I think i have an electrical problem

[Brute03]

hey guys my car is doing some funny ish right now, for instance when the fan comes on the headlights dim for second and the idle dips. same thing happens when the a/c cycles on but the idle dips much lower. another thing is sometimes when i start it up, the guages stay "dead" for a couple seconds before jumping to where they should be.

i really don't where to begin, the battery is less the a year old and the alt is about two years old

 

[squeak93]

Have u had either of them tested? Just b/c they are new doesn't mean they can't go bad. Sounds like a bad regulator on the alt.

 

[timeless2]

Have the alternator tested. Several parts stores will do this for no charge.

 

[Brute03]

it did the same thing with the old alt, even after i had it rebuilt. could it be a bad groud or something?

 

[COramprat]

My car has done the same thing since I bought it. You could check the main chassis ground and see if it may need to be cleaned and reattached. Electrical problems are a goober to deal with but If you are having numerous issues it could well be the main ground. The only other thing I can think of is the voltage regulator on the alt. The cheap Chinese made ones don't hold up well and that is what they usually put on the rebuilds and a lot of the Autozone alts.

 

[Brute03]

okay i'll check the ground but where is it? and another thing i noticed is when i hit a sharp bump at low rpm the car sort of jerks a bit