Thread: Clicking Sound? Relay?

Every now and then I hear a fast clicking sound, seems like it's coming from the left side of the driver foot well and the dash lights flicker on and off such as ABS light, brake, etc. The car continues to run fine, everything works, but it did this for the first time yesterday at random and again today, it only lasts for like thirty seconds or so.

Any ideas? Is a relay going bad?

This is in a 91 SE-R by the way.

Make sure your engine harness ground is not broken or loose.

Are you driving in a gear when this happens or stopped at a stoplight or something idling?

Each time it has happened I've been moving, if I take it out of gear it continues, braking it continues, and revving it continues. It just seems to randomly do it then go away, it doesn't run weird, the radio doesn't cut out, nothing out of the ordinary minus the clicking sound and my dash lights flashing. lol

does the clicking sound happen at random intervals or is it constant timing?

When it starts clicking it's just a constant tick-tick-tick-tick, it doesn't change intervals between clicks, it's constant then just randomly quits. Out of a two hour drive yesterday it did it one time for probably 20 seconds an hour or so into my drive, the day before that it did it after a few minutes of driving and lasted the same length.

Sounds to me almost like a dying alternator, or some kind of bad connection with it. You see, when the alternator and/or belt is slowly dying or dead in the B13, the brake and battery dash lights will flash accompanied by that clicking sound you're describing, but I'm not sure why other dash lights other than the brake & battery would come on.... I personally found out you can drive almost 150 miles while running the car off the battery when this is happening, but it will eventually kill all power.

I thought alternator at first but it's really not that old, probably a year old, and when it died last time it was just the lights you said and I didn't have the clicking sound. I'll check all connections though. It didn't do it at all today.

ignition switch (part where you put the key in not sure exact name)going bad? Does it the key have a lot of play in it? Just throwing the thought out there mine was similar but wouldn't do it when driving.

Late reply but to answer your question loads of play, I can pull the key right out. lol

Update on this though, recently the ABS light, battery light, and brake light will flash all synchronized together. I didn't hear the clicking noise but my girlfriend heard it yesterday while driving.

Last weekend I found the battery to be cracked and leaking, so I replaced that and replaced the cables/connections around the battery as the terminals and what not didn't look so good. I thought that would have fixed it, it was fine all week until yesterday it started again this time with the clicking again.

I'm lost, this car is going to the crusher soon if it doesn't start behaving right. lol