Lights come on dim when I fire engine

[George Bryce]

I have a very wierd problem with my 99ACR. I leave it in my garage for weeks sometimes, with the lil battery tender plugged in. Yesterday I went out for a cruise, when I fired the big 542 to life....the lites, some headlights, came on very dim. I cant turn them off unless I turn the engine off. When I turn the headlights on only some of them come on, some brite and some very dim. My car has never done this. I have had it for over 3 years. And I have not done anything different latley to it. Give me a tip, anybody got a clue? GB3, Thanks

 

[gthomas]

Hey,I'll give my 2cents......
I just got back from Switz.(2+mo.)my car was working fine,I went to start it,and nothing,no click,etc,jiggled key,switch,it started right up.I thought I would need to replace ignition switch.Lights,on,radio on,etc....Well,it wouldn't start again,but this time I had to jump it,let it run for a while(let alternator charge battery),but a few days later it did it again.Had to jump it,again.But the lights were dim,etc.It was the battery.One of the cells was toast.If the battery is bad,it can fool the igition to get the former result,but perhaps I could have avoided all this by replacing the battery(1996)April 2002 when my alternator went bad.The alternator fried my battery.
I would first check the battery,the first time this happened,my mechanic looked at it,and threw it on a charger and it held it,and since it started up,we assumed it was O.K..The second time,he took a harder look,and it was the battery.
If your ACR is a '99,the battery could be as old as '98,5 years.
Have it fully checked,and through it on a machine to make sure the alternator is charging.
My car sat for a couple months,then for several days(almost a week).
Even with a battery tender,etc,if a battery/alternator is bad,it is bad........
Also,I had a '79 pony we dropped an '84 H.O. into,and my alternator/battery went out,it also did the electrical power drain thing.....
Also,when 17,my '73 OLDS CUTLASS lost it's belts,alternator and power steering,and it also had the electrical power drain,and was very hard to turn....

 

[George Bryce]

Thanks G! My battery is up, full. Alt. is charging full. I did not have to jump it off. I started it 25 times....I left the lights on for 30 mins. while I worked on it. You were right, the battery went out last year. I changed all the bulbs and checked connections. I am lost now. The headlights come on when I crank the engine....BUT VERY dim????????????? Thank you for your ideas G! Any others? GB3

 

[gthomas]

How about a loose ground wire?

 

[George Bryce]

Thanks G!!! I will check it. GB3

 

[gthomas]

OOHHH yeah,I also had a light switch once go bad on me,and when I turned it on sometimes they worked,sometimes not,and sometimes they just went out....only other thing I can think of is a short somewhere.Check to see if some wires are chaffed and touching.
Beyond that,A good shop.

 

[George Bryce]

What is really wierd...is I do not turn the headlights on....they come on by themselves, when I start the car. This is with the headlight switch turned off!!!! They are very dim. GB3

 

[gthomas]

O.K.,here we go......
my friend who owns an auto parts store said it's a fuse or a relay switch.

 

[George Bryce]

Chuck Tator!!!!!! Do you know what is going on with my ACR?
Any Viper techs? please ritemeback.GB3, Thanks

 

[phiebert]

Maybe you have a Canadian car?!! They have daytime running lights and come on dim when you start the engine regardless of light switch position. Just kdding but it does sound like they are acting like daytime running lights. But in your case it sounds possibly like something is shorting against a wire that is only hot when the engine is running.

For what it is worth though you could test the headlight switch by pulling it off and just touching the wires together to see if the switch itself is going bad.

 

[gthomas]

I did not realize until his post 312605,that it was with his light switch off.
So,I only feel stupid for not asking for a complete synopsis at the beginning.
All those other things have happened/just happened to me,so I wrote from personal experience.
When my light switch went out,it happened as above.
So something is allowing a signal(even though partial)to get to the light.
Switch....fuse....relay......other components.....lights.
But,in my pony,it had the option that lit up when a light when out,but in those closed loop systems,if a bulb went out,it could affect any other one(bad blinker,brake lights don't work).
But,if something is bad and affecting when off,it can change it's characteristics when on(dim off,some work/some not on).
I think there is a bad part somewhere,so you have to track it first by it's logical path........
Hope you find it.....soon.
I have a few mechanics for friends,and will check with them,with the available data.

 

[George Bryce]

Thanks again G, I swapped all the bulbs for the left to the right.....left side still dim. When I do switch on the lights the right side seems fine...the left side is dimmer than the right! What is so weird is the fact that they even come on at all when I start the engine....with the light switch OFF! Thank you again. GB3