got in my 99 Z28 this morning and noticed this trip meter was reset and the radio clock was off. I started the car and didn't notice anything else wrong with it. Tonight when I get into is the interior lights are fluctuating from bright to dim to bright to dim. I start the car and as I am driving the headlights dashlights and radio lights all due the same fluctuating. More rpms seem to make it fluctuate more rapidly. When the car idles the lights do not vary they just stay dim. What could be wrong??? If it is the alternator why do the intior lights fluctuate when the car is not running? If it is the battery shouldn't the alterntor be able to overcome that when the car is running? Could it be a bad connection if so where? I checked the battery cables and they are tight? Please give me some ideas. Now even the car cranks slow somtimes. I changed the battery last night and it did not help.
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if it was your alternator your voltage gauge would read low.....and if the alternator is going bad it could mess up the battery....at least that's what happened to me....but it seems like that isn't the problem since it does it when the car is off...g/l -
Check the main hot lead going to your starter. Often times electrical glitches and intermittant problems can be traced to this. Disconnect your battery first, then check the main hot post at the starter. You'll most likely have to unbolt the primary lead and make sure the post is tight, reconnect the hot lead and tighten. Now hook up your battery and see what happens. Also check the terminal connections at the red juction box just above the battery as well as checking all the grounds.
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It could be the voltage regulator inside the alternator. It could cause a bright / dim situation and decide not to charge at times resulting in a hard or slow start. If all the connections are tight the alternator is your next best bet. I cannot see the battery causing this.
Good luckComment
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is it possible that it is the headlight switch? seems to me that if it were going bad it could have an impact on all of those things....Comment
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slmdeclipse is right...could be a switch problem, but had something like that happen to my GTA...problem, bad altenator (actual grinding coming from the bearings (?) inside). Come to think about it...my GTA ate altenators like lunchables, on my 5th one. Good thing I have a lifetime replacement plan...
Christopher Teng
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the only reason I don't think it's the altenator is because he said it also happens when the car is off which would eliminate the alternator....Comment
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Without the car running, it takes the alternator out of the equation. If the car is off, the only thing I could see it being is a bad connection. On a GM, the regulator is not turned on until it gets 12 volts from the switch so I can't see that as a problem. My guess is what Joe says and check the ground wire from the battery to the frame and from the block to the frame.2002 Electron Blue Vette, 1SC, FE3/Z51, G92 3.15 gears, 308.9 RWHP 321.7 RWTQ (before any mods), SLP headers, Z06 exhaust, MSD Ignition Wires, AC Delco Iridium Spark Plugs, 160 t-stat, lots of ECM tuning
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About where is the major grounds located?? thanks for the help guysComment
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