All Lights Flickering + random Idle Lope

[94xlt]

The worst part is, is that the company I work for used to sell the Victory Lap FDA-04 rebuild kit for $30 CDN, now I have to buy it from Farts...I mean Partsource.

 

[DsrtExplorer]

I've been fighting the pulsating lights at an idle for a while now. The first thing I did was clean all the grounds then replaced the battery cables with new factory ones, changed out three regulators and two alternators (all NAPA) on the vehicle, and I still have the problem. Its more of a nuisance than anythig, but I'd like to fix it.

Blacksheep Josh - did you run an extra hot wire from the alternator to the battery? From where to where?

This is my first post by the way. I've been reading for a while, but haven't joined or posted till now. Looks like a good group of fellow Explorer owners. I've had my 91 since 1998 and have 151K miles on it now. Still running great and looks good too. Its a great vehicle for the desert or the mountains - rocks, sand or snow hasn't stopped me yet!

Thanks for any help on this.

 

[Four0Sport]

my 93 has the occaisonal voltage drop when running accessories and sometimes even when just switching gears. i thought it was an alt problem.. replaced the alternator, still happened, replaced the engine and alternator, still happens from time to time. wondering if it might just be a ground issue? idk, i have been planning on running another motor/chassis ground cable though. might be a solution.

 

[94xlt]

Yeah, I got lazy and swapped in a 130 amp alternator, that fixed the lights, but the underlying idle problem is still there, although not as pronounced. I will go through the idle threads one by one and see what fixes it

 

[thomson2ca]

voltage erractic & lights flicker

1) clean up wiring between battery and alternator (stopped it for 1 week)
2) replaced battery -- ok for a month now ....

The solid state voltage regulator in the alternator is very sensitive to the load voltage. Modern batteries seem to very prone to increasing electrochemical work function as they age. Mine was on year 4 of a 5 year battery.

 

[33exploder]

I had this same problem. the issue was with the winding. it has three windings @ 120 degrees off phase. went one winding develops an intermittant short you will get flickering lights at low rpm. changing the winding well fix it, you can also go a higher ampage. windings range from $18-$120 may require some solider good luck.