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Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

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Old 04-26-2012, 05:52 PM
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Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

My 96 Camaro's headlights and dome light and every other light I guess dims and brightens with the idle of the motor. I noticed the ground wiring on the ignition coil is pretty chewed up and shanty looking. What are these wires for, where do they go? Looks like a braided ground strap and 2 wires hooked into one ring and they're all bolted to the ignition module.
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Old 04-26-2012, 06:53 PM
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Re: Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

The grounds are just that - they go from the coil stud to the driver side frame rail. How is your voltage reading?

Truth is though the light circuits aren't grounded through the engine block so those grounds won't make a difference.
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Old 04-26-2012, 09:03 PM
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Re: Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

Same symptoms happened on my brother's 99 3.8 Camaro V6. It was the alternator. Have it checked out(regulator issues).
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Old 04-26-2012, 09:59 PM
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Re: Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

You can have it tested free, at most auto parts stores.

Last edited by mrmint69; 04-27-2012 at 07:42 AM. Reason: removed
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Old 04-27-2012, 12:05 AM
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Re: Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

Nice, thanks guys, I swapped out the alternator and it's perfect now.
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Old 04-27-2012, 12:07 AM
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Re: Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

Originally Posted by RamAir95TA
The grounds are just that - they go from the coil stud to the driver side frame rail. How is your voltage reading?

Truth is though the light circuits aren't grounded through the engine block so those grounds won't make a difference.
So are these the ground wires for the ignition? My starter does ratchet like every 4 times I start the car. Could this be a possible culprit?
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Old 04-27-2012, 07:41 AM
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Re: Cars lights pulsate and dim with idle.

Not sure what you mean by "ratchet", but if you are talking about it not disengaging after starting, it could be the starter going out. You can have it bench tested for free at a lot of the parts stores to be sure. If you battery or alternator we not working correctly, it could affect your starter, so see if it still does it after your alternator replacement. I would clean and replace all the grounds that need to it.
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