So since I've owned my truck, my lights have always flickered when turned on (every light including guage lights). They didn't flicker on and off. They just dimmed and brightened in approximately one second intervals. It never really bothered me before but I decided to replace the external voltage regulator tonight. The new VR stopped the flickering. However it revealed 3 things:

(1) My alternator was going bad.
(2) My guage lights, now not flickering as before, were alot less brighter...almost to the point of not being readable at night.
(3) My battery, installed new last January, is low on charge already.

Ok. So I know I'm going to have to buy and throw a new alternator in. My questions are:

Why would my guage lights be brighter while flickering than they would be while remaining at a constant brightness with the new regulator?

Also, will replacing my alternator fix my problem with the dim guages?

Sorry for the book. Can anyone help?
Thanks in advance

Chris

 

For the gauge cluster you should probably check your grounds under the dash, and maybe even check grounds under the hood too. If your not grounding good stuff will start going buzzerk! It the cheapest thing to start with then look into the others if the grounds aren't the problem.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.