Help!! Flickering headlights and radio!!

[mustangmann]

Hopefully someone can help me here. I have noticed lately that on my 98 SHO I will be driving with the radio like half way up (kinda loud) and all of a sudden the volume will drop down to the second level on the display. It also soundsl like the front speakers go out for a brief moment also but then come back on right away. I also noticed last night that the headlights also would flicker at the same time the radio would go down in volume. Also, most of the time the lights on the radio display do not come on unless I turn the headlight switch on. Anyone have any idea what could be causing these issues??

One more thing, the car could also need some new suspension since it has 150,000 and shocks/struts have never been replaced. I have priced out replacement Ford parts already, but does anyone know of any good aftermarket shocks/struts for these cars? This car mainly gets highway driven everyday so nothing super high performance is needed, just something comparable to stock or maybe a little bit better. Also, is it common to have to replace the springs in the front and rear when replacing shocks/struts also? The place I got my car aligned at said the front spring were wore out and starting to "sag".

Any help is greatly appreciated!! Thanks

 

[Porkchop]

How old is the battery or have you had it tested? Go to advance auto or autozone for a charging system check, these cars do funny things when the battery or alternator is on its way out.

 

[djbartu]

How old is the battery or have you had it tested? Go to advance auto or autozone for a charging system check, these cars do funny things when the battery or alternator is on its way out.

I would NOT recommend AutoZone, at least not the one I went to last week! The Optima battery in my SHOwagon kept losing it's charge so I wanted to get the battery/charging system tested. I took the car to AutoZone first because it was free ... was that a mistake. First of all, the employees all really had an attitude like this was just way to much work for them and none of them wanted to leave their counter. When one guy finally did decide to "try" to help me, he wheeled out his machine that looked like it had been blasted with a shotgun. After about 5 minutes he finally got it hooked up and told me to start the car. DEAD (even though it started fine when I left work to go to AutoZone) Somehow he put such a drain on the battery, nothing would work. Then, to get my car started again, he had to bring is POS truck over and jump start it. Of course, he was none too happy at this point. What a *****. His recommendation ... take the car home, take the battery out, and bring it back to test it. Yeah right! I went to Sears. For $12.99 they tested the whole system with computer printouts of the tests and their results. Now a new Diehard rests under the hood and everything is back to normal.

I have KYBs on the wagon and they are fine. As far as the ride goes, they don't really seem any different than the factory pieces. And I wouldn't worry about the springs - but if you did want to change them, why not drop the vehicle a little with a set of Eibachs or similar?

 

[wuzzzer]

If there's a Batteries Plus in your area I'd have them check out your battery.

 

[MilTownSHO]

Mine was doing that when my alternator was on its way out...

But you never know with your case.

 

[BodylessSHO]

Die Hard and Duralast are the exact same batteries, with different labels. They are made by the same company. So says me, a person previously employed at AutoZone.

They get paid 7 dollars an hour, don't get all uppity if no one really wants to go look at your car.

 

[djbartu]

They get paid 7 dollars an hour, don't get all uppity if no one really wants to go look at your car.

Yeah, I realize they don't get paid any more if they do what they are supposed to do. But, do you think the kid that worked so enthusiastically on my car at Sears was getting a heck of a lot more? The experience just left Autozone looking bad in my opinion. I was there for more than an hour that day!

 

[BodylessSHO]

They're paid to sit at the counter and ring you out, and go get parts from the back. Everything else is actually a courtesy.

At Sears they get commission.

 

[Porkchop]

as an old employee of advance auto parts ... we had to do EVERYTHING ... battery installs & checks, wipers, phones, parts ***** ...

 

[Paul_C]

So where did you go next Brian?
Miss seeing you up at "the Point".
Hope your life is easier where you are now....

Paul (94 SHO - silver frost)

 

[mustangmann]

Hey, anyone have anymore advice on the original topic?
This thread seemed to get a little off course.

 

[SHOZ123]

It's you alternator. have fun.

 

[mustangmann]

Could it be the alternator even if the battery light has never come on? That seems kinda wierd? But then again, I don't know that is why I am asking for input.

Another thing happened recently also that I think is related to my original topic. I was driving down the highway at highway speeds and all of a sudden the car "******" hard a couple of times like it was shutting down or something and all the lights and stuff blinked too. Maybe this could also be a sign of the alternator going bad also??
Anymore suggestions??

 

[DavidT]

dead tachometer during this?

 

[mustangmann]

Yes, I believe the tach did drop down like the car was off for a split second and then jumped back up like normal.

 

[SHOZ123]

When all the warning lights start to flash the power saver system is about to engage due to low system voltage which will **** the engine and most accessories.

You battery is dead and it was the alternator that did it.

 

[SHOMEX]

Change your alternator and get rid of your problems. This cars do funny things when something is not working properly ( alt, coils,etc)

 

[Mr. SHO]

Check the grounds FIRST. There is one from the firewall near the PCM to the back of the surge tank, there's one on the alternator, and there's one at the neg battery terminal.