Flickering Lights

Has anyone had trouble with their headlights and instrument lights
flickering while driving and at idle? Did it result in a new alternator?
Saturn service says it's normal - I say they're full of crap. I've been
driving for 30 years - if it were normal, I think I'd have noticed it before
now!!

Dana
2002 LW300

 

Confuses me too - not to mention other drivers!! Yes, the headlights flicker
in unison with the instrument lights. Makes for quite a spectacle! Of
course, this is normal, according to Saturn in Burlington, VT. I guess I'll
wait until the alternator dies, then have them tow it across Lake Champlain
at THEIR expense!
Dana
2002 LW300

 

I've seen both of these problems on my '01 LW300. The dimmer switch
is on currently on order.

I only noticed the headlight and dash light flicker when the engine at
idle. It was a slight but noticeable dimming of the lights 2-3 times
per second. Dealer mentioned the part (which I've since forgot) that
caused the flicker, but also said this was normal. I've learned to
translate this to either "the part is working to its design and the
design is marginal, this is the best we can do" or "our tech is still
being trained in troubleshooting skills, please bring your car back at
a later date."

I'll pay more attention to the headlight flicker and bring it up again
when I go back to get the dimmer switch replaced.

 

The flicker started with just happening at idle, but now, it's a full-time
phenomenon. If you can think of that part, I'd be glad to have some more
ammo.

Dana

 

That would tend to point toward either a bad alternator, or some electrical
accessory that was drawing power at that interval for some reason. You might
want to get the dealer to let you see if the same thing shows up on another
new L-car on the lot, if not then that may help convince them it's not a
normal condition.

 

This surely sounds like you've got an intermittent ground. Start
looking at all the ground wires in the car. Look for a loose nut, bolt
screw holding a ground wire. Also look for a partially broken ground
wire. You may also have a broken wire inside a plug.
Lastly look at the switch that controls your lights.

I would bet my last dollar that you have a ground problem!!!

Good Luck!
Jim Smith

 

I am leaning towards a ground problem too. I had a problem on my Miata that
was driving me nuts and it turned out to be a bad ground from the engine to
body. All I had to do was wiggle the ground strap and my headlight/blinker
problem went away. Just a thought.

 

Dana,

There were a number of replies, and a bad ground fits the symptoms.
However, this is a fairly new car and shouldn't be too rusted out.
There's an easy way to check ground connections:

- Get a cheap digital voltmeter. A $250 Fluke isn't needed here. In
fact, just about anything will do. Use the 2 volt range.

- Start the car. Watch out for moving belts.

- Measure the voltage between different ground points on the battery -
terminal, alternator frame, engine block and metal unibody.

- A reading of over .25 volt is suspicious. In other words, the
ground connection is bad enough to cause a decent voltage drop.

- Turn on the lights, heater fan, A/C, etc. and repeat.

On one car there was a .5 volt drop between the alternator frame and
engine block. Cleaning up the ground strap fixed it. On a badly
rusted car I had to run extra ground wires all over the place and that
fixed it.

Good luck,
Jim

 

Actually no they are not full of crap; It's a known issue
not sure if there is a fix though. There have been some problems with
headlight switch but that usually for the headlights not working at
all.

The Saturn Parts Guy

 

Let me add my $.02. I had a similar problem on a SL2... it
progressively would get to a point that all electrical systems would
intermitently shut down, and the car would stall for a split second,
and then it would recover... scary, but the problem turned out to be
so mundane... not quite tightened battery conection (one that I
checked and deamed OK... sigh).

/Mariusz

 

Yep, same thing here...
For months, the lights would intermittantly shut off and quickly come back
on. A few times, even the engine stumbled. I checked the battery ground
cable and it was loose enough for me to move around. Tightened it up and no
more problems.

 

This happened on my 98 sc2 when it was brand new. The dealers in Dayton
Ohio are pretty good overall. Of course they replaced the dimmer switch
immediately (stealing one from another car, I think). When that didn't cure
it they found a ground connection that was either loose or dirty. If your
dealer is open late, like ours, just get a tech to turn on the lights on a
similar car and then compare to yours. I bet yours won't look normal then!

 

It's probably a little late for this post, but for future reference for
someone... I had the same problem with my SC1, had it in for the altenator
check everything and finally gave up with trying to get the problem solved
under warranty. The problem with mine was the grounds, especially the
ground connection on the battery. It first off wasn't tight enough, and
the rubber boot around the side post (on the cable) was restricting the
cable end to make contact with the battery post. Simple fix was to use a
razor blade to trim the extra material away from the boot (I actually just
removed mine altogether). After that a second ground strap from the motor
to the chassis (I used a second mounting point on the motor and a second
bolt location on the chassis, cleaning the area to the bare metal). Also
a second ground strap from the battery to the chassis. After checking
these connections for continuity (using a multimeter) I cleaned all the
easy to get at grounds (there was a ground terminal on the left side of
the chassis behind the left headlight). And finally once that was done I
sprayed all of these connections, except the battery ground, with some
black spray paint to slow down corrosion. This eliminated the flickering
and seemed to remove some strain from the altenator, giving the car a
little more pep. Hope this helps!