Dimming headlights?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,098
Likes: 301
From: North shore,Ma./Naples Florida
Dimming headlights?
Went for a ride last night and noticed the headlights dimming from time to time for no apparent reason. They would just dim for a second or so and then come back to full strength Almost like an electrical drain somewhere in the car, like maybe turning an accessory on that drained some power.I was on pretty smooth roads and nothing was being changed inside the car. Any ideas about this one? A ground maybe? Thanks. 
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 24,652
Likes: 298
From: NJ
St. Jude Donor '05-'08
I just had the same problem with my 01. At first I thought it was me or a reflection because it happened real quick and usually within a few mile of startup, but then I was on a dark road about 1 mile from my house and it happen and then I noticed it was not me.
I took it to the trusty GM mechanic and after some seraching it came down to my altenator was not functioning correctly. They replaced it and I have not noticed the problem since.
Good luck...
I took it to the trusty GM mechanic and after some seraching it came down to my altenator was not functioning correctly. They replaced it and I have not noticed the problem since.
Good luck...
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,098
Likes: 301
From: North shore,Ma./Naples Florida
Thats interesting. I had a problem a while back that when I shifted under hard accelaration my motor would cut out for a second at the shift point and the dealer said it was a loose ground. That has gone away but I thought I was noticing the headlights dimming back then but I thought it was me. I have also had the "charge system fault" code come up but that hasn't happened in a while. Guess it's time to talk to the dealer. Hate going there.
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 208
Likes: 0
From: Bowling Green KY
Originally Posted by Frankie2blue
Thats interesting. I had a problem a while back that when I shifted under hard accelaration my motor would cut out for a second at the shift point and the dealer said it was a loose ground. That has gone away but I thought I was noticing the headlights dimming back then but I thought it was me. I have also had the "charge system fault" code come up but that hasn't happened in a while. Guess it's time to talk to the dealer. Hate going there.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 24,652
Likes: 298
From: NJ
St. Jude Donor '05-'08
Originally Posted by Oldvetter
I had dimming of headlights and dash lights while stopped. It turned out it was just a loose battery connection. I would check this first.
Very good point start with the easiest and work your way around. I would also suggest looking to see how good your battery is. If it is old then you might want to replace it anyway to see if that helps...
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 168
Likes: 0
From: Woodstock CT
Originally Posted by Frankie2blue
Went for a ride last night and noticed the headlights dimming from time to time for no apparent reason. They would just dim for a second or so and then come back to full strength Almost like an electrical drain somewhere in the car, like maybe turning an accessory on that drained some power.I was on pretty smooth roads and nothing was being changed inside the car. Any ideas about this one? A ground maybe? Thanks.
Me to I thought I was going 
, and of course the wife says she did not see anything. Now I can start the elimination process. Thanks
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
2027 Corvette vs The World: Every C8 vs Its Closest Competitor
Joe Kucinski
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 1,206
Likes: 0
From: USA USA
Cruise-In II Veteran
same here
I have this prob. as well. My batt. is tight but have noticed two ground scrrews up close to the rad. shroud that are actually rusted!! I keep them lubricated with grease to keep them from going any further. I need to clean them up and see what happens. It is a 98 btw.
Matt
Matt
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,898
Likes: 5
From: Plainfield, IL
Mine does this to and it drives me NUTS!! It seems to do it fairly often too. About a month ago I received the "charge system fault" warning but havent had that warning since. I cleaned all the connections I could including grounds and battery terminals. Have not had a DIC warning since but the headlights still dim for a sec and brighten back up.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 3,098
Likes: 301
From: North shore,Ma./Naples Florida
Has anyone taken their car to the dealer about this or just searched on your own? All my connections are tight and there is no rust anywhere. Battery seems good. Just seems to be a drain somewhere. I would suspect the alternator, but everything else seems fine and it brings the battery back up if the car has sat for a while.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 24,652
Likes: 298
From: NJ
St. Jude Donor '05-'08
Originally Posted by Frankie2blue
Has anyone taken their car to the dealer about this or just searched on your own? All my connections are tight and there is no rust anywhere. Battery seems good. Just seems to be a drain somewhere. I would suspect the alternator, but everything else seems fine and it brings the battery back up if the car has sat for a while.
Frankie2blue - as noted above I took mine to the dealer and they traced it back to the altenator. My symptoms were
1. Dimming lights within a few miles of startup (and then it seemed to get better)
2. Charging System Fault.
When I checked everything out it all looked good to me. The battery was fine and the car said it was charging correctly, but I guess it was not because after the fix I ahve not had the same problem.
good luck.
Advanced
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 73
Likes: 0
I was told by the dealer that this is a normal condition? They told me, after troubleshooting, that the A.I.R. (?) system is the culprit. I am surprised that no one else has been told this. Or am I just being gullable?
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,394
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne FL
Originally Posted by RutRoe
I was told by the dealer that this is a normal condition? They told me, after troubleshooting, that the A.I.R. (?) system is the culprit. I am surprised that no one else has been told this. Or am I just being gullable?
My car has the dimming headlight issue as well and it's been that way since day one of purchasing the car new.
I replaced the batter with an Optima battery and it helped but, did not get rid of it completely.
When the air pump turns on at night it apparenlty draws enough power to cause a temporary drain on the system. As the pump cycles on and off the lights go dim then brighten again. There should be lots of info in the archives on this.
Racer
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 296
Likes: 39
From: Boynton Beach
Guys i had this problem and they found out the battery had leaked and ruined the wires. there has been a recall for the battery andthey replaced my battery for free and fixed the wires. no problems since.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,397
Likes: 55
From: Dove Mountain, AZ
The first year mine did not do that, but then it started. I had the dealer check it out and they said it was normal. At night if I put the windows down the light would dim (this was not the case the year before. I told the dealer and they said it is normal. I started getting the system charge fault, the dealer checked it out and said everything was fine. About a week later the car was dead in the morning. It had worked fine the night before. Got the car to the dealer and they said the Battery was shorted. Picked up the car and the meter did not move off of the 12v mark (normal for my car was around 14v) turned around and went back to the dealer, they replaced the alternator and the car worked fine, no more dimming lights, even if I moved the seat.
