Sezniko

iTrader: (3)

I have a issue where all dome,license plate bulbs,and my led switchback running light/turn signal flicker only when the car is running. Voltage spikes back and forth around 14.2V-14.9V really fast with the

Dealer and my regular mechanic tested the alternator its good with regular voltage that doesn't change. I checked the voltage on the fuses used for these lights and the voltage is same coming from the alternator. I do have extra LED lights,ground wire kit, and an AMP installed;disconnecting all of these makes no difference in the issue neither does turning the headlights on or off. If the voltage is stable I can turn on the defrost and it will go crazy. Any thoughts? Voltage Regulator?

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

^^^the voltage regulator on ur alternator is goin bad....fix? get a new alternator. have u changed ur alternator at all? i had the same exact problem and i DO NOT have any sound sytem only LED dome lights. hook and oscilloscope to the output of the alternator and check the voltage pattern. it should be a nice straight line. if it jumps from 14.4V to 15V+ you voltage regulator within the alternator is bad. only fix i know is to get a brand new alternator. my $.02 g' luck

mglax13

iTrader: (3)

I'm having the same exact problem! I've been trying to trouble shoot it to no avail. When you rev the engine, does the flickering go away?I have my car at the shop today taking off by under drive pulley so that on Monday, I can take my car into Acura and have them look at it amongst many other issues it's having. (I know the pulley doesn't cause these problems, it's just easier to deal with Acura if the oem pulley is on). I'll let you know what acura tells me on Monday. I'll mention to them the possibility of the voltage regulator.

mglax13

iTrader: (3)

sezniko, did you ever get this figured out? I went to Acura to get them to look at it under warranty and they basically told me to go scratch since I have aftermarket electronics (some LED's wired) in my car, and they will now not touch my electrical system anymore...fuckers.

mglax13

iTrader: (3)

I spoke to the shop foreman today and brought up to him about the voltage regulator on the alternator and he's telling me that the '08 TL doesn't have a voltage regulator on the alternator and that the voltage is regulated by a diode in the fuse box, and that the diode very rarely craps out, and if it does, it will give a CEL. Anyone have any input on this? Is this total BS?

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

wtf? a diode? the alternator's connector to the voltage regulator had some intermittent connection on my alternator which cause the alternator to "overcharge" the battery at a lil more than 15V which explains the flickering you are seeing (the lights arent dimming, they are actually getting brighter due to the surges) this then sometimes will lead to the "batt" light coming on in the dash. it got soo bad on my alternator that iff i revved into vtec sometimes i would had to pull over and fiddle with the connector so the alternator still charges my battery("batt" light was on)...

long story short, got a lifetime limited warranty from autozone and i was good to go. paid like $150 for it...

rcp

my car did this. i replaced my alternator with a brand spanking new one from acura and it stopped. my passenger airbag light flickered, so did my dome, taillights, signal lights, the letters on the shifter. it was soooo annoying.

mglax13

iTrader: (3)

Well if they keep breaking my balls and won't do anything about it, for $150 for an alternator, I might just go ahead and do that. I was looking at the OEM acura one and they want over $300 for that. Alternator install should be fairly strait forward, right? I installed everything else on my car, I'm sure I can manage this.

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

^^even though I didn't do my own install, it is str8t forward. Out with the old and in with the new. I also started to get the oem alternator but they wanted waayyyy to much

mglax13

iTrader: (3)

Well an update on this, I took the car to Acura and they are refusing to touch anything that has to do with my electrical system as the main harness is "hacked up" (bullshit) becasue I have a remote start system that they didn't install. They say I should have had Acura install their system.

I politely told them that they are 1. a rip off because they want $500 to install an inferrior system to the one that I paid only $250 for, and 2. they don't knwo what they are doing when it comes to installing the remote start system.

They got mad at my second statement and said that they absolutely know what they were doing. As they said that, a TSX next to us started up with a remote start system that they just installed, and the parking lights blink to show it's running on the remote start, and the HID's were blinking too! So I said "if you knew what you were doing, you wouldn't setup that remote start to blink the HID's too. That KILLS them. Have fun when that person comes back in a few weeks or a month becasue their HID's have died and you get to replace them under warranty!"


Anyways, getting a rebuilt Nippon Denso alternator this weekend and replacing it. Only $90 with the core exchange

mglax13

iTrader: (3)

Installed the new alternator today, problem solved! Thanks djbonsu!

djbonsu

iTrader: (3)

DOPE!! np! glad ur car is back to normal

Sezniko

iTrader: (3)

I gave copies of these pages to the dealer and they still refused to replaced the alternator.I was tempted to replace the alternator but I added a hyper voltage and ground wire kit to my car and the flickering as seem to stop over a period of a month as has worked fine for over a year now.