my charge light randomly flickers while i'm driving, sometimes it's when i have the stereo up but even if it's off it still does it. this has been going on for about 2 months, it stopped for 3 weeks or so then reappeared last weekend. does anybody have a clue as to what this is, and please don't say it's some kind of short. thanks in advance for the help

 

loose alt belt maybe? premature signs of alt failure? loose/shorted wire for the warning light? those are the things I'd check. Autozone will test your alt for free(atleast they do where i am)

 

how can you tell if your alt belt is loose? i also have that light flickering random but its all the idiot lights on my dash.

 

Technically, you would have to put a tension gauge on the belt and measure the tension. Most people that have wrenched on a car for a significant amount of time can tell you if the belt is too loose or too tight by feel. Underdrive pulleys will also make a difference in belt tension as well.

Joe

 

That would have been my question....are you running an under drive pulley on the ALt. and is this problem only at idle or does it show up throughout the rpm range ? ? ?

 

A friend of mine had a problem like this on his '88 prelude. It turned out his aftermarket amp (300W) went bad. Disconnected the amp and all was well.

 

are the bolt on the alt and the battery cables tight?

 

It's definitely your recharging system. Alternator belt is loose, or alternator's going bad, etc. If you leave your radio off, see if you can make out a weird hum. If you do, that's your alternator having a lose/spun bearing (bad alternator).

I'd listen to 95PGTR and go to AutoZone or Advance Auto etc...whatever you have in your area. Have 'em check the electrical system. They'll see if you're getting the correct voltage/current.

Re: the belt tention, try and approximate the upper and lower sides of the belt to one another. They shouldn't be so tight that you can't move 'em at all, but at the same time they shouldn't move too much, as to come very close together (they definitely shouldn't touch either!). Not exact, but it's a start.

~Ramy

 

ya..go ahead and check belt tension ..press on the belt if it allows you to press down more than 1" its loose ..tighten it up..don't tighten too tight as it will cause excessive wear to the alternator..check the alternator connections and the wires to the alternator..the wires are in aplce with alot of heat ..check the insulation..an addition to FDnewbie's post ..oh..and you should be able to eliminate the alternator as a problem for sure if you think that it IS the problem by taking it off and having it tested at a car shop or where they sell car parts ..the test is usually free ..good luck

 

i'll go to autozone this afernoon and have it checked out. if not i'll have my amp checked out, thanks for the advice

 

I had this happen after installing a new battery and a new (reman) alternator. If you have a Power FC with commander you might be able to monitor the Voltage and I was getting spikes up to 14.9! and the lights would come on and off...

We yanked out the battery and the alternator again and put in a two new ones... and the problem is fixed...