electrical super fun mystery time

[mightybeet]

bulb was out on passenger side so i changed it. now both headlights and floods are dimming/flickering/pulsing when i accelerate. after maybe 50 mins of driving the battery light came on. tried changing to another bulb and its still happening. battery is aaa so had them come check it.

knowns:
- 2004 3.7l
- flickers with low beams with/without floods. not so noticable with highbeams
- no other lights or codes came on with battery light
- battery is good
- alternator is good. pushing out 14.4v, 14.2v with load. original alternator with 317k+ miles. only thing can think of is that the outside and surroundings are covered with dried coolant spray from awesome waterpump.

thoughts?

 

[renegade 04]

You should install a voltmeter and see what the voltage is! My jeep had a problem like that, the problem turned out to be the ecm. you should be able to see what the problem is with a voltmeter.

 

[Clint in KY]

Make sure the Negative lead on the battery has a good connection to the BODY of the vehicle. I had similar issues when I had a bad body ground wire while the ground wire to the frame was still good.

 

[twowings]

I vote to check the ground straps or t/s a shorting issue...something seems to be drawing a LOT of current and heating up the battery...

 

[mightybeet]

thanks all...

@renegade 04 - which do ya recommend?

@clint in ky, twowings- where is it tied to the body? theyre all bundled up in plasticy/oily mess and lost its trail once it goes under the valve cover.

update: i drove it on the highway around 12ish and maybe 20 mins in the battery light came on again. turned around and went back another 20 mins with no stall or anything. let it sit all day. went to look at it at 8pm. wiggled some wires around the ground to battery to follow trail. turned it on and lights didnt dim with gas, actually looked brighter. drove it around, no dimming, no battery light. see what happens tomorrow.

 

[mightybeet]

for now all signs point to alternator. again after 17 to 20 mins of driving the battery light came on. this time everything started to dim and even lost power to the drivetrain. out of desperation i made it to autozone and changed it in the lot. no battery light since. if i wasnt in a pinch i would have ordered another denso.

 

[renegade 04]

I have a digital voltage gauge and It was cheap maybe 15 dollars on ebay.

 

[uss2defiant]

or free from harbor freight if you can a coupon