lights flickering

[vwsteve]

I have done some searching and after 8 pgs related to batterys I stiill can't find an issue like mine.
What i have going on is the radio will loose it,s presets once in a while. The radio works fine and it does not happen all the time so it's not a fuse.

now to the second problem that been in the last few days. The car lights will flicker no matter what rpm you have the motor. It act like the cars alt is trying to charge and then stops and then kicks back in again. all terminals are clean and grounds are in great shape.

The alt is putting out 14.1 volts down to 13.9 and back up and down as do the lights, inside dash lights and outside headlight and taillights.

my guess is the battery, after testing it volt
and starting the car it was at 11.6 volts and after
being on the tender for a few minutes it went up to 12.4, but I need to get it tested under a load.
The car in question is a 2001 Camry 4cyl with 160k on the odo. The battery is three year old wally world batt and the alt is stock

thanks for any help as I am wanting to get the car back on the road.
Thanks, Steve

[ASG14]

It shouldn't be a bad battery, as I have driven with a completely dead battery before and had no issue.

I would venture to guess you have a loose ground somewhere. But thats the most I can say as I'm not good with wiring. Sorry.

[fenixus]

I had lights flickering problem right after purchase (from a private guy) and it appeared to be 2 problems for at same time.

1) loose cable on positive battery wire. i had an additional cable over there attached to positive wire, i think if it's not stock then it was coming from a remote starter module prev owner installed. once i tightened that screw, lights got back to normal (for some time). i replaced battery a month after purchase and it didn't fix the problem. it was that screw.

2) next time i had this problem developing again (noticed at some night recently) it was fuse related. since i lost power to the second radiator fan (and A/C was working weaker) i ran through all fuses and discovered:
a) poor, weakened square fuses FMX type and dead/broken 30A fan no.2 fuse - after replacing those fan started working again and lights flickering issue went away again.
b) blown condenser fuse,again FMX type, it was visibly broken.

FMX fuses are tricky ones, they sometimes look good (no sign of broken links) but they cause current fluctuations over time when getting old and BEFORE getting broken. for instance during coolant flushing 2 months ago when i was using the heater I noticed I got no hot air blowing. i checked fuse and it was looking good ... but was dead anyways, because right after replacing that 50A FMX heater fuse, all started working again.

I got no idea yet how to replace 100A alternator huge fusible link, i guess it's screwed into the fuse block, didn't quite figure it out yet as I cannot pull it out. at one occasion i pulled up the whole fuse block (didn't brake anything, it just got unclipped) while trying to pull out 100A fuse.

my advice, if you never replaced FMX fuses, now would be a good time to replace them all. you can get them cheap at Autozone.

Me so far replaced 3x 30A, 1x 40A and 1x 50A FMX fuses, and all is so much better.

good luck!

[.Camryman97.]

i had a very similar problem and mine was that i left the negative battery terminal loose for too long and it corroded and went bad

went to autozone, got a replacement, and boom the problem was fixed

might want to check the terminals to make sure there tight... if either werent tight then it might have gone bad

[mazdaverx7]

i would go through the FSM and find each ground in the system that can be checked and cleaned. you may also want to test the negative cable for proper continunity(though maybe not necessary) and ensure that the battery is properly secured

[Dick Tuck]

Good ideas on here. I would add that at 160 K the alternator brushes might be on the way out. Easy to check and change if you have the manual. Unless the alternator bearings are going, or the communator worn there is usually NO reason to replace the entire unit, just brushes. I suspect most "rebuilt" alternators get cleaned and a new brush set and back out they go. In order to see a flicker the voltage has to drop a lot more than 14.1 to 13.9. That is about normal "float" for a properly operating system. Put another # 10 or # 8 ground wire on the system from the Neg clamp on the battery to the body. Also, since the alternator needs a good ground, run a chunk of # 10 or #8 wire from the engine block to the car body. Does the car still have the "stock" Toyota terminals, which are good quality or some kind of M. Mouse quick fix jobs? I have seen the Toyota cable go 200 k easily if acid neturalizing washers are always kept on the battery posts.
If the ends of the battery cables are hacked off and replaced there probably has been a charging or battery leaking problem in the past. Be sure to check out the Pulus terminal which hides under the red plastic cover.