All lights flickering
01-28-2011, 08:32 PM
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All lights flickering
At first I thought it was only the xenon headlights, but all of the lights, even the interior and visor lights are flickering a little. My 2005 CTT is still working fine, but the flickering is starting to be annoying. Any ideas? Is there a voltage regulator in the turbos?
01-29-2011, 11:08 AM
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I have had this on a few cars at idle -- but only at idle - with a lot of electrical items on. It is particularly noticable in the overhead interior lights.
It is obviously slight variations in the alternator output.
I can not say that I have had it enough that it affected discharge headlights.
It is obviously slight variations in the alternator output.
I can not say that I have had it enough that it affected discharge headlights.
01-29-2011, 11:30 AM
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Hi Lewis,
I know you are the electrical guru.
It is only at idle, at it does stop when the car is turned off. I have about 45K miles, and the battery was changed about 1.5 years ago, or about 20K miles ago.
I heard it is very rare for the alternator to go, and that it is water cooled. I also read it is very expensive and not a DIY job.
It is very noticable with the overhead lights, as yeldogt mentions.
Thanks!
I know you are the electrical guru.
It is only at idle, at it does stop when the car is turned off. I have about 45K miles, and the battery was changed about 1.5 years ago, or about 20K miles ago.
I heard it is very rare for the alternator to go, and that it is water cooled. I also read it is very expensive and not a DIY job.
It is very noticable with the overhead lights, as yeldogt mentions.
Thanks!
01-29-2011, 11:58 AM
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911SLOW is correct.
It is most likely a bad alternator, assuming no recent mechanical damage/failures.
I am sure you have already checked the drive belt and tensioner, along with electrical connections at harness end to alternator and battery.
Very easy to verify ... 10 seconds with a hand held DMM (although I always use a scope).
I was never a supporter of the water cooled alternator...
It is most likely a bad alternator, assuming no recent mechanical damage/failures.
I am sure you have already checked the drive belt and tensioner, along with electrical connections at harness end to alternator and battery.
Very easy to verify ... 10 seconds with a hand held DMM (although I always use a scope).
I was never a supporter of the water cooled alternator...
01-30-2011, 09:31 AM
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Here is some more info. I used a DMM, and measured 13.89-13.96V consistently throughtout idle. So it may not be the alternator since that seems like it is working correctly. What does seems to be something to mention is that the idle is slightly rough. Maybe it is fluctuating from 500-575 RPM while flickering. Could this just be some bad gas, so maybe some Techron is in order? Coils and plugs were changes by the dealer less than 10K miles ago and no CELs.
