Hello, I have noticed that whenever my radio is turned on my headlights constantly flicker enough to where motorist think im flashing them with my high beams. The dash lights and headlights all seem to flicker together. However, if I turn off my steroe ALL of the flickering goes away. Do you know what the problem may be?

 

Is it the factory stereo or after market? Do you have any after market electrical aftermarket modifications, i.e. amp, interior lighting, under glow, etc?

 

Its a 200 watt aftermarket stero that is hooked up to the original speakers. I did not check the wiring since I did not install it. Maybe a baddly connected groundwire?

 

I'm not going to pretend I know a lot about electronics, but from my very light understanding, it could depend where the stereo is pulling power from. If the installer didn't account for increased load on the fuse box/battery versus the factory system, this could cause an issue. I'm sure others have much more insight, so on the bright side, free bump.

 

I've been having this problem for the last couple years now, although it's progressively gotten worse. At first, it did seem like it would go away when when the ac was on/off or radio or something, but over time it got pretty constant. Nobody could say what it is. The battery has been replaced since it's started, so I'm thinking maybe alternator problem?

2007 Fit Sport, no aftermarket modifications, 150k mi. I am totally and completely not a "car girl" but this forum saved me $800 when my coil packs went bad, so I thought I'd see what's up with the dimming lights too

 

Most likely a weak battery. I used to have the same problem (not with the Fit), since most of the accessories use battery power, not enough juice will result in lack of power to the other accessories that depend on it.

If you have another car with a battery that'll fit the Fit (pun) then you can throw that in and see if it resolves your problem.

This is the most likely cause of the issue for both OP and bluekoolaide.

 

could be a number of things, some have been brought up in previous posts.

- too many electronic items in car running at the same time.
- weak battery - rule of thumb, batteries will last abt 3 years before it starts acting up.
- check alternator output supply?
- wrong connections done to the headunit harness. check all wire connections

I would do all the checks before finding a cure. but if you have already done that and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary, a capacitor might be a cheaper solution to your problem. Now capacitors are absolutely rubbish in my opinion (for big audio set ups), but in your situation where its only sort of a stock system, this might be the answer.

Just my 2 cents

 

Bingo! A bad connection somewhere along the path of the stereo would be my first bet/guess based on your described indications.

If the battery was going bad or weak, the stereo being on or off would be a scratch. The flickering of headlights and dash lights synchronous with the stereo being on and otherwise when stereo is off tells me good chance it would be stereo harness (logical guess) related. Your stereo system not being a monster wall shaker to me means its not drawing enough current to load down your system like an A/C unit would.

Since you didn't do the install or don't know the history, I would retrace/recheck the stereo harness and connectors and do a visual on connectors (loose), ground connections (frayed wires, barely making contact, etc.) and crimp points if any were used.

Just my take. Not an expert, just know a little bit basic electricity and electronics. Electrical troubleshooting is hard enough. Virtual is even worse! Good luck!