lights flickering off and on... PLEASE HELP


camobancher88

10+ Year Member

Joined
Dec 23, 2012
Messages
39
Points
1,601
City
Prunedale CA
Vehicle Year
1988
Transmission
Manual
Random times my lights flicker on and off... can't figure it out seems like a short somewhere any help would be nice thanks
 
Moved to the proper section.

Also some more information would help out greatly. Which lights are we talking about and when?
 
First thought, check your battery terminals, check all of the connections for the power wires from the alternator to the battery, also the grounds.

Check the light grounds and power wires.

If still a problem you will need to trace the wire back to determine if there is a cracked wire or bare portion.

good luck...
 
If it's the headlights, Check the headlight switch and the plug to it.
 
A short would blow the fuse for the lights.

Either the switch is faulty or the Ground is corroded.
There should be a Ground wire(large) from battery to engine block, also a ground strap from engine head to firewall.
Smaller ground wire from battery to body, usually radiator support frame, this would be the first ground I would check since the headlights would use this.

Look for whitish corrosion on/in the wires, if it is in the wire then replace wire
 
yea it's head lights... I have all kinds of electrical issue with this truck sometime head lights dim and the whole truck falls on its face like it's no getting power somewhere... boggs out sometime when lights flicker... ground cable looks good seem like a fine connection.... maybe I'm missing something
 
Bend all the wires and battery cables sometimes the wire can be corroded under the insulation and not visible you will feel the weak spot if there. Add a ground wire from the alternator chassis to battery neg 12 or 10g. Pull all the grounds apart and sand them metal to metal both in the engine bay and under the dash intermittent faults are almost allways wire/connector related.
 
And after you do all the above...check the connector just inside the hood on the driver side...has about ten wires running to it...two of them are for the headlights, one outside the connector is your main power feed...and a one of them goes right over to the battery for running the engine...check that one closely because the connector can be wonky...and wiggle the others...if you can pull any out of their sockets you have found the problem...

What is worse, they are hard to find...I had another member send me a spare out of his truck and only recently got it installed...haven't had a wire issue since replacing that connector...

Mine was so bad at one point the whole engine died on the highway...the wire connectors inside can appear to be holding the wires but they are not properly connected inside and things get flaky real fast...
 
Check for burnt connections at your headlight switch and multifunction switch in the column.

I have had to clean up connections on both of my '88s in both of these places. You may find burnt/melted wiring plugs/wires/connections. They are replaceable, if you can find a good plastic plug to use.

After that, check grounds and look for frayed, pinched, melted wiring.

Good luck

Rich
 
camobancher88

How did this turn out ?
 
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