Ok,
I would like to see a survey of all members with 98-02 v8 camaro to see if they have or have had a similiar issue with their cars. Earlier LT1 model owners please feel free to comment as perhaps you have had similiar troubles as well. Would be greatly appreciated

Question for Survey: When you start your car cold with the fog lights on and with the interior map light on and you rev it and let the revs fall, do you fog lights or map lights (or any other interior light flicker briefly or go out and then come back on? [grab a beer and try it out!]

A simple "no I've never had his problem" from members would be as welcome a "yes, and here is what it was" as I would like to have a list of comments that if need be I can take to the dealer and say "See here Jerky...not common with these cars, and not normal!"

I realize most people won't have the map light on normally, but it makes it easier to test if there is a power flicker. The reason I ask is i have had this problem for a while and have only recently had a dealer make an attempt to figure out what is going on. It is most obvious upon start up when the car is cold but will also happen occasionally when crusing down the freeway.

The dealer has linked the problem to the following: the alternator is fine, the pcm(bcm?) is fine. when the car is cold and put under these conditions, the air pump kicks in to counteract the rich exhaust output. As the revs fall, apparently the air pump is drawing enough amps that the auxiliary type lights may flicker (or flash off and on in my case). The kicker is that my air pump is within normal parameters and my alternator is said to be within working parameters....hence they are saying it is a normal operation and something I will just have to live with. Not acceptable to me. Does anyone else have this problem/issue? I've never heard of this being an issue. I also can't agree that this is normal as it seems to be getting worse. I suspect it is the alternator.....or some other connection between the two. Doesn't matter if headlight switch is on or is turned on by the sensor either. Sorry for the long post.

I am the first owner, cars has roughly 25k miles and is an 02 z28. Never ragged and not a single mod......perhaps that is the problem.....hehe

Thanks in advance,

(Hoping for a huge turnout)

Sunset_Z

 

its probably the air pump kicking on and off.

its normal

basically right after startup its charging the battery, running the lights, all the other electrical stuff then gets hit with the AIR pump, which seems to pull quite a bit of power.

if you got a bigger altinator it'd prolly fix it, but i've never considered it a problem ...

 

I have not seen that problem.

 

According to the delears stats it is the air pump kicking in. I have a hard time believing that a 2002 model was designed so that the lights would flicker. It is most obvious when it is cold but again also happens when the car is way warm (on the highway for hours for example). It is downright annoying. I've thought about a more powerfula alternator, but again doesn't seem like anyone else is having this issue with camaros?

Anyone, yes, no?

 

My car does it, its a 95 LT1, I noticed leaving work late, I would have my headlights on and I would let the car run for a little before driving and when I rev it and the rpms come back down it would also flicker and I would see it in the headlights. It still does it to this day, never any real problems from it.

 

Never had that problem.

 

if you want to attempt to fix it yourself, it most likely is a bad ground if you have a fully functional altinator.

or a battery that can't keep up the power required while the altinator ramps up.

try cleaning the grounds.

 

Flicking of lights is normal operating for your car...Check out the service bulletin thread under V6 TECH discussion . You can pull it up on the internet if you type in service bulletin/chevy camaro or something similar I forget exactly ...I am proud to say that I posted that bulletin because I had a similar problem and my wonderful companions at RK Chevy in Vineland NJ supplied me with the information.....not bad for a chick huh?

 

Its a normal thing i've heard about for 3 years now
Mine does it at night driving down the road, you'll see a quick flicker in the headlights
whats the big deal, live with it

 

Ok,

Thanks to the useful comments. Didn't realize GM couldn't engineer an electrical system worth crap. (Clearly they must be from Pennsylvania ) Dealer went ahead and replaced air pump but to no avail. It is possible that it is the battery. Perhaps it is slightly sulfated which prevents it from compensating for quick spikes (like when the pump kicks in). This wouldn't show in a charging test. Will try another battery just to see, as I'm curious.

Can't imagine the poor sucker that buys a new zo6 and has to live with the same thing.........what a joke.

Oh wait......turns out it is that it was the STS turbo kicking in (just kidding...ofcourse )

Laterz

 

you paid how much $$ for how many hp?

were you expecting it to be like a porsche?

 

Good god man, If that tiny little light flicker bothers you that much, sell the car to me cheap, I'd love to have another Camaro. Most people will probably never even notice that. That probably could have been engineered out of the car, but at what cost, these cars are amazing considering what they cost, if you want more out of the car modify it.

 

I have the flickering problem also. Cold or warm. GM put out a TSB on it and the problem is with the alternator.

And I thinks its really dumb for some people to say live with it. If hundreds of other model cars don't have flickering Headlight so can are CAMAROS!!!!

 

When my car shifts gears at night sometimes the lights will sightly dim.

 

good god be glad ya'll don't own an LT1


if you think a slight flicker of the lights is bad, try dealing with the optispark and constant oil leaks, or the wonderful cam-driven waterpump.