Flashing lights

[gsxeclipse97]

Well the other day i got my radio to start working and a couple days after that i noticed that my lights are flashing. They go from bright to dim and back to bright often like they are flashing like cops lights do. Hmm.. its very odd but its not affecting the perfomance of the car but i don't want to get stoped because a cop thinks im using strobe lights.

any possible reasons?

[No_Skillz]

Does the flashing correspond to the music? Check your battery terminals and clean them off if need be.

You might also be running lean as this is a sign of your entire car not getting enough electrical juice. Your fuel pump could be suffering.

[AKGEN1DSM]

I second what No_Skillz said. But if your battery and terminals are good check your relays. Your manual should give a detailed description of how to test the relays, as I am not sure. You could also take them to NAPA and get them tested. After checking the relays I would check your switch. My $.02

[luv2rallye]

Sounds like you have an intermittent short. Did you hook up the radio to a real power wire (not a dimmer switch wire for example)? Try disconnecting it to see if flashing stops.

[BUCK]

Believe it or not I've seen similar Threads end up being an intermittent short from the Battery to the HOOD.

[gsxeclipse97]

I hooked it up just the same way that my last one was before it was stolen. I don't have a logger or a wide band to tell if im running lean. I bought a a/f gauge long before i knew much more about the car cause my friend said i would need one, according to that it just bounces between lean and stoick. it never touches the rich side unless i step on the gas. At 90mph its in between stoick and rich never goes to the lean side. then it only moves two spaces between the to.

I the raido is getting power from the harness and is connected to the black wire in the back im not sure if thats the antenna wire. But it only does it for a while and then it will stop if i go 70 or above it starts to do it again.. Could it possible be the battery is bad cause when i start the car at night my gauges look like they are practicly not lit and its not untill i start driving around then they get some power.

No the flash doesn't but the radio flashes to the mushic like its not getting enough power as well I think that im going to take the battery up to walmart and have it tested to see if its going bad. That has happend to me like 4 or 5 times already. in the last year. where the battery is bad.

[No_Skillz]

Wouldn't hurt to test your alternator either.

[gsxeclipse97]

just got that replaced i was thinking of going up to firestone to see what they say.

[Defiant]

Ah. Your new rebuilt alternator has shit the bed.

[gsxeclipse97]

Well im going up there to day to see what the problem is. I really need to buy some tools

So i replace my battery and alternator today i have a gallant alternator for the 90 amps I also moved the coil pack today and made it a home because my cyclone doesn't have a coil bracket. So i got everything installed and checked it all out but lights are flashing again. they havent done this in a long long long time.

[98GSXtreme07]

Jeezums! Took you a year!? That's weird though how it hasn't done it in a while and now it does?

[gsxeclipse97]

No having the problem again. but this time the battery light is flashing a little bit. Do i need to upgrade my fuse in my car since i have a stronger alternator now?

[Defiant]

I suspect your junkyard alternator is junk. Kind of ironic.

Maybe try a Saturn alternator.

[gsxeclipse97]

Always defiant you are lol its not a mitsu one but not from a junk yard. So.. i just was wondering what could it be that is causing them to flash now and not in a year.

[bluetlr2001]

It does sound like it could be your alternator or the battery. Those are the only main 2 things that would make the battery light flash. It only flashes if it reads the alternator not putting out the correct voltage. Do you still have you heat shields around your exhaust. If not i know that the heat from the exhaust can be hard on alternators. Check your connections on your alternator also make sure there clean and tight.

[gsxeclipse97]

yes the heat shields are still on, I'll go out there and make sure that everything is attached securely but I'm pretty sure that it is

[gsxeclipse97]

So i had them do a test on the system of stuff

battery was 12.58V
measured 578 cca
rated 450
temp 29*f

starter test
11.12V
31.9A
time 812mS

charging system
no load
14.45V
-13.3A

loaded
13.98V
-42.8A

under this there is a graph it says ripple 49mV top of the graph says 0.24V and bottom says -0.24V

drain test
0.04A and pass

[Advan_Evo]

don't know if this would help, but my car does the same thing only because the wires aren't connected properly. dimming and brightening and the such, except mine turn off every once in a while. the wires leading to the radio I mean.

[gsxeclipse97]

Well I don't know what wires could be crossed or wrong i guess i could mess with the alternator and see what happens.

So i have plugged and unplugged and have gone through connecting and disconnecting everything that i cold possible do and i have found nothing that solves this problem. I did notice when i turned everything on that it stopped flashing. but once i turned everything back off it started doing it again. :0 fustrating this is

everything on
ac
lights
radio

[OneSlowL36]

LoL they had the amp clamp backwards testing your alternator :P But its no big deal, it just reads - instead of + on some V/A Testers.

Oh - and check ALL of the grounds related to the circuits affected.