At what RPM is your idle? Do any of the other lights flicker?

 

I've noticed the same thing. It's not that much, so I don't really worry about it.

 

my car does the same thing. its even more annoying for me because i have 4 neons lighting up the interior of my car, and every time i touch the brake pedal they all flicker. it usually just happens at idle with my foot on the brake. i had my car into three different dealerships, twice at each one. they put on a few new alternators, pur new battery cables on. but nothing worked. i finally gave up on getting it fixed and said f--- it, i'll live with it. but just recently ive been talking to a bunch of people, and we've agreed that its either a bad engine ground, or a bad ground somewhere in the brake lights, since it only happens with my foot on the brake. one of these days i'll get around to putting a new engine ground cable on, and tracking down where the brake lights ground to and replacing that cable.

 

Great so try getting a new ground cable.

 

if any one else knows the root cause of this phenomena, I would like to know what it is. I have noticed a similar thing in my odometer display since I installed my UDP, although I wasn't paying close attention before it was installed. I know that the Focus doesn't have an idle kickup strategy for low battery voltage or high electrical draw, so this may just be a low alternator output issue. Funny thing is that lights and stereo work just fine.

 

if any one else knows the root cause of this phenomena, I would like to know what it is. I have noticed a similar thing in my odometer display since I installed my UDP, although I wasn't paying close attention before it was installed. I know that the Focus doesn't have an idle kickup strategy for low battery voltage or high electrical draw, so this may just be a low alternator output issue. Funny thing is that lights and stereo work just fine.

Last night I was playing around with electrical things on my car (lights, breaks, pushing throttle to 1000/2000 RPM, stereo, ect) It seems that of you rev your engine just a bit and the problem goes away. If i turn up the music nothing really happened. if you turn on the lights then it would start.
I wonder if the lcd is hooked up through the computer somehow. The backlight could also run off of the computer power. Becuse it does not take a huge amount of power to run it. So it is possible to run it off of the computer.
I would try to find all of the wireing diagrams and find out where the lcd is routed through but that is a tough one to figure out, and I am just lazy, and I am not a uber electrical man.[thumb]

 

well, my problem isnt just the odometer lcd, its all interior lights. if i turn the dome or map lights on, they will flicker too. i also have neons under my dash and in my trunk, and they flicker as well, its pretty noticable at night. it doesnt affact my stereo, i have an aftermarket pioneer cd player and i dont notice its lights flickering. but when i had my stock deck, the green backlight would flicker. not only is this annoying, but im worried about long term effects on my electronics. with my stereo and amp, i dont want them to get damaged.

 

if you are are having the problem with all of your electrical accessories, it shounds like a bad alternator. Are you running a UDP?

 

nope, no udp. like i said above, i had it into the dealership when my car was still under warranty and they put on 2 or 3 brand new alternators and that didnt help. which leads me to believe its a bad ground somewhere. they said they replaced a few ground wires, but ive still had the problem ever since. now my car has 55k miles on it, so its way out of warranty.

 

it only does it in mine when the 2 stage fan go on high. its draws 40 amps consistanlly not like a stereo that does it for bursts.

 

I have the same problem with mine, but even the headlights flicker. I've been having other problems as well that are being looked at, such as: clicking noise behind the dash, and the battery light coming on. Just recently the engine light finally came on too. Somebody was telling me its a good chance that it is a ground connection. It is being serviced this Tuesday, so I will try and let you know how it goes.

 

hey, if they fix anything, could you find out exactly what they did? ive narrowed mine down to a ground wire somewhere, but i dont know where. theres so many that could be the problem

 

I have the same problem, it is only the odometer display that does it, the strange thing is that it started doing it less AFTER! i put on my amp, but I have never had any other problems with any of my other lights dimming. Maybe they are defects with the displays themselves. [???]

 

Well i have a audio system in my car.I have the same issue when i am poundin the volume.In circuit city they recomended a capacitor that stores charge so you do not power directly from the battery.Wonder if you could the same thing for your issue??

 

no, thats a completely different issue. your problem is because your system is drawing more current than the alternator can produce. and DO NOT get a capacitor. dont listen to circuit city, they are just trying to sell you stuff. if you add a cap to your system, thats just one more thing that the alternator has to charge, and it will not keep up, adding a cap will actually make your problem worse.

back on topic, its wierd how a couple of us just have the odometer flickering, while others have all lights flicker.

 

Mine is really bad early in the morning when I first start my car. Even my headlights dim. Ever since I hit about 15000 miles, it's done this.

 

well, I've been to the dealer. They did replace a ground wire (not sure which one) but apparently that didn't solve the problem. So they have now told me that it is the alternator. (Which is what I suggested at the beginning - thankyou). I've got a 05 ZX4 as a loaner. I have to say I'm not in love with this car. The new dashboards look cheap if you ask me. I like the rounded vents. I should have my car back tomorrow, hopefully it is all better.

 

good luck. like i said before, ive had 3 new alternators on my car and that hasnt solved the problem. theres something else wrong with the electrical system in my car

 

well to add to the topic...when i have my headlights on it'll flicker from when im idle to when i drive, it's brighter when i drive...but i think its cause i have a UDP (same goes for dome lights).

 

I'm having the same problem too except for worse than other people's cases. My headlights, heater and dash lights all flicker when accelrating and when not warmed up. I dont know if it is my underdrive pulley or not but i just installed one. Any ideas. (I know it is installed right)

 

i think your problem is due to the udp. the whole point of a udp is that it underdrives all teh accessories, including the alternator. so the alternaltor jsut isnt turning fast enough to supply the current that the car needs.

 

It's been over a week, and still no problems for me. Hopefully mine is fixed.

 

The Ford store has replaced the alternator with no luck, and called Ford's technical 'hotline' that had no suggestions, either. The dealer compared mine to another SVT on the lot that did the same thing (all lights flicker at idle), and came to the conclusion that it's 'normal - they all do that'. Yeah, right.

 

Ok, now i'm really pissed, here's my thing:
02 ZTW starts doing this at about 45000km, or perhaps i didn't noticed that before with stock yellow lights.. anyway.. i take it to the dealer and at first they BS me taht " we cannot see anything..let's dont go into clockworks..." [bash] , then i insist and show the guy the flickering in dark conditions, they replace "a ground wire" not clear which.Then it does it again,i go back and they say "nothing wrong" and i over-suggest the alternator,they replace the alternator.I go home it does it again.I go back and they do same thing as with dnswallace - "they all do that""it's normal" cuz they checked another one , a sedan.
Now, my ZTW does it this way: i start the car, it's ok., when i light the positions it flickers a little and when i light the foglights it flickers like the eyes of a cat on drugs!! [unsure] .Its very visible if i turn on the dome light , which will flicker too.Then at astop sign if i come to a stop and press the brake, when the brake light goes on,EVERYTHING FLICKERS including the annoying "idle-stall-like-shudder" [?|].
Now it seems that all foci are suffering from this disease, at least in US and Canada, and the FRIGGIN' good thing to do would be for Ford to issue a FRIGGIN' TSB on that!!!! cuz it's eating a lot of ppl's nerves!!! I just hate the flicker. I hope no epileptic ppl look at my lights. [doorpeek]
Anyway.. any thoughts?

 

yeah, i actually got into a little fender bender last week, and i took my car into teh dealer to get it fixed from the insurance. i got a focus wagon 2003 for a rental and noticed it does the same thing. so i had to go back to the dealer to sign some papers, and i asked the guy if this is a problem with all foci, and he said about 75% of the foci out there have this problem, some are worse than others. he said he wishes ford would put out a tsb for it.