Why are my lights dimming?

[Crandis16]

Okay so here is my problem. I have no sub or amp running currently. I have solely HU powering my speakers in my car right now.

big 3 has been performed

when I drive the lights will slightly dim then go normal. It does this about every second for some reason.

maybe someone out there has experienced the same problem?

[HunterJohnson]

what car do you have and what kind of lights (hids?)

[HatersGonnaHate]

98 Ford Escort ZX2

It sounds like a fluctuating 12v source. The battery is fully charged now after the brake light incident, right?

Edited June 22, 2012 by HatersGonnaHate

[Crandis16]

98 Ford Escort ZX2

It sounds like a fluctuating 12v source. The battery is fully charged now after the brake light incident, right?

fucking el oh el that you know year of my car and all, its a great car and all but there is always a problem

yes it has charged since my dead battery incident. I'm not positive how old the battery is. I got the car beginning of last summer and it hasn't been changed since then. It's the duralast gold battery... do you know what would cause a fluctuating 12v source? I'm going to try removing the big 3 but I don't think that's the problem because it was done correctly and I haven't seen any issues with it... improvements actually up until now

what car do you have and what kind of lights (hids?)

98 ford escort zx2

duralast gold underhood battery

4 cylinder

sylvania silverstar halogen bulbs

[HatersGonnaHate]

It's not the big 3, unless there is a loose connection somewhere. There should be some kind of date on the battery, usually a sticker, that should say when it was made or shipped to the store. And usually after a full discharge, or a close to full discharge like you had, it's pretty hard for a lead acid battery to recover fully, so I would recommend seeing if you could get a shop to do an battery load test on it to see if it has a bad cell.

And yes, I remember your car so well just for the fact that my first car was a 98 Escort ZX2

Edited June 22, 2012 by HatersGonnaHate

[Crandis16]

It's not the big 3, unless there is a loose connection somewhere. There should be some kind of date on the battery, usually a sticker, that should say when it was made or shipped to the store. And usually after a full discharge, or a close to full discharge like you had, it's pretty hard for a lead acid battery to recover fully, so I would recommend seeing if you could get a shop to do an battery load test on it to see if it has a bad cell.

And yes, I remember your car so well just for the fact that my first car was a 98 Escort ZX2

thanks for that info, I'll try doing that tomorrow and if it's bad, then it might be time for an XS battery

I'm still constantly learning about this stuff lol, thanks again for the help

[HatersGonnaHate]

It's no problem at all dude. I've been through the ins and outs of that car many times. Another thing to check is the alternator belt. Make sure it's not too loose or tight, and also check the mounting bolts on the alternator. If one of them just happened to wiggle a little bit loose, then it will screw up the tension on the belt, causing an occasional slip, resulting in a fluctuation of voltage.

[Crandis16]

It's no problem at all dude. I've been through the ins and outs of that car many times. Another thing to check is the alternator belt. Make sure it's not too loose or tight, and also check the mounting bolts on the alternator. If one of them just happened to wiggle a little bit loose, then it will screw up the tension on the belt, causing an occasional slip, resulting in a fluctuation of voltage.

if the belt's the problem then I'm taking it right back to the shop and telling them to fix what they messed up. I didn't have this problem before it went into the shop for a new timing belt... I also didn't have the battery die on my 2 times before going into the shop so I'm willing to bet that it's the battery, but it could be either. I'll give that a try and see what I have to do to get it fixed. It's no big deal right now because I'm bassless for the moment, but I want to get it straightened out before the sub finally comes in

[Crandis16]

A little update... the battery shouldn't be the problem. When the car is off it reads 12.83 volts. I didn't have it checked when it was running though, I feel like the battery is fine though and it's something else that isn't being nice to the electrical. I'm going to call the shop up and tell them of my problem, because they probably did something to cause this to happen because it didn't do this before it went into the shop

[Crandis16]

So I was able to get a vid showing the dimming lights in my car. there is clearly a fluctuating 12v problem and I had the battery checked at the shop. The battery sits at 13.8 volts when the car is off

Here is a video of what's happening. You see it more in the interior light than the head lights but it is visible in the head lights in person

Only happens when I rev the engine

Edited June 24, 2012 by Crandis16