car are tires for tread depth and wear patterns, air filter, cabin filter, brakes for pad life and wear patterns, fluid levels (oil, coolant, pwr steering, brake, trans, etc), suspension for worn or broken parts (bushings, endlinks, tie rod ends, upper/lower ball joints, etc), HVAC to make sure it blows hot/cold….to name a few. Also if the timing belt/water pump maintenance hasn’t been done (which at 85k miles it probably hasn’t), that will come at around 100k miles. Also if there’s any rust on the car I’d try to either fix it now or spray some inhibitor to prevent/slow spreading.

 

[xci.ed6]

RPM dips for a bit when coming to a stop with automatics, expect a dip in voltage (speed of alternator is power in, dip power in, dip power out).

Check/clean wires to minimize this, battery connections & alt connector. Hard to explain but you shouldn't get much, just a bit.

It's all very hard to explain the mathematics involved:

(Tq x RPM) / 5252 = Hp
Hp x 747.7 = Watts
Watts = Voltage / Resistance

Too much! But basically, if a connection is dirty, it has higher resistance, you might need to do some VOM or oscilloscope to find the problem, but the easiest way is to clean it first.

 

[danielkrall]

Welcome to the site, that is a good price for those miles. If the RPM’s fluctuate at idle you could try cleaning the IACV, there is DIY for it.

I will definitely be doing this first and seeing if it makes a difference. Thanks a lot for that tip.

Do you have a 5 speed or auto?

It's an automatic.

Check/clean wires to minimize this, battery connections & alt connector. Hard to explain but you shouldn't get much, just a bit.

All sounds very complicated haha but I will definitely be cleaning all the connections and hopefully it'll make a difference. If not I'll head over to autozone to check if the alt is dying.

 

[xci.ed6]

usually alternators are working, or not-at-all, very, VERY, few in the middle.

 

[twofast4u]

Welcome to the site! And by the sounds of it, your alternator might getting "tired" try going for a high output one if you change it.

 

[CokeZero]

Search for the drain & refill 3X method for your trans. They are known to go out. Stay on top of it so it doesn't start slipping.

 

[danielkrall]

Search for the drain & refill 3X method for your trans. They are known to go out. Stay on top of it so it doesn't start slipping.

Excellent tip as well. I will definitely be doing that this weekend. Thank you so much

 

[Sil2DrV6]

Welcome to 6GA. Make yourself at home.

In the near future I plan on getting Spyder Euro smoked headlights (hope that's a good choice)

I'd stay away from those, and get / DIY something like this:
http://www.hidillusionz.com/showcase/honda/accord/1998-2002/fx35-e46-hid-retrofit-a.html