Expert: Sean Halliday - 8/10/2007

Question
QUESTION: My daughter's 91 Civic's dash lights are flashing when she starts the car. She says that the car starts and runs fine. The entire dash lights flash several times upon start-up then quit. It seems that it may be an ignition switch or light switch issue, what do you think?

ANSWER: By dash lights,do you mean the side lights or the ignition?If it is the side lights,its possibly the printed circuit has a dry joint.

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QUESTION: Not sure what you mean by the side lights, from the way she described it I would assume it's the lights that light up the instrumentation, heater controls, etc. anything that is illuminated.

Answer
Side lights,the first turn of the light switch before the headlights.So,it is a bad connection on the wire loom to the dash.It may also be a bad circuit as i said and your best bet is to get one from the junk yard or a new cluster but this would probably be a dealer part.To be sure have a auto electrician look at it.