Before I get flamed, yes I did a search. I looked through a dozen electrical problem threads and none described what was happening to me.

I already took off the fuse box cover and kick panel and checked all those gromets. To my surprise, they all looked like they were still brand new. Nothing was wet, all were nice and shiny and taped properly.

I popped the hood and checked the battery leads, both looked fine and well connected. I checked the connections for my amp, both under the hood and in the trunk, both are fine.

I had the engine running and looked at the alternator, didn't see anything out of place, no burn marks or smoke, nothing smelled funny, no wierd sounds. Can't see much of the alternator, so I wouldn't rule that out.

Now, here's the problem. I launched the car last night and as I was shifting to 2nd, I noticed a bunch of my lights on the dash started flickering. Brake, anti-lock, battery, etc...I looked down at my stock voltage meter and it was fluctuating heavily between 14-16...I kept driving to see if it would fix it self. Coming out of the base gate, it didn't so I pulled over at the nearby shell station and did some checks. At idle it fluctuates, and I can hear my walboro fluctuating in tune with the voltage, which tells me it's just doing what the alternator is telling it to.

I also turned on as much electrical gear as possible. Had my sub maxed, my HID's and brights on, interior lights on, hazards on, etc...didn't see a difference. My lights weren't dimming, nor was my radio or dash clock. So I turned everything back to normal.

During acceleration or steady speed, it's just fine. But during deceleration or idle is when it starts acting up. The lights stopped flickering and hasn't come back on...which leads me to believe that an electrical surge was sent out when I launched the car which eventually went away...but the underlying problem of the voltage not being steady is still there, and that's what bothers me.

Any suggestions? Andy, if you read this, help me out bro

 

I would be looking at the voltage regulator in the alternator, pull the little rubber cap off the back of the alternator take a multi meter and see what it is charging at while at idle, the norm is usually about 13.8V. It could be as simple as a loose ground or a faulty connection.

The brushes in the alternator could also be worn but you have an 06 so I doubt it.

 

Thanks, I'll give that a shot and see if it helps. Will post my results.

 

I'd take the same route as he suggested, with the voltage regulator. You don't have to go directly to the alternator, although the reading will be more accurate. I'd just try at the battery posts first and see what comes up.