Ground Issue?
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 491
Likes: 10
From: Atlanta Ga
Ground Issue?
Pulled up to a light today and noticed that all my dash lights started a fast flicker. did not have any lights on at the time. I could also hear what sounded like a relay opening and closing from the footwell fuse box. The flicker and relay sound were in unison. It stopped when I pulled from the light, but did it again when I used my turn signal. I tried to get it to recur when I parked but it did not do it again.
Does this sound like a grounding issue, or is there a relay in the footwell going bad that has something to do with the dash lights? If it is a ground problem, which grounding harness could be the culprit?
Does this sound like a grounding issue, or is there a relay in the footwell going bad that has something to do with the dash lights? If it is a ground problem, which grounding harness could be the culprit?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
Likes: 87
From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
The chattering relay in the footwell normally occurs when the battery dies so its a sign of power interruption.
If your battery is good - and it shouldn't be the issue if you're already driving - I'd be thinking loose battery leads or a bad ground. The functions you mention dont share a common ground which might bring you back to the main battery terminals.
If your battery is good - and it shouldn't be the issue if you're already driving - I'd be thinking loose battery leads or a bad ground. The functions you mention dont share a common ground which might bring you back to the main battery terminals.
Last edited by DeeGee; Dec 28, 2011 at 03:25 AM.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 13,569
Likes: 1,352
From: Home of the VOLS ! Knoxville, TN. Tennessee
St. Jude Donor '11-'12-'13, '15, '16-'17-'18-'19
What's your voltage at idle ? Sounds like you have either a bad battery or the alternator is not keeping up. It would be hard to believe with all this going on that there were no codes stored. Check your codes and post them.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 13,421
Likes: 8
From: Lake Mary Florida
I'm thinking maybe a problem is occurring in the dimmer rheostat. I have a very good battery and very good connections and a few weeks ago, while driving home from the beach side, my dash lights flickered and went out. I pushed the dimmer and rotated it slightly and the lights all came back on. I haven't seen a repeat of the issue yet but I'm now aware of it and monitoring for another occurrence.
If yours is continuing to do that, try the dimmer and see what happens. It could mean a new rheostat is necessary.
If yours is continuing to do that, try the dimmer and see what happens. It could mean a new rheostat is necessary.
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