Mud Puddle = Flickering Lights? ;D

[XiKeiyaZI]

So I've been reading through some of the posts about flickering lights...bit I'm not really having 'flickering lights' so much as the lights indicating that my Alt isn't charging are running Dimmly.. So let me explain.

It's been raining like crazy here lately. Well.. I was leaving a friends' and he lives at the top of a hill in the country. I couldn't go down the road because it was flooded at the bottom and I didn't want to chance it, so I took the shorter route and down a gravel road. Well... there was an invisible mud pit that my car was like " Hell yeah! " So I plowed through it, no problem.

By the end of the road.. my oil pressure was 0 and my alternator lights were on. I pulled over and checked. I had my Oil pan bolt..no oil anywhere....just clay/mud...checked the dipstick.. still full...everything looked good. Started the car.. No pressure.. opened the Valve Cover cap... Oil! ;D yaaay! So I wiggled the Mud covered Oil pressure Sensor wire.. and I had pressure!

So I drove home.. and noticed that the three lights for my alternator were like... TRYING to come on, but couldn't.. and the faster I got.. the brighter they got.. but when I hit 50ish, they went out. Upon slowing down to stop, they'd flick on, and then go out. I figured I just had a wet connection or something by the alternator so when I got home, it was dark, so I just killed it and thought to let it dry out. Well... it's still doing it this morning. =/ I haven't sprayed the mud off my car.. or what got in the engine bay.. but would mud cause this? Or... could it just be a weak connection, like the plug that goes into the alternator came kind of loose? It was a pretty rough road after all.

I just want a second opinion as I'm sitting in my office at work and can't exactly go out in the rain and mess with it right now.

Thanks!

 

[Lofty]

Either you shitted out your alternator or your voltage regulator plug came loose.

 

[pullerfan]

i would say a weak connection, they probably just haven't dried all the way out yet. but its possible that the water is going to corrode the wire also.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

I'm thinking the plug because it was kind of mangled when I got it.

Luckily I have a spare alternator if this one fails.

I would just assume that... since it seems to only happen at certain RPM's... it's likely a connection? A failing alternator wouldn't do that in relation to RPM ranges, would it?

" At 1100, I'll be fine.. at 2300..I'll flicker.. above 2400 I'll work perfect.. and at 3000 I'll be like ' no charge!' .. and at 3100 I'll charge perfect again! "

 

[talontsi18]

Check all your connections (battery and alternator) with a test light to make sure you have power and your properly grounded. Alternators have diodes that help to regualte voltage sometimes they are going out and the alternator doesn't work all the time. Just check the easy stuff first and get all the mud and water out of unwanted places.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Gonna take a firetruck to get all the mud off my car. It almost looks like Speeddemons' car.. Lmao.

I checked a few things while I was on lunch. The plug on the front of the alternator was a little loose. I just popped it back in place. Seems to have resolved it.

Like I said, just wanted a second opinion. Wasn't aware that mud could cause an alternator failure and wanted to know if someone else had experienced something simular.

 

[Lofty]

Just like I said. Alternator voltage regulator. It will change with rpms because it has no regulated voltage, at high rpms you're over charging your system. Beware of alternator failure now or battery failure.

 

[XiKeiyaZI]

Yeah, it kept doing it all afternoon yesterday.

I got down infront of the car with a friend in the car watching the alt light. When I moved the harness that runs along the bumper, he said it flickered a few times. Sounds like I have myself a short.

What wires should I check? Anyone know the specifics?

If it comes down to it, I'll just swap out the alt with my spare one (Brand new) and see where that takes me. Got someone wanting to look at the car, so I'd rather not have it acting up at all. Ah well, it's a DSM. Always something.