Hello, all! I'm having a very irritating problem that I'm hopful someone can help with. I have a 2000 Z28 with 53K on the odom. Early last year (and still under 36K) I began to notice that my lights (dash lights, headlights, etc) would "flicker" briefly...very seldom and almost unnoticable.

My dealer looked at the problem and confirmed it was happening but had no idea what was causing it or what to do about so the trouble "ticket" was left open ended. I'm taking that care back if a few days as this problem has gone from being very slight and very seldom to an almost constant and very noticable...every "light" in the car now noticeably flickers anytime the engine is under any load at all (although it doesn't happen when idling w/o AC on).

I'm just wondering if anyone out there has had a similar problem and if so, what was done about it? I trust my dealer's service people but I think any "help" or info I can give them would be a good idea. Can anyone comment? Thanks in advance for any help!!!

 

The light flickering problem is a VERY common occurance with our cars. There is no solution, except to upgrade the alternator, battery, and/or electrical wiring in the whole car, but it's really nothing to worry about.

 

My new one does it too. Like you said, it is almost so fast you don't notice it. I thought I imagined it the first couple of times. I thught is was probably the automatic headlight sensor "checking" to see if it was dark.

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02 Z28 DARK METALLIC BLUE M6 HURST QTEC STB GLB SLP-Lid K&N Trailerin hitch

 

yea I notice it too once in a blue mooon. At first I thought it was my imagination, like I must be getting tired or something.

 

I haven't noticed my gauge lights flickering but the problem was so bad on my clock and radio that they pulled it out, believing it to be defective and found that the new one they installed flickers even worse than the original. They called GM's tech support and were told that it's due to a lack of "buffering" between the connections. I'm not sure what this means, not too sure they were, either, but found I just have to live with it. It's really distracting if you start looking right at it. . . sounds like your problem is involving much more than clock/radio, however. Good Luck!

BTW, this only happens when my headlights are on. . .

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Rox

2001 Bright Rally Red SS Zaino-happy and would really like a Corsa sometime in this cosmic millennium

[This message has been edited by SSRox (edited August 30, 2002).]

 

Whenever it happened to me, it was accompanied the sound of a solenoid actuating. I think it is just a quick drain that the weak electrical system on this car could not absorb. I only notice it with the headlights and nothing else. It's so fast and rare that I never bothered with it.

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2000 Camaro Z28 Monterey Maroon Metallic, A4 ,leather, 323 posi, Monsoon w/CD, T-tops, K&N

 

Sounds like you have a bad master ground. Somewhere on your engine, there's a ground strap that leads to the chassis and a major portion of your electrical connections.

If this isn't grounded properly, the load from the engine could move the strap and makes it's connection worse, resulting in the flickering of your lights.

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1998 BG Chameleon Firebird Formula A4 - ATI P-1SC, 3.73s, cutout, BMR suspension
314 rwhp, 328 rwtq(lid, cutout, filter)
12.96@108.36, full weight and a 2.03 60'(CAI, cutout, 3.73s)
No times or dyno with the boost...

President & Webmaster, Central Ohio F-Body Association: www.cofba.org

 

I had the same problem - after I took care of the accessory belt "chirp", it's basically non-existent now.

If you ask me, it has everything to do with how smooth the alternator is running - that is where the voltage regulation takes place, and how strong the battery is.

The belt "chirping" was due to the idler pulley and the alternator being mis-aligned with the camshaft pulley. I had the TSB done by the dealer - they replaced the idler pulley with a double-row ider pulley, changed out the alternator bracket, and replaced the belt. No more chirping, and I hardly notice the lights flickering now. I only notice them flickering ever so slightly when I pull into the carport at night. My battery is almost done - once I replace that, I think it will be fine.

I posted a message a few days ago with the part numbers and prices (for the TSB parts) - I think it came to like $78?

I suggest getting that TSB done and getting a new battery. Let me know what happens - good luck.

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'99 Z28 A4 BLACK
▪ SLP air lid, K&N filter, air box mod, Borla exhaust, HPP3, 160* stat, Magnecor 8.5 mm wires, NGK TR55 plugs
▪ Pioneer DEH-P77DH, Polk speakers

 

I think the reason why some people think it's a very common occurence on our cars is that Chevy built these LS1's from 98 up through sometime in 2000 when they finally started building them with the different parts.

The TSB is applicable to the following models:

MODELS:
1998-2000 Chevrolet Camaro
1998-2000 Pontiac Firebird
Built Prior to VIN Breakpoint Y2107225 with 5.7L V8 Engine (VIN G - RPO LS1)

I'll post the TSB again with the part# info/prices if anybody's interested.

 

Mines a 02 Z with 6000 miles on it and mine does the same thing but after about a 30 minutes of driving mine stops

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2002 Z-28 Death to All Mustangs!

 

Thanks to everyone for the input...I'll let everyone know what happens. I'd appreciate the part nuber info/prices. Thanks!

 

Yes! I have this problem exactly as you describe. MY car doesnt do it if the rear defrost is on or the ac is all the way up. I'v also notice sometimes it stops when i put my foot on the brake. Everyone has told me it is a bad ground or bad voltage regulator within the alternator. At least we can hope our computers just wont fry theselves since i have heard many people complain about this problem. It is very irritating, my car is mint, but still looks broke with the lights acting all crazy!

 

Wow…talk about resurrecting an old thread!

My brother-in-law, who was a service manager at a large Chevrolet dealership at the time, also confirmed that there were some technical bulletins on this sort of problem (not a recall)…my dealer spent a lot of time on my vehicle, including installing a very heavy-duty alternator, and it did seem to fix the problem although the whole time I owned it, the battery seemed to love to loose charge (and that was using an Optima designed for the type of use where the vehicle is running infrequently).

I would imaging that if not fixed, the problem would only get worse as connections get rusty/corroded, etc.

I still loved my car, though!

 

Thanks for the advice. We don't need 6 year old threads brought back from the dead, however