Over the past two days, I noticed all the lights on my Santa Fe have been flickering ever so slightly. I had a guy at BatteriesPlus check the battery and he said it was registering at 10.4 volts. I just replaced the battery and the flickering continues. It's a steady flickering of all lights controlled by the master switch or otherwise. The dash lights, headlights, even the dome light does it. Does this sound like the swan song of a failing alternator?

I set an appointment to get the alternator checked on Monday.

 

 

If you have a voltmeter you can check the alternator yourself. At idle the battery should be registering between 13.5 and 14.5+ volts.

But yes those are the symptoms of a struggling alternator.

 

Sounds like it to me.

 

+3 for alternator. I had the same problem with my Suburban.

 

Thanks everybody. Just needed to make sure I wasn't losing my marbles.

I checked it with a voltmeter. At idle with no other system it was at 14.1 volts but as load was added (headlights, wipers, A/C, CD player, etc.), it dropped and was not recovering. It was down to 13.6 by the time it was all said and done.

 

Why did you replace the battery? The least expensive fault would be a bad ground cable, but as others have mentioned, it's probably the alternator. Well, probably not exactly the alternator itself, but most likely the voltage regulator. Most voltage regulators are now internal of the alternator, requiring a replacement of the entire unit.

Is is dependent upon rpm? If feeing you're feeling somewhat curious, disconnect the cable from the alternator (careful for the crappy plastic clip) and run your car for a short while. If the flickering is no longer apparent, it's most likely the voltage regulator/alternator.

Terry

 

It only happens when the car is running and does not vary with RPM. If I open the door with the engine off or run accessories with the ignition in the 'ON' position (with engine off) it does not happen. As soon as I started the engine, the dome light and dash lights started to go ape shit again.

Forgot to mention...last night I got into the car to leave work and since we park on the street, my headlights were projected forward onto the car ahead of me. When I turned the rear defroster, the headlights and dash lights dimmed significantly.

 

If it's not varying with rpm, it definitely sounds like the regulator. I don't know in your specific application, but I'm pretty sure the voltage regulator would be part of the alternator, necessitating a complete replacement.

For the hell of it though, check your cables once more, specifically the ground strap.

Terry

 

I agree with Terry. My boss proved this to be true, first thing you do is the cheapest fix.... clean the battery terminals, check for rips or corrosion. Then upgrade that wimpy ground cable going from the negative battery post, and it'll solve and prevent a lot of problems.

 

I have a similar problem with my 3 series...just got a new battery two days ago, and it was starting fine, but just last night I went to start it and it hesitated. After about a minute, I shut it off to go get something I forgot inside, and came back out and it just clicked without starting...now it looks like everything is dying whenever I use any of the equipment.

It was kinda like this last week, and required a jump everytime I needed to start, but I got the new batt and it was working fine for days until it got cold last night...would that be the culprit? I know when I did some recent work I had to take a wood block and hammer to lightly reinstall the alternator back to its cradle, so i thought if it is an alternator issue that it would have shown up two weeks ago when I did the actual work...?

 

After replacing the battery and the problem continued, I took it to the dealer and asked them to look into it. They tested the alternator and it was putting out low output. They replaced the alternator with a new one (I checked, it's shiny) and the problem remains.

I'm going to be looking into the ground strap to the negative post on the battery. Any other ideas?

 

If it matters a lot of my customers with big money sound systems usually get flickering lights when the bass hits..... 90% of the time just upgrading the ground strap from the negative battery post by adding another ground to the chassis fixes the problem instantly. Much better than buying a $200 capacitor.... and since there's usually leftover power cable anyway I just throw it in if I'm in a good mood.

 

It doesn't make sense that it would be a bad battery ground if it only happens when the alternator is running. I'm going to see if I can take it in tomorrow and have them look into it further.

 

It might not only be a bad battery ground. A bad or loose ground strap between the engine and body of the car could also contribute to the symptoms you are describing.


Terry

 

I didn't have work again today due to the bad weather but my dealer was open. I dropped it off at 11 and told them to keep it as long as necessary. I went to lunch with my family, caught a movie (Yes Man with Jim Carrey), and browsed around the bookstore where I ran into a long-time crush of mine. She's still gorgeous. That just made my day. At any rate, I got a call from the dealer and they found several bad grounds to the chassis and cleaned them all.

Not only is the flickering gone but my passenger side high beam which seemed dim or improperly focused is back to full strength. Hopefully we can close the chapter of this electrical saga.

 

Oh yeah, the best part? They didn't charge me a dime because replacing the alternator failed to fix the problem. I love my dealer.

 

Glad to hear it. Having experienced this same problem firsthand, I thought it may have been the problem. Up here in Canada a tremendous amount of salt and sand is used during the winter months, and ground straps eventually corrode. It's absolutely amazing how a bad ground will affect the electrical system, and even the performance of the car in general.

Get the number from the old crush?

Terry

 

She actually lives in my neighborhood but I almost never see her.

I've asked her out before but I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me like that. After three rejections, I know when to cut my losses. At least she has the decency to speak to me nicely.

 

Oh too bad I just saw this thread just now. I was going to say check for the battery ground to chassis connection and make sure the screw, the hook, and the body has a good connection and no corrosion.

I had a similar problem on my TSX, and in addition, all my gauges will drop to zero, my VSA, check engine, airbag, ABS lights will all light up. This happens very randomly as I'm driving (freaked me out). I thought I had some electrical short. Turns out to the ground to chassis problem.

 

Oh yeah...how rude of me.

Thanks everybody for all your help.