Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting lights dimming

Okay, yesterday when I was going to work I was accelerating and my lights would dim. Then when I let off on the gas the lights returned to normal, it did this first thru fourth but not fifth. Any ideas?

Check to make sure the connections on your battery terminals are tight.

Could possibly be loose battery cables, but Id think it was an alternator first. Usually when your lights dim, it means the alternator isnt producing enough charge for the battery...hense the bad alternator. Just a thought though.

I'll 3rd that. happened to me in my volvo, the brushes wore out, when I would step on the brakes the stereo would die, then the car stalled out and died, and I pushed it into the mourge parking lot. Moral of the story, chek you alternator!

took the tour to advanced and they tested the battery and alternator and both checked out good but I still think that it might be the alt. I hooked a multimeter up to my cigarette lighter and drove around, a few times my volts dropped to 11 but 90% of the time they were around 14

Same thing just started happening to me... AGAIN!

1. Battery light flickers at 3500 rpm, then goes constant-on beyond 4000 rpm; (sucks at hwy speeds)
2. Headlight, dash lights etc.. flicker from 3000 rpm on.

I will test out later on with multimeter to see whats going on (likely voltage drop at higher rpms)

This happened to me before, the alternator was replaced however the mechanic gave it back to me doing the same thing. I brought it back and then he returned it fixed... Because of this, I have doubts whether it is in fact the alternator.

I have a sneaky feeling that the accessory drive belt might be slipping and/or the tensioner is busted. Theories only. I had a quick look at the belt and it looked fine, maybe a bit of glazing on the back side (what the tensioner rolls on) This would be a lot cheaper.

ANy thoughts before I go to a mechanic?

Thanks,
RRW

When I rebuilt my altenator in the mystique I had to turn down the slip rings on a lathe. They were completly out of round. It seems a lot of 99s have altenator problems. There was probably a bad batch and they show up after 50 or so thousand miles 70k in my car. When the rpms get up high the brushes aren't capable of staying on the rings causing the dimming lights and battery light. This is just my guess but since turning the rings, replacing the brushs and regulator I haven't had a problem in 10k miles.

the only other thing that i have noticed about my car is that it only does it when the temp is below 30 degrees or so. This morning it did it but not at lunch when it was 45 out. so maybe the battery is going bad