Electrical problem?

[Bud8weiser]

Ok here's my problem. The other day I'm driving to work and my check engine lights flickered for a fraction of a second and then the seatbelt light comes on and stays on even though I have my seatbelt on. Then the battery light starts flashing but doesn't stay on. The radio starts turning off and turning back on. I also saw that the headlights were just slightly flickering too. It did it all the way to work. But on my way home it was perfectly fine. The next day was the exact same story. Did it on the way but not on the way home. In the morning it was cold and damp out from the dew, and the afternoons were warm and dry. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Any help in diagnosing the problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advace.

[MantaGreen97]

Did you check you battery and alternator/starter connections? Make sure they are clean and tight.

Do you have a voltmeter on the dash or otherwise? Could be that your alternator is going bad--that would be my guess. Either that or loose or corroded wiring somewhere between the battery, ground, starter or alternator.

[Bud8weiser]

I was thinking that also, but would that make the engine run funny, cuz its running fine. It doesn't miss or anything. The alternator and battery are only a year and a half old. I replaced both at the same time. I checked the connections and they seemed ok. I'll have to check them out again.

[Bud8weiser]

No one else has any ideas?

[Yuppyweird]

i agree with him. first check all connections make sure there tight and shinny on both ends not just where they connect into the battey but also on the starter.

second bad alt you can take it to any auto part store and have them check it out its free so no worrys there. and then check the batt.

third it may have something to do with a bad fuse check all your fuses.

[99SEDude]

I've been having a similar problem. For the last couple of days I turn the car off and it seems fine. Then the next time I start it my stereo is reset and the car won't start right off. I have to work at it for a few seconds until it finally starts. Today I was driving to work back from lunch and my stereo cut off. I looked at the dashboard and my air bag light was flashing and then it went away. A little bit down the road it did the same thing. I parked it at work and turned off and back on and it seemed fine. I replaced the alternator and the battery not long ago.

I did notice that when I put the new battery in, the positive connector wouldn't fit right. I didn't thighten it too much because it seemed like it was stripping the threads. Is this possible? Aren't those connectors pretty standard? It fit fine on my old battery.

[tenspeed]

Flickering lights and other odd electrical symptoms indicate a loose connection in the electrical system. Since the engine is running normally, I would suspect the problem to be more local. You may be losing power to one of the fuse boxes.

In my '96, I had a bad connecter in the plug where the wires went through the firewall.

[99SEDude]

Found the culprit: loose connection. The POS terminal I had in there was all stripped, must have been from installing the new battery, so I couldn't tighten it up and the cable was just wiggling around. I removed both boots and checked for corrosion and both cables look good. I'll have to put some electrical tape on then now or pick up some good boots. I also bought two new terminals and some of those chemical rings and put them on. It runs even better now.