Anyone for a good mystery?

[iLkYsPoNy]

Well heres the scenario.... driving down the road on a dark night... SUDDENLY there is a slight to medium curve in the road! Oh no! Well, guess I should turn. Lalala... why not accelerate through the turn! YEAH!

Okay okay, enough with the story telling, I'm not very good at it. Anyhow, when I accelerate through curves, whether that be a slight turn of the wheel to an almost 90 degree... my volts drop, lights dim and the tach jumps UP and DOWN 500-750 rpms even though the engine never misses a beat. Once I'm out of the curve and back going straight all is fine. It also happens on occasion when hitting a bump ( but not all the time ). And usually when it's a bump, it's only the tach... the volts stay okay.

Any ideas?

 

[Black Sun 5.0]

Sounds like a loose wire to me. Check all of your connections.

 

[bullitstang1313]

Sounds like it has to do with something in the steering column. You should check the wiring at the ignition switch. Probably some loose connections at the ignition switch.

 

[bentley429]

So this is the stock tach correct?

 

[Rick's Fords]

I'd go with what the first 2 responses were saying. Could be that when you're turning, either a connection is coming loose, or a bad wire is shorting out. I'm pretty sure there are some continuity tests you can do to test it.

 

[iLkYsPoNy]

so wheres jrichker when you need him? i was thinking a ground or something. any idea how to test continuity and what to test it on? or... where are my grounds that would do something like this?

why would the ignition switch make my volts go down and my tach screw up when nothing else happens?

YES , STOCK TACH .

 

[bullitstang1313]

The reason I said the ignition switch is because this is where the instrument cluster gets its power. What I'm guessing is that you are losing connection momentarily during turns and bumps which makes things flicker. The other thought I had was that during turns you are putting a more of a load on the power steering pump and the alternator is not performing as well, but this would not explain the symptoms of the tach or problems when hitting bumps.

 

[iLkYsPoNy]

MHMMM... well maybe i shall be checking this. thanks.

 

[HISSIN50]

Does this occur when you turn the steering wheel alone?

If not, any of the myriad suggestions above can be correct. Obvious checks of battery terminals for tightness are requisite as well.

Good luck.

 

[iLkYsPoNy]

well no... it doesn't happen with the just sitting still and turning the wheel. i think i need new battery terminals so will that make a difference?

 

[bullitstang1313]

Possibly, clean battery connections are important to performance of the electrical system. A corroded or loose ground connection could have something to do with it.

 

[Mustang78]

do you have a carb or EFI?

~Mark~