camaronewbie

I recently acquired a flickering lights issue. It rarely ever happens, but it does happen. At first I thought I was crazy and seeing things, as it hardly noticeable, but I actually have a witness now LOL.

At first I thought alternator not juicing enough at an idle - but when it happens it happens regardless of rpm's. And it's so rare - I drove over 1 hour in the dark last night with no issues, then stopped at the store, then restarted, and they flickered for 30 seconds maybe about 2 blocks from the store - and again for only a few seconds.

It's all the lights, fogs, interior, headlights, dash lights. Battery has plenty of juice, voltmeter in dash always reading good, and I'm no electronics expert - any advise?

Iroc-Dennis

strange!!!

i have almost the same problem!

my lights are flickering wen i pull the highbeam switch on!(yes all the lights in the hole car)
wen i pull it off they are stop!

i think its my dash headlight switch because i never had it before
till i change it for an remake/aftermarked dash headlight switch from ebay!

but i have no time now to look for it what`s the problem is!

dennis

z28 TPI

Have you guys checked the grounds? The body grounds? The engine to body grounds, and the ground itself? I would start easy then go harder.

camaronewbie

OK - so sue me - I still have the flickering lights issue but haven't gotten anywhere with it.

Grounds are all good - checked, rechecked, checked again.

Every single light in the car flickers, and I can barely see the volt guage bumping as well with the flicker.

Doesn't matter what I turn on or off, they still flicker at the same rate.

Seems to be rhythmic, with the engine - so I was thinking alternator. But rpm's don't seem to change the rhythm faster or slower. Faster RPM's give a tad brighter lights, but still flickers.

Doesn't flicker all the time. When it does, volts bounce with flicker between 13 & 14. When it doesn't, volts seem to hold steady at 14.5 or so.

Battery and Alt both new in last 3 months.

Ideas?

camaronewbie

ttt

Rolling Thunder

Ok well a good first question to ask would be when do the lights? Do they only flicker when the car is running of would they flicker when the car is off and just the lights are on?

camaronewbie

Only running - I think - I'll double check tonight.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

By "all" the lights, I'm assuming you mean the headlights, marker lights, interior dash lights, etc. The headlights and marker lights use two different grounds, so if both the left/right sides are flickering, it's not a ground issue. The various lights get their power from about three different sources, but the common factor they all share is the headlight switch.

I'd be looking really closely at the headlight switch.

camaronewbie

OK - don't think it's the headlight switch - noticed tonight after I cut the lights off, but car was still running, I had the door open, which lights just the map lights in the rear view mirror - and they flickered.

I noticed also - when the flicker happens, the amp guage bounces with the flicker between 14.5v and 16v. But in a minute it will stop flickering, and when it stops, the amp guage reads a steady non-bouncing 17v. This tells me the alt is overcharging right? I mean 17 volts is in the red on the guage!

Then, a minute later, the flickering will occur again, and the guage drops back to the 14.5 - 16v bounce again. Engine RPM doesn't seem to change the flicker rate (at least not in Park in driveway).

Is my relatively new alternator charging too much causing an issue with the electrical system?

Drew

iTrader: (58)

The volt gauge in the dash isn't the best way to measure the true voltage. Get a digital volt/ohm meter and check the voltage at the battery with the car running. Consider having a local parts store test the electrical system. Just keep in mind the quality of the free test is only as good as the counter monkey running the machine.

If you're really charging at 17v that will cause problems. Eventually it'll probably smoke the battery.

yoshirocks702

I hate to threadjack but I'm having this exact same issue with my 84 camaro, I've tested the alternator and it's putting out 14v at idle even with a full load.

When the lights flicker everything does it, dome light, courtesy, underhood, headlights, markers, tails, license etc. Regardless of engine speed

I have found that the lights do not flicker if the car isn't running.

I've checked all the grounds and they are tight and clean.

If anyone finds the solution to this problem keep this thread updated

camaronewbie

Well - problem solved. Bad Alternator. "New" doesn't mean good - I bought an alternator back in 9/2009 and installed. I hadn't run the car much until about May this year - and hadn't done any driving after dark until just last month. I noticed flickering lights, but not all the time. Then I noticed amp guage going into red on occasion - just for a minute or 2. Had alternator tested yesterday, it's making too much juice! This alternator might have had 500 miles on it total - it was bad from factory. Warranty replacement, all is good seems. I'll drive tonight and verify.

JakobLPC

I have the same problem just that my lights even flickering when the car is not running... So it can't be the alt, right? Does anyone have any ideas? THANKS!

camaronewbie

Have the alt tested like I did - mine was overcharging which caused the lights to flicker, and yes they ONLY flickered when car running.

JakobLPC

Well but my lights are flickering when the car is not running... So it has to be something else, right? What could it be?

camaronewbie

I'd check my grounds - batt to fender, batt to engine block, engine block to firewall.

Guest

Well this is time for me to get the altenator tested. Headlights flicker dont want to buy a new altenator. God to broke for this.

Freddy85

I had the exact same problem with my 85, took off alternator, had it tested at AZ and checked out fine. So I bought a $6 voltage regulator off eBay, put it in and all is good. Hope this helps someone. For six bucks might as well give it a try sure beats buying a new alternator.

tadad

To Freddy85...I know I'm late to the party, but I'm having this issue with both of my TA's. My questions is...where do you install this voltage regulator? Can you be specific on the brand or type of voltage regulator as well. I'm not very mechanically knownledgable, so I apologize for all the questions. Thanks!!!

Freddy85

Well I bought the regulator on eBay but you can you can get it at Autozone I think for like $10, its a valucraft vvr723. I didn't want to spend much cause I wasn't sure if it'd fix my problems but its still working perfectly fine. The alternator has the voltage regulator inside so you do have to open it up, but its not difficult at all. The brushes have springs so be careful not to lose them when you open it. After you open it you'll see the regulator and see its simple to replace. The only trick you need is when you're putting it back together is to use a piece of metal hanger to hold the brushes in place while you slide the two halves together. If you have any other questions just let us know.

mkswain

Having a problem with mine flickering and eventually no headlights at all. It started after I changed my alternator. Went to go to work last night and no headlights at all.

BT85

this might of happened to me, the lights would be almost like pulsing. Every light would do it and would stop when I was moving. My alternator was overcharging the battery so I had to change it and get a new battery. EVerything works fine now. It could be the voltage regulater and you can save some money if it is. I just switched the whole thing because it was old. hope it helps

mkswain

Found out what it was. It was the wire running from the battery to the starter. The bolt was loose and needed tighten up.

Keith Zimmerman

My 1992 RS convertible lights flicker too. I only drive it about 500 to 1000 miles a year in nece weather, and mostly daytime, so I tend to forget it happens. It seems to happen all of the time when running and I'll have to check when not running. I plan to 1st check the battery and battery cable connections on both ends, and if that doesn't resolve it, then replace the voltage regulator - Thanks everyone for your advice! I'm trying to keep the car in parade and show condition and flicker isn't nice even if it doesn't hurt anything.