Headlights flickering

[jdj71]

Hi guys. my 07 yuk’s headlights will flicker or dim for a second
It doesn’t happen all the time.
When switching from park into drive/reverse it also happens. My amperage appears normal. (14+) it almost sounds like a cycle in the motor and the lights will flicker. My battery is about 5 yrs old.
Should I start with replacing it first?

 

[Doubeleive]

could be a weak battery, but I would clean and check all your grounds as well, the change in the weather kills a lot of battery's seasonally so it could be just that, but better to be on the safe side. you can have your battery tested for free at many places

 

[jdj71]

could be a weak battery, but I would clean and check all your grounds as well, the change in the weather kills a lot of battery's seasonally so it could be just that, but better to be on the safe side. you can have your battery tested for free at many places

Thx for the quick response.
My mechanic doesn’t seem too worried about it
It’s been happening now for about a year. ( I guess I omitted that info ). But. Ya I’ll check out the battery. Thx

 

[cjlaw73]

I have the same issue with my Tahoe. Used to happen intermittently but now is constant. The flickering also happens with all lighting- taillights, interior lights, etc. When the engine is off they are fine, but when the engine is running it occurs.

 

[jdj71]

I have the same issue with my Tahoe. Used to happen intermittently but now is constant. The flickering also happens with all lighting- taillights, interior lights, etc. When the engine is off they are fine, but when the engine is running it occurs.

Yep. Mine is doing the same. My mechanic said to not worry about it.
Did u try battery replacement?

 

[cjlaw73]

Yep. Mine is doing the same. My mechanic said to not worry about it.
Did u try battery replacement?

After I saw your thread I checked the battery. It’s 4 years old. I may try hooking it up to a battery tender overnight to see what happens. I saw another thread that mentioned the alternator voltage regulator. Did a Google search on it and saw some videos that look to show a similar problem. I might try replacing the that - seemed to be a plausible explanation since it occurs only when the engine is running. Have you noticed it occurring with other lights.

 

[the_tool_man]

I've noticed the same behavior. It's most noticeable when I shift from park to reverse, or from reverse to drive. The headlights will flicker ever so slightly. They'll randomly do it while driving, too. Since I just got mine, I didn't know if that was normal or not. I have a friend who's wife drives a Cadillac SLS that does the same thing. He says it's done that since they've owned it. So I figured it was normal.

 

[jdj71]

After I saw your thread I checked the battery. It’s 4 years old. I may try hooking it up to a battery tender overnight to see what happens. I saw another thread that mentioned the alternator voltage regulator. Did a Google search on it and saw some videos that look to show a similar problem. I might try replacing the that - seemed to be a plausible explanation since it occurs only when the engine is running. Have you noticed it occurring with other lights.

I think all the lights do it.

 

[davidzog]

I had a similar issue on an older Buick. I replaced teh battery, but no change. I had the alternator tested at Autozone and it checked out fine....

After another month I decided toreplace the alternator and never had another problem. Apparently the regulator flucuation was small enough that the Autozone machine couldn't detect it....

 

[cjlaw73]

Well over the weekend I noticed my headlight went out. I replaced it the next day, and either I'm crazy or all of the flickering has stopped.

The only other explanantion I can think of is that I replaced the DRL in that same fixture, probably 6 months ago or so. Did I perhaps tweak a wire when replacing the DRL and happen to "fix it" while replacing the headlight bulb?

Weird. Got to love GM electrical. I remember a loose electrical connection in the door jam of a Vette I use to own causing a bunch of issues with my BCM or PCM.

 

[Kenny D]

Mine does the same. Never causes an issue, just weird seeing it dim for a second

 

[992dr]

Its funny to see this thread. Mine has been more noticeable lately. I even notice them flicker/dim while driving. Its more pronounced when parked.
I'll be putting my batteries on the charger this weekend but may consider a new alternator, mine has over 220k miles on it. May be time for a new one. I'll get it checked first.

 

[jyi786]

One thing everyone seems to be missing is the grounds. I started to notice some strange electrical behavior, but nothing that would cause concern. I believe it was masked because of the fact that I have 2 batteries. But the lights would flicker, dim, some of the accessories would feel "weak".

I spent a few hours yesterday and changed the entire ground cable, and voila, all the problems are gone. I also took the opportunity to clean up the chassis ground point at the front of the vehicle, which was full of gunk. No more issues!

The cable is only 50 bucks, and takes 2 or so hours to change. Highly advised.

 

[cjlaw73]

One thing everyone seems to be missing is the grounds. I started to notice some strange electrical behavior, but nothing that would cause concern. I believe it was masked because of the fact that I have 2 batteries. But the lights would flicker, dim, some of the accessories would feel "weak".

I spent a few hours yesterday and changed the entire ground cable, and voila, all the problems are gone. I also took the opportunity to clean up the chassis ground point at the front of the vehicle, which was full of gunk. No more issues!

The cable is only 50 bucks, and takes 2 or so hours to change. Highly advised.

Yeah that's also a pretty common source of electrical problems with Vettes. I'll have to look into it.

My flickering issue resurfaced again. It was weird - after I replaced my headlight bulb, nothing flickered for like a week, but now its back.

 

[992dr]

Good point. I actually never thought of my grounds, more of my alternator. Which I believe is the original with 221k miles.

Would the Big 3 be worth it? I believe that has something to do with the ground, right?
I'm going to go look it up, haha

 

[swathdiver]

Hi guys. my 07 yuk’s headlights will flicker or dim for a second
It doesn’t happen all the time.
When switching from park into drive/reverse it also happens. My amperage appears normal. (14+) it almost sounds like a cycle in the motor and the lights will flicker. My battery is about 5 yrs old.
Should I start with replacing it first?

Look up and read about EPM and RVC, Electronic Power Management and Regulated Voltage Control. Check your grounds and the cables for corrosion. EPM and RVC extened the life of the alternator and battery, yours is old to us Floridians.

 

[cjlaw73]

Forgot to update this. Had the alternator replaced and the problem is finally gone.

 

[992dr]

Forgot to update this. Had the alternator replaced and the problem is finally gone.

Good to know. Glad it worked out.
What alternator did you get to replace the factory one?

 

[the_tool_man]

Hopefully over the holidays I'll have time to do some checking on mine. It couldn't hurt to clean the grounds and have the battery and alternator checked. The flickering at night is annoying, to say the least.

 

[Doubeleive]

I live in California, battery's rarely make it past 4yrs (premium AGM, standard battery's even less) atleast in my experience, I can usually tell when the battery is starting to get weak by the lights flickering and/or the voltage dipping and/or when starting, these are all notably different when the battery gets weaker, it may still work but becomes untrustworthy to me because they can just die a sudden death at any point beyond that. doing the big 3 upgrade does seem to help a little bit some say it does not make any difference electrically but it certainly couldn't hurt electricity will always take the shortest path that's all you have to keep in mind. I have solved other flickering light issue's by simply grounding the lights to the frame at the nearest point on the front of the truck if nothing else works that will. the nbs and nnbs have historical ground problems by nature of design.