Hey all,

I have a 98 SLE and Im starting to get frustrated with the wiring...

This is an intermitent problem, and Ill start with the brakes. Sometimes when I hit the brakes, the headlights dim noticably, and the inside dash lights dim too, but only the first time I hit them after a while of driving. So, if I hit them once, and then again 10 seconds later, they wont dim nearly as much as they did the first time.

Second, I noticed tonight that the blinker seems to slow down as I go slower... IE sitting at the stoplight, it went really slow. But once I sped up and hit them again, they were almost normal, but still slightly slower then I remember them being.

I have heard lots of horror stories with the wiring in the pontiacs, is there some place where maybe the grounds go bad or someplace common where I can start looking to fix this annoying issue??

Plese let me know if you need more info too, Im not sure if I explained it all correctly and understandably..

Thanks!
Cody
Frozen in MN

Check your battery cables, both ends of both cables.

X2...also a good idea to check the alternator.

check what part of it? the connections or something else?

check the connections at the battery at your alternator and at the fuse bus

You want to check that your alternator is putting out voltage at idle. There are only a few reason why your lights would be acting they way they are (low out put at idle, high out put at higher rpms)....bad battery, bad battery cables, bad alternator.

but the problem is that it doesn't do it everytime. Actually, its pretty rare that it happens. Like yesterday and today the blinkers were absolutely fine, they were fast, and no dimming when I hit the brakes. That is why I was asking if there was anything inherent in our cars that go bad after 160xxx miles that makes this happen.

Now the car is doing the dimming more and more in the winter. Heat on high, headlights on, radio on, foot on brake. This is usually at a stoplight or as Im in a turning lane slowing down.
Yesterday the voltmeter on the dash showed that it had dropped to the top end of the red area.
What can this be?

alts wear, batteries, ground connections, battery terminals, etc. all adds up to less power for your components

I've noticed this on my 98, and occasionally on my 03 I feel a chugging as if the high load might cause the belt to slip at idle. The 03 has a belt that doesn't seem rubbery like the original and might not give a squeak as it slips but might do it quietly due to the texture.

I was wondering if age causes the idler tensioner to lose pressure against the belt. That means under high load with the alternator working hard to produce amperage, the belt may be slipping.

I'd try turning everything on right after the car has sat and then spraying water onto the belt in front of the alternator to see if you get a slip at idle.