when my car is running (2007 acura tl type s) all the lights in the interior and exterior will kinda pulsate and idk if my battery is bad or running low voltage or if my throttle body is bad but i need suggestions and or fixes please and thank you.

 

alternator

 

What makes you think the throttle body is bad?

 

You might get away with just replacing the brushes. That's what I did a while ago with the same symptoms and so far so good. There still should be OEM brushes available online.

 

my alternator is fine so idk what else would be wrong

 

Is it though...?

My vote is also alternator

 

how did you determine that


belt or belt tensioner would be next on the list for me to check

 

Pulsating lights with engine RPM is 99% of the time going to be alternator or regulator. Nothing else makes lights continue to pulse.

- continuous pulsing of lights (RPM dependent, but all lights pulse) will be alternator or regulator
- dimming based only if engine is stalling out, would most likely point to bad battery (lights "dim" when the idle drops, and then brighten back up when the engine recovers)

Those are the most generic descriptions that apply to a majority of vehicles.

 

What are lights and electronics powered by? Voltage.

What creates voltage? Alternator.

 

is there a separate voltage regulator or is it part of the alternator?
I think the voltage on a car is always going to go up and down because of the rpm changes, but somewhere or somehow is it stabilized. Either by the battery or a regulator I think.
I did not see anything called a regulator on acurapartswarehouse.com and ebay is sketchy. So I dont see a voltage regulator without digging. But maybe it is part of the alternator? dont know!
I do have the helm books but it would take some digging..

 

is there any way i can test to see if it's the alternator? i had it tested at autozone(idk if they're thing is reliable) but they said it was good and i've left it running and disconnected the negative and it continued to run so i really don't know what's going on

 

I think it is normal for a car to be to run without the battery, after it is started. In fact I just read that if you start your car and disconnect the negative cable from the battery and if it continues to run then the alternator is working. But I think your original post said that your only problem is the lights are dimming when the blinker is on so the alternator may look good as far as from a charging standpoint.
This person had the same problem I think but I didn't see a resolution and I wouldn't say our alternators go out and very easily because I have 135,000 miles on mine
https://acurazine.com/forums/1g-cl-problems-fixes-71/my-lights-dim-my-turn-signal-493487/

 

I don't think the TL will run....well....without the battery. When my battery cable broke, it would not stay running when it disconnected. The drive to the dealer with that electrical taped together was not enjoyable since every bump it would start to stall out and then quickly recover.

As for regulator...I think the regulator may be built into the alternator on these. I do recall there being some battery management box somewhere as well that controls when charging happens. It has been a while since reading through that thread.

 

Another way you can test this is via a voltmeter.
- watch voltage with engine off (it should be somewhere around 12.5V'ish and be stable)
- watch voltage with the engine running
- look to see if it is bouncing around constantly

I think a better description of the behavior is needed here.
- what lights are pulsing? (normal lights or LED?)
- does anything make them pulse more?
- does anything make them pulse less? (rev the engine? add more load, etc)
- does it pulse when driving or only at idle?
- have you checked your battery cables and clamps to make sure no corrosion?
- have you had the battery tested?
- have you tried charging the battery overnight?

 

You could throw an oscilloscope on it... but probably would be easier and cost less to just drop a new alternator on and see how it does. if nothing changes, return it.

I suspect most testers including what autozone is using will only be looking for average output voltage within a particular range. if it's fluctuating within that range the tester will still see it as "good"

 

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...0BTVTavbuaA%3D

A reman's DENSO is 133 bucks plus tax, why are you dragging your feet and the tried and true method?

 

I would test the battery under a load and give it a charging test to see if it holds a charge . Walmart can do it..maybe for free.
Also do a physical inspection of the battery . Sometimes they will bulge if they are bad. But not always