is this normal?

[96byrd]

Im wondering if this is normal thing for f-bodys. When my headlights are on and i step on the brakes my gauges and HDs get a bit darker. When my engine is idling, the brightness of my headlights is very inconsistent. If I roll down my window the battery gauge moves around a little bit. Little things like this are all over the place in just about everything electrical of my car. If I use electricity on one thing, everything else seems to be losing it. I've driven several other cars before this one and never noticed it. Could this be a warning for an elecrical problem of some sort?

[Die Ford V8]

take your alternator to a specialist and ask him to check to see how and when your regulator is engaging your alternator to charge. Also, just for preventative maintenance clean your battery terminals and make sure your battery is good. Check your ground wires and just scan your engine bay for corrosion and other signs of oxidation.

windows and other high amperage accesories will usually drop the guage some. make sure that your belt is not slipping. i would bet that its your alternator that is throwing voltage spikes through your car. be careful with batteries obviously. reset your computer just for kicks to see what that does. (reseting is simply disconnecting your battery terminals, - or + or both, and hooking them back up like 10 minutes later)

If all this fails and you still have a problem go to autozone or schucks and scan your computer for codes or voltage irregularities. they will explain or do the scan for you for FREE. nothing off your back except a drive to the store.

if this fails go to a few dealers and ask to talk to a few mechanics. tell them what it is doing and tell them what you have done, if they have anyexperience at all with this problem they will suggest something else for you to try or to troubleshoot. dont fall for the "well lets get it in and check it out" because will pretty much do what you have already done.

dont let them fool with your car for weeks to only find out that they know only what you know. be careful and BE A CHEAPSKATE.

sorry for the long post, but if you do all this and search for similar problems on this sight and read about what else you can do, you will be on the right and inexpensive track to get your car fixed.

good luck,
jeremy