LIGHTS FLICKER

[crazyhorse85]

HI,i'm new here...i have a 85 bronco it's my pride and joy but has a problem with the lights flickering.well lets start with what i have changed... alternator,regulator,headlight switch,dimmer switch... new ground cable all grounds cleaned off..also have tried three different brands of alternator advance auto,auto zone and motorcraft... <_< so far motorcraft is the only one that doesn't do it as bad...battery stays charged but i'm guessing the alt.gauge doesn't work cause it doesn't move either way..i guess it's bad.. it's my daily driver and i still drive evey day doesn't seem to be causing any other problems but would like to get it taken care of before it does...any information would be of great help..... /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[canueverstfu]

there is something that is sucking alot of power, same thing happended with me, my radio is plasma screen it took alot of power away from my battery, i ended up stealing someones battery :-D HAHA OWNED

 

[Seabronc]

By lights flickering, do you mean the head lights or every light in the truck? Doe it only happen when the engine is running? Have you put a volt meter on it and seen the voltage flickering? If you used a meter, at what points did you measure the voltage?

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[crazyhorse85]

By lights flickering, do you mean the head lights or every light in the truck? Doe it only happen when the engine is running? Have you put a volt meter on it and seen the voltage flickering? If you used a meter, at what points did you measure the voltage?

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I haven't tested the voltage yet,and it is only while the truck is running...and yes all the lights even, my clock has a tendency to flicker...but i have to take into consideration the guy who i bought the truck from didn't need to be working on a tricycle let alone a truck....he thought it had a cleveland in it... <_< .at what points do you think i should test...do you think it could be an open curcit???cause the only thing i've changed has be the radio but it's not high powered or anything fancy...and it is installed with a factory harness plug kit.nothing hacked into that i know of....

 

[bart6180]

check the battery, if the battery is good just go on ebay or run up to wal-mart and pick up a cheap capacitor,

technically it for vehicles with high powered stereo systems,it keeps the lights from flickering everytime the amp draws a large current(bass hits) put it in-line with the battery cable and the problem will dissappear,

 

[Seabronc]

I haven't tested the voltage yet,and it is only while the truck is running...and yes all the lights even, my clock has a tendency to flicker...but i have to take into consideration the guy who i bought the truck from didn't need to be working on a tricycle let alone a truck....he thought it had a cleveland in it... <_< .at what points do you think i should test...do you think it could be an open curcit???cause the only thing i've changed has be the radio but it's not high powered or anything fancy...and it is installed with a factory harness plug kit.nothing hacked into that i know of....

The problem sounds like a loose connection at some major point.

Since everything is blinking I'd check the grounding points from the battery to the engine block and the frame (some trucks have a connection to the engine block and from there to the frame). Disconnect, clean, and then reconnect them. There should also be a ground strap from the rear of the intake manafold to the fire wall. Also remove clean the rehookup the connections on the battery side of the start relay.

 

[crazyhorse85]

The problem sounds like a loose connection at some major point.

Since everything is blinking I'd check the grounding points from the battery to the engine block and the frame (some trucks have a connection to the engine block and from there to the frame). Disconnect, clean, and then reconnect them. There should also be a ground strap from the rear of the intake manafold to the fire wall. Also remove clean the rehookup the connections on the battery side of the start relay.

Well it's been awhile but i have found the gremlin that has haunted my truck...first just wanted to say thanks for all the help that ya'll gave me...and wnted to say thanks to 'seabronc' for giving me a good starting point to start my search...well it all came down to the volt meter i hooked it up to the battery with the key off then started the truck...first reading 10.8 to 11.5 with key off...went to 11.8 running so looked like nothing was charging...checked all my fusible links first all looked good one was questionable so replaced it ...nothing charging....

so in the process of checking all the wires around the relay i bumped the plug to the voltage regulator and noticed the amps started to climb..so looks like a bad plug was letting my alternator pluse and caused everything to flicker.since i have replaced the plug everything works like it should...just wanted say thanxs again for all the help....

 

[Seabronc]

Glad to hear you got the problem licked, and thanks for the feedback, it may be usefull for someone else having a similar problem.

Do yourself a favor and get some Dialectric Grease. I use it on and in all the voides of my connectors to keep moisture out. Spread a thin coat on the surfaces that slide past each other and especially where the two ends meet. Then fill the backside where the wires attach to the contacts. Newer connectors are fairly well sealed but the 80's ones leave a lot to be desired. I use it anywhere I want to make sure moisture doesn't cause corrosion, including places like the lugs of the starter solinoid. A thin coat will keep moisture off.

Good luck,

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