1999 Ford Explorer XLT V6 SOHC, 95000 miles or so

Past few weeks or so i have noticed my car seems to hesitate when accelerating from idle.
Also in the past couple days when the headlights turn on which causes the radio lights to brighten the radio lights flicker when at idle. if i accelerate at all it stops flickering. The flickering isnt constant. it will flicker for a second or two then stop, then maybe 5-20 seconds later it will flicker again.

one idea i was thinking for the lights problem is maybe the alternator was starting to wear out and couldnt quite produce enough juice with the headlights, a/c, radio, etc. running. just a thought. if i get some time tomorrow at work i will run it to somewhere to get them to check it.

any ideas? are the problems possibly related?

Thanks!

 

AC isn't going to draw much power, other than to runt he fan. Radios are generally not that much of a drain either unless you have a really nice system cranked up pretty high. I would suspect a voltage regulator. Take it to your local parts store and get a free charging system test.

 

thanks. ill check on that.

 

i got the battery, alternator checked at autozone. it was all working fine. i have to find my repair manual for this unless somebody knows where the voltage regulator or something like that is located. its probably one specific to the radio

 

The voltage regulator is inside the alternator. I'm think you have a bad ground then. If a ground has become corroded or loose, then you would definitely get a flickering going on. I would run a new ground to a known good source. If that still doesn't fix it, I would suspect something may be wrong with the radio itself.

 

ill check that out. im thinking its most likely with the radio itself since nothing else is flickering. or maybe the lights in the radio are just the most sensitive to the problem.

ill check it out.

thanks!

 

TallDave,

Did you find he problem with the radio light? I have noticed that mine is acting the same.

Coyote