Suzuki - Vitara :: Headlights And Dash Lights Keeps Flickering
Mar 28, 2011
the flickering stopped after 10 mins and hasnt come back. is this an alternator problem or loose battery cables/ground strap?
View 1 Repliesthe flickering stopped after 10 mins and hasnt come back. is this an alternator problem or loose battery cables/ground strap?
View 1 RepliesMy dashlights (Speedometer, Tach) always remain lit on my 2006 Grand Vitara. Dealer could not find problem. Suggested new dash. Only way to darken dash is to disconnect battery. Car has 10,0000 miles.
View 2 RepliesLights in my 01 Vitara dim and fade every now and then. This includes everything from the Brake lights, to the dash.
Trying to find solution, so the electronics need to be checked out, could it a be a fuse or something?
I will start out with a little history of the situation. A little over three months ago my original altenator died with over 200,000 miles on it. I took it in and had it replaced (they used a refurbished altenator) and about a 1-1/2 months later is when the issue started. The headlights and dash lights will flicker and whenever they dim, the volt gauge will go down.
When the lights come back to normal brightness the volt guage will also go back to normal. All this will go on for random lengths of time as I am driving. I took the vehicle back to where I had the altenator replaced and they replaced it again under warranty. About another 1-1/2 months went by and the same thing started happening. I took it back to the same garage and this time they put in a brand new altenator. Finally about a week after this last visit to the garage the symptoms came back.
Ford Focus 2004 manual 150K miles. Most days the car runs fine. Other days it will start and run until it warms up, then stumbles or hesitates at speed. When this happens the headlights and dash lights are also flickering. Sometimes i hear a clicking sound behind dash, left side. I have the sure cure: turn the heater fan to high. This works every time. When the engine is hesitating, i turn the fan to 4-high, the engine smooths out. Turn the fan down, engine again hesitates. Hesitates at 3, worse at 2, worst at 1. It seems to need the extra load.
But after few minutes of high heater fan, the alternator light comes on. I flick the heater switch down, endure the hesitation for a few seconds, the alternator light goes out, engine still hesitating, flick the fan to high, engine smooths out. A few months ago i could get it to fun smoothly with the fan on 3, didn't need 4-high. Now seems to need 4.On the days when it is always running smoothly, the heater fan can be on any speed, the alternator light does not come on.
Next few days or even weeks the engine will run smoothly, no hesitation, with the fan on or off or any setting.
The car has been to three shops in past year, one of them a major Ford dealer, who kept it two weeks. The problem has been diagnosed as battery (replaced), Battery connections (checked), plugs (replaced), fuel pump controller (replaced), fuel pump (replaced - ouch!), alternator (replaced twice - ouch twice), grounds (checked). Every time they "fix" something the car runs ok for a week or so.OBD shows P2004 (intake manifold runner stuck) but all agree it can't be the problem.
There have been a few times when i flicked the heater fan to high that all the dash lights died, fan went off, headlights off, turn signals didnt' work, but the engine ran smoothly. Not so good on the highway at night!There have been a few time, not recently, when the car wouldn't start. No dome lights, no dash lights with key turned to ON, no clicking or starter with key turned to START. It acted as if my battery was missing. The cure was to turn the headlights on. All normal after that.
This new discussion is for owners of 2006 Grand Vitara 4x4 SUV with the automatic transmission. Experiencing a vibration while accelerating between 45-60 MPH. This is an on-going problem for many of us and we need to make sure that Suzuki of America hears us loud and clear, and develops a solution.
View 30 Replies2003 - Just recently my battery light started coming on and off on the dash, and occasionally my headlights would turn off and come back on. Now the ABS and BRAKE lights flash and the headlights are still on and off. I have already scraped (not cleaned) most of the corrosion off of the terminals on the battery and tightened the connections...
View 3 RepliesI recently purchased a 2011 Sonata GLS and I love it. However, I'm having a slight electrical issue.
While driving at night with the headlights on occasionally they'll dim and flicker and often cut off completely while driving or parked. The interior and dash lights will also switch off with the headlights, however the radio will still continue to play. The lights only stay off for a second and then come back on. Sometimes I can make them flicker and go off by turning on my blinker or switching between high and low beams.
I'm trying to figure out if it's a problem with the alternator, the battery, or the fuses and if this is a known issue.
I have a 2002 Kia Optima. The headlights have been flickering as well as every light inside the car. When they're doing this, if I press on the brakes, everything fades out. Such as the radio, headlights get very dim, air conditioner fades out. The car almost comes to the point of stalling. I've had the alternator replaced but the problem continued. I have asked several mechanics but they are baffled.
View 6 RepliesI've had my '07 Volvo S40 2.4i for almost a year. It has a little over 60K miles on it and is serviced regularly. Within the last 3 months, I've noticed some weird things happening occasionally:
-Trouble starting when cold (I understand this is pretty common with a lot of cars.)
-Headlights & interior lights flickering
-Going over "bumps" in road causing dash display lights to illuminate for a second, radio to shut off, and loud system "BEEP" comes through the speakers (this has happened 3 times total, all on the same day.)
-AC stops cooling periodically I've had the system scanned for the AC issue and it seems that there was a "Pump pressure" message that cleared itself at one point and am guessing the same thing has happened the next few times it's done this.
I also asked that the battery be checked to see if it needed to be replaced soon. The mechanic said the battery was fine and thinks it's something wrong with the entire electrical system.
I started the car this morning, plugged the phone charger into the lighter socket, noticed the charger light wasn't on, pressed the charger in tighter, the car started to run funny, then it cut off. Lights work, radio won't work, all fuses are alright upon several visual inspections. Car wants to turn over but won't start. I tried disconnecting the negative battery cable to see if the car would revert back to "normal". I have never had a problem with this car in the two years I've had it; the battery was purchased brand new in November of 2011. I unplugged the cigarette lighter to see if that would work but nothing so far. Could it be the ignition switch?!
View 3 RepliesThe last month or so, I have noticed that my dash board lights (red lights) and my actual interior lights that come on when you open the doors to vehicle will flicker sometimes...And it can get bad I guess and annoying. It's more of it pulsating really. I noticed today while driving home and I had the radio on loud it was doing it and I do not know if was just in my head that it was doing it more when the radio was loud or what, but this is ridiculous.
View 3 RepliesI have a 2003 Camry V6 LE.
Yesterday the headlights did not turn off automatically when the car was locked up after being driven for about 30 minutes. Unfortunately, this was not detected until about 8 hours later.
The door locks would not function with the remote and the doors were manually unlocked.
When I got in the car and tried to start the car the dash and dome lights began blinking/flickering, the CD player ejected the CD, and the security light was blinking as it would if the doors were still locked.
The battery was too low to start the car so I jumped the car to start it and got home.
Battery showed 12.7 volts cold the next morning before the car was started. While running there was about 14.3 volts across the battery terminals which would seem to say the charging system is OK. Battery is just under 3 years old.
Doing some testing, I found that the headlights would turn on with the multifunction switch without the car running. In this case they would not turn off through locking the doors even after double clicking the lock button on the remote. The only way to turn them off in this case was through the multifunction switch.
Other testing shows that if the lights were turned on with the car running, they would turn off automatically within about 30 seconds or so when the car was shut off and the doors locked. In another similar test with the engine running and then shut down I also tried the double click lock using the remote and this also turned the lights off immediately.
Based on research on TN site, one recommendation for a similar, but not identical, problem was to replace the multifunction switch. No one suggests replacing the headlight relay or any of the 4 DRL relays.
I have a very strange electrical issue and CarMax is unable to find the source.
Detail of issue: It started 2 months ago before i left the country i took my car in to get the dreaded valve gasket cover and alternator and after taking the car back i left for Europe for 2 months. I was informed after 2 weeks that my car battery died and had to be jumped.
When I returned home I notice the following issues
1) Alternator Whine in my Sound System
2) Low frequency noise synchronized with engine rev that was triggering the sub low end making a very distinct wooom.
3) Sudden Power Loss for my secondary AMP. The base would cut on /off.
4) Light flicker in my Dashboard (only the GEAR LED) and the entire climate LCD. flicker also synchronized with engine rev.
5) POWER drop on the air con fans while breaking (the RPM would drop)
6) I saw the headlights where also flickering at the same frequency with the LCD and dash led a very noticeable flicker.
7) my headlights would dim when breaking.
8) My Car would start a bit slower (not as instant as before).
Initially i thought it was the my secondary amp that was causing the issue. I took the car to a great Audio shop and they said the On board Hyundai amp was sending weird signals. They said it was broken and i should have it replaced. I told them to disconnect the AMP from the car and leave it disconnected until i take the car back to Carmax.
I was hoping that was the cause ... it wasn't the lights keep flickering (at a far lower intensity probably due to the lower power consumption overall).
What could cause all of this. Alternator I had the alternator replaced two weeks ago (apparently it was broken). I changed 3 alternators in this car. Valve Gasket, Valve Gasket(they were retarded and didn't listen to what i told them) and broken.
At 130,000 I replaced the transmission. Now, randomly the car has flickering lights on the dash while I am driving. The radio flickers, and the tach/speedometers drop to zero. After this happens and I turn off the car, the car will not restart. It is completely dead. If I wait 2.5 minutes, there is much clicking in the dash, then everything comes back to life. No one can figure it out. I will add that in the 9 years I've owned this thing, I have replaced 5-6 batteries. The transmission guy says something is pulling on the battery, but he nor Honda can figure out what it is.
View 3 RepliesI went to get in car today, and the driver screen, needles, and dash lighting was flicking or pulsing.. like a wave rolling through the lcd. its got 1k miles on it, jsw tdi.
i did open the trunk, without unlocking from fob, just trunk button, then it auto locked again when i shut it. have never done that before, so maybe this causes it? i let it sit awhile, and all back to normal.
on a side note, got my 20% tint on all around today and looking good need a drop then wheels.
I have a 2000 Honda CRV, standard transmission. Within the last 2-3 months, I have had my battery, starter, and radiator replaced. Three times in the last month, I have turned my car on and the headlights and dashboard lights won't come on. However, the break lights, blinkers, and other interior lights come on. The first time, I shut the car off and left it over night and the lights all worked in the morning. The second time this happened, I just turned the car lights on and off a few times, and they came back on. When it happened this evening, I tried turning the car and the lights on and off, but no luck. I took the car to a mechanic after it happened the first time. He said that because it wasn't happening then, it would be really hard to diagnose.
View 10 RepliesMy dashboard light used to dim when I turned my headlights on (normal behavior). Now they go off altogether. Dangerous, n'est-ce pas? Is it a known issue with, for example, a fuse or relay?
View 12 RepliesI have a 1990 aerostar 4.0 eddie bauer. I cant figure it out but when I turn the head lights on the dash lights go out. with the head lights turned off, the dash lights work just fine. I have changed the headlight switch, and the panel dimmer switch.
View 14 Replies2013 SE 2.4 ... I am away from my car. Should be home Tues afternoon. When I left 7 days ago at 6am, I had no headlights. The light on the dash was on and all the other tail lights worked. Before I had to leave I quickly looked for the headlight fuse(s). Where to find it(them)? I may have to drive home after dark and will need headlights.
View 10 RepliesMy dash lights have a weird glitch when the headlights are on. I can hear a click and the dash lights will go out and immediately back on almost like a blink.
View 13 Replies