Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

[Silver 99 Camaro]

This has been happening a lot lately, and I was wondering what it could be. Only at night, when my headlights are on, when I hit the brakes to stop, my voltage gage drops quite a bit, and my headlights and dash lights get really dim. Then a couple seconds later, while still on the brakes, everything comes back to normal. It is only the initial touch of the brakes that does it. During the day without the headlights on, it never happens. I just got a new battery last month because the old one died, so that isn't the problem. Could it be the alternator? Any other ideas?

[crushedout]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

I would guess it's your alternator but you can go to advance auto or autozone and they'll test it for free.

[fritobandito]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

I have the same problem on my '01 bird. Sometimes it gets pretty annoying. I did a search and found that to fix this you apparently need to rewire the alternator. The posts I found even had the name of the company who makes a rewire kit for it. Any other info escapes me right now. Do a search, it might take a bit but I'm sure you'll find it.

[BLLDOGG]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

do you have anything aftermarket like a sound system? Do you let your car sit for extended periods of time? Do you let your car idle for a while? Are you using a lot of your electrical components at the time it happens like blower, rear defogger, headlamps, cooling fan, heated seats, power seats, or power windows? Does your idle rise slightly when or just before the voltage returns?

[Rob Bell]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

Mine has had this problem since it was new, especially if I am running a lot of accessories, like in the winter. I think it's just the way our cars are. The alternator is probably only marginally strong enough for the electrical load our cars place on it. Many people have posted about this issue.

[BLLDOGG]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

the alternator at idle or below 15mph is not designed to put off enough current to supply all the accessories and draws from the battery. A dimming in voltage is expected and a very noticeable drop could occur if the battery is drained from various reasons like long idling, sitting for extended periods of time, etc.

[Silver 99 Camaro]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

I do not have anything aftermarket, and when this happens only the lights and radio are on. It does not happen without headlights on. There is no AC on, no rear defrost, nothing else. When I hit the brakes, let's say at 35 MPH, everything dims/the voltage drops for a couple seconds then recovers. Idle is unaffected.

So it sounds like this is normal and a lot of the cars do it. I was just looking to see if something was on the way out, and it looks like the answer is no. Thanks for the replies...

[rt1]

Re: Voltage Drops/Lights Dim

This happened to me last week. Found that my Neu post was loose at the battery. No problems now. Just a 1/4 turn.

Rob