lights etc dimming while engine running.

Reply Subscribe

Thread Tools

Search this Thread

May 15, 2014 | 10:10 PM

SteveRocket

Thread Starter

New User

Joined: May 2014

Posts: 2

Likes: 0

lights etc dimming while engine running.

I have a 1983 E350 RV with a 460 engine. It would appear that many "Mechanics" have altered the wiring in different ways. That being said I think the charging and starting electrics are fairly untouched. My issue is that once it has been running for a while the interior lights start to fluctuate so does the radio display. The AC fan speeds up and slows down and I feel like there is not enough gas being pumped up too due to some coughing and sputtering. When I press the brakes the radio stops playing and if I have the AC on it gets worse. Today I changed the voltage regulator and it made no difference. This vehicle has two batteries, one for starting the van like normal and one to run the coach part. The alternator charges both. Any thoughts and ideas would be helpful as I think it must be a bad ground somewhere but not sure where to start.

May 16, 2014 | 02:55 PM

Franklin2

Moderator

Joined: Jan 2001

Posts: 57,025

Likes: 2,756

From: Virginia

These vans are hard to work on. On the trucks they always ran a ground wire from one of the bellhousing bolts to the firewall for grounding. I don't know where they put it on the chassis vans, but if you want to experiment, get a scrap piece of wire, hook it to the starting battery negative and then stick it under a bolt that is grounded to the cab sheetmetal. See if you can find one under the dash or somewhere convienent and make sure there is no paint to block the elec path. See if that makes the problem go away.