flickering lights

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The Saltman - 23 Oct 2004 23:23 GMT

I have a 2001 focus se and when I am at an idle and the rpm's are about 800
my lights will flicker for a second or 2 and stop and then do it again until
I increase the rpm's.... any guess what is causing this and how to fix.

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Dave Gower - 24 Oct 2004 05:43 GMT

>I have a 2001 focus se and when I am at an idle and the rpm's are about 800
>my lights will flicker for a second or 2 and stop and then do it again
>until I increase the rpm's.... any guess what is causing this and how to
>fix.

Voltage regulator or battery. If it runs OK at higher revs, it may be
something you can tolerate, but it suggests the beginning of more serious
trouble, so you should have it checked the next time the car is in for
service. Either or both of the alternator or battery may need to be
replaced.

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Wolfgang Straile - 24 Oct 2004 16:32 GMT

Hello,

I have this problem more or less with all of our family foci, no matter if
old or new. It seems to me that the electric system is a liitle bit weak for
all the current consuming equipment. Especially in winter with front and
rear window heating on, the front lights are not really as bright as they
should be.

Best regards

Wolfgang

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Michael Heiming - 24 Oct 2004 18:21 GMT

In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:

>>I have a 2001 focus se and when I am at an idle and the rpm's are about 800
>>my lights will flicker for a second or 2 and stop and then do it again
>>until I increase the rpm's.... any guess what is causing this and how to
>>fix.

> I have this problem more or less with all of our family foci, no matter if
> old or new. It seems to me that the electric system is a liitle bit weak for
> all the current consuming equipment. Especially in winter with front and
> rear window heating on, the front lights are not really as bright as they
> should be.

Yup, seems to be a feature not a bug. The front window heating
uses IIRC up to 800W, the electric generator simply can't deliver
that at low revs. If you have a voltmeter in your car you can
watch the car voltage drop down below 12V, depending on how good
your battery is.

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#bofh excuse 453: Rhythmic variations in the voltage reaching the power supply.

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Wolfgang Straile - 25 Oct 2004 16:33 GMT

Hallo,
ist schon klar dass das die Lichtmaschine nicht liefern kann.
Aber auch schon ohne zusätzliche Verbraucher ist das Bordnetz schon etwas
wacklig, wie das Flackerlicht zeigt.
Ist nicht mehr als ein Schönheitsfehler und für mich an sich ohne Belang,
aber bei Autos anderer Fabrikate habe ich das so noch nicht bemerkt.

MfG

W. Straile

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Michael Heiming - 25 Oct 2004 16:43 GMT

In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:

> Hallo,
> ist schon klar dass das die Lichtmaschine nicht liefern kann.
> Aber auch schon ohne zus?tzliche Verbraucher ist das Bordnetz schon etwas
> wacklig, wie das Flackerlicht zeigt.
> Ist nicht mehr als ein Sch?nheitsfehler und f?r mich an sich ohne Belang,
> aber bei Autos anderer Fabrikate habe ich das so noch nicht bemerkt.

Dunno, haven't mentioned this on any other Ford. On my Focus
(2.0l manual) the mentioned "flickering" is very rare, so I don't
care.;)

BTW
Would be great if you use the language of this ng, others perhaps
want to read posts...

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#bofh excuse 407: Route flapping at the NAP.

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Isaiah Beard - 26 Oct 2004 15:07 GMT

> In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:
>
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>>Ist nicht mehr als ein Sch?nheitsfehler und f?r mich an sich ohne Belang,
>>aber bei Autos anderer Fabrikate habe ich das so noch nicht bemerkt.

[Very Rough translation: Hello, it is already quite clear that the
alternator cannot supply enough power for the standard equipment items,
much less any add-ons, as evidenced by the flickering lights. A small
blemish of minimal importance to me, but I have not noticed this problem
on other autos.]

> Dunno, haven't mentioned this on any other Ford. On my Focus
> (2.0l manual) the mentioned "flickering" is very rare, so I don't
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> Would be great if you use the language of this ng, others perhaps
> want to read posts...

Babelfish is your friend. :)

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Wolfgang Straile - 26 Oct 2004 16:25 GMT

Hello Isaiah,

thanks for the translation.
It's absolutely perfect.
I didn't take the language problem so serious.

Wolfgang

>> In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:
>>
[quoted text clipped - 20 lines]
>
> Babelfish is your friend. :)

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Michael Heiming - 26 Oct 2004 17:41 GMT

In alt.autos.ford.focus Isaiah Beard <sacredpoet@sacredpoet.com>:

>> In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:

[..]

>> Dunno, haven't mentioned this on any other Ford. On my Focus
>> (2.0l manual) the mentioned "flickering" is very rare, so I don't
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
>> Would be great if you use the language of this ng, others perhaps
>> want to read posts...

> Babelfish is your friend. :)

LOL...with a little care you could have found out that the
problem wasn't reading his post.;)

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Michael Heiming (X-PGP-Sig > GPG-Key ID: 0xEDD27B94)
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#bofh excuse 110: The rolling stones concert down the road caused a brown out

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Wolfgang Straile - 26 Oct 2004 19:26 GMT

Dear Mr. Heiming,

I'm very sorry that there is so much trouble concerning my posting.
In fact I do not understand the whole thing.
Once more: I'm sorry...so could we stop this stupid nonsense?
If it makes life better for you, I'll leave this newsgroup...absolutely no
problem.

Wolfgang Straile

> In alt.autos.ford.focus Isaiah Beard <sacredpoet@sacredpoet.com>:
>>> In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> LOL...with a little care you could have found out that the
> problem wasn't reading his post.;)

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Michael Heiming - 26 Oct 2004 19:44 GMT

In alt.autos.ford.focus Wolfgang Straile <W.Straile@t-online.de>:

>> In alt.autos.ford.focus Isaiah Beard <sacredpoet@sacredpoet.com>:

[..]

> I'm very sorry that there is so much trouble concerning my posting.
> In fact I do not understand the whole thing.
> Once more: I'm sorry...so could we stop this stupid nonsense?
> If it makes life better for you, I'll leave this newsgroup...absolutely no
> problem.

Hi Wolfgang!

There's zero reason for you to leave this ng, it was just a small
hint, nothing more. Don't take the whole thing too serious, if
you feel offended, don't worry I get offended usually once a day
for no reason at all. That's how usenet works.;)

Greetings

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Michael Heiming (X-PGP-Sig > GPG-Key ID: 0xEDD27B94)
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Wolfgang Straile - 26 Oct 2004 16:22 GMT

> BTW
> Would be great if you use the language of this ng, others perhaps
> want to read posts...

Sorry Michael,

it will never happen again...

Best regards

Wolfgang

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