Persistent lights flicker

Post by **abscate** » 17 Sep 2018, 19:17

It attaches to the back. You can replace separately, making sure you disconnect battery First.

The cheaposcopes have 1 Megaohm typically so the battery wont hurt them

Georgeandkira · Post by **Georgeandkira** » 19 Sep 2018, 08:20

You sound new to this.
The VR is attached to the alternator's "back side". It's the black thing. They're around $60 (though I'm sure someone will be along to say they got their new one off Ebay for $3.50). It's replaceable. Read my post above.

Yes, it would be included with a new or quality rebuilt alternator. Good luck

ACP2 · Post by **ACP2** » 24 Feb 2026, 10:18

Did you ever repair/find a solution for this problem?

Durenol · Post by **Durenol** » 14 May 2026, 09:50

ACP2 wrote: 24 Feb 2026, 10:18 Did you ever repair/find a solution for this problem?

No. The dealers and shops I talked to about using an oscilloscope to investigate this all said it was above their pay grade, and since I wasn't even sure what I was looking for I didn't bother trying myself. The best suggestions I got was just to replace the alternator and the entire wiring harness.

It hasn't seemed to cause any obvious problems, so I just ignored it.

Post by **scot850** » 14 May 2026, 10:11

Do you have any aftermarket things plugged into the 12V socket, or an aftermarket radio? Just curious. Stuff like that can cause strange issues with the electrical circuits, alone with simple things like bad grounds.

Is it worth trying a set of LED headlight bulbs with a decoder to see if it can smooth the signal and remove flicker? I believe you can by decoders separately and might be worth trying.

Neil.

Durenol · Post by **Durenol** » 14 May 2026, 22:36

scot850 wrote: 14 May 2026, 10:11 Do you have any aftermarket things plugged into the 12V socket, or an aftermarket radio?

Nothing about this car is aftermarket except maybe the wiper blades. There are occasionally phone USB chargers or the like plugged into the cigarette socket, but not commonly. I don't think there were any back then when I last looked into this. Honestly I'm not sure it's even still flickering anyway, it was already subtle and I've probably subconsciously tuned it out. No one could ever see it until I pointed it out. Next time I drive it I'll try to remember to look.

scot850 wrote: 14 May 2026, 10:11 Is it worth trying a set of LED headlight bulbs with a decoder to see if it can smooth the signal and remove flicker?

I don't even know what I'm doing when it comes to decoders. I don't ever spend any time under this car, and I don't really want to dump a bunch of money into random gizmos I'll only ever use once.

Although your comment does bring to mind that I'm not 100% sure if I looked for the flicker in the interior with the headlights OFF. I guess I can try that too.

Post by **scot850** » 14 May 2026, 23:08

A decoder sounds fancier than it is. It does all the work. It basically plugs in between the headlight bulb and the headlight cable. It was I believed designed for LED headlight bulbs which 'flicker' as part of their operation. The decoder was designed as I understand it, to smooth the electrical signal and remove the flicker.

Neil.