lights dim at idle

by **solara90** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 9:28 pm

i was sitting in a dark parking lot tonight and when i just sit there and idle my lights dim considerably, and i rev it up and boom there back to being bright.

would this be the alternator going or????

by **mac-phisto** » Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:44 pm

it sounds like the alternator, but before you go thru that expense, i would check to see if there's a problem with your battery (bad cell, corrosion on terminals, etc.). test the battery with a multimeter to make sure it's churning the proper volts (should read ~13.5-14). also check your serpentine belt to make sure it's not slipping.

i'd put my money on a dying battery.

by **solara90** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:06 am

ok, ill check that out today.

by **corlon** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:03 pm

mine does the same thing.

by **yota** » Sun Jan 25, 2009 10:38 pm

I've been meaning to post about this, I have the same issue. I have a known good battery and alternator though. I've been living with it for 8+ months now, though it does annoy me.

edit - i forgot to mention this issue is noticeable with the fan when it's on a higher speed (3 or 4). There's a significant decrease in fan speed at idle... :-?

by **Aotoyota** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 6:46 am

might check the fuse in the fuse box for the headlights. maybe corrosion on the fuse? and not conducting as it should? kind of a long shot but worth the 5mins to check

by **Toy1mzfe** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:07 pm

press ur windows upwards. IT should dim more too.

You can get a ground kit or make ur own and it should be leveled.

by **Jakecallun20** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:16 pm

Toy1mzfe wrote:press ur windows upwards. IT should dim more too.

You can get a ground kit or make ur own and it should be leveled.

Yep, its true. My headlights do that. They have the same light output at idle as they do while driving, but when I roll up the windows the lights dim as soon as the window is completly up and I haven't let go of the switch yet. Not a big deal really. The car is eleven years old. Most of the gen 1's here do that so I wouldn't worry too much about it.

by **solara90** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 2:42 pm

ha yep, it does that too i like driving on the back country roads and doing that. its like from high beam to low beam

Toy1mzfe wrote:press ur windows upwards. IT should dim more too.

You can get a ground kit or make ur own and it should be leveled.

by **GreeKAvaLoN** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:40 pm

I have a 97 avalon. does same thing but even sometimes if i hit the brakes too =[. do you think its the grounding? everything is fairly old lol. What can be checked if its the ground?

by **Jakecallun20** » Sun Feb 01, 2009 1:07 am

^^^ That is very very possible. Grounds wear out/loosen from the frame rails and become weaker, thus causing a poorer connection.

by **GreeKAvaLoN** » Tue Feb 03, 2009 9:53 pm

well so this past saturday i installed a sub (just 1 12in) and a 550w amp and i was kind of worried about the power issues and whatnot but actually i have less dimming and whatnot now. the battery terminals where kind of dirty so i cleaned them up and that seemed to help. still dims down when i put windows up but not as bad.

by **Island Solara** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 2:42 am

My car just started doing this tonight....gotta check it tomorrow

by **Toy1mzfe** » Mon Feb 16, 2009 11:21 am

I only ask cause mine dont do that no more after i got a new battery with better terminals.

Clean out your terminals guys with baking soda and water.

lights dim at idle

lights dim at idle

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