Voltage/Electrical Problems

[calstang99]

I have a 99 v6 stick with about 79K miles, and there seems to be an electrical problem. When luggin down in second gear or shiftint from 1st to second, the electical system (mainly the headlights and instrument panel backlight) flicker. Also, recently, the gas gauge has been fickle in how much it is reading. (When i turn the car off, it read 5/8, when i turned the car back on it read 7/8 for about 10 mins then jumped to 5/8 agian).

Can anyone tell me if this is normal for mustangs or if there is a sensor or some other piece that I need to replace?

 

[Lsredy2kstang]

Sounds like your battery is about to die or the alternator. Take it to an auto parts store to see if they are working properly

 

[Skymarshal]

Does the car start normally? Is there any problem at idle? Any warning lights on?

If you want to run a simple test on the electrical system, check the voltage across the battery terminals. It should be about 12.5V with the engine off and 13.5V with the engine running.
A voltage below about 12V with the engine off would indicate a battery that is either discharged or defective, and if the voltage is the same with the engine running, your alternator is bad.

If the only problems are during a shift, I'd suspect a loose connection somewhere- probably something behind the gauge cluster, since all your problems are in that area.

 

[calstang99]

thanks for the help,

i did replace the battery less than a year ago, but i am still going to check it.

the car starts fine with no warnings or any other evil lights. the alternator should be fine. The flicker is not at every shiift, it is just one of those little things that begin to bug you after a few timess.

other than that, i am going to do a general tune up, so i will check all the connections and everything else (just need to find some time)

thanks again.