Intermittent engine ticking / Lights pulsating

Hello eveyone. I am sick of my Grand Am...usually something goes wrong with it once a month. Anyways, its a 1997 Grand Am SE, 6 Cyl, 138,XXX miles.

1. My first problem is an engine ticking noise. I just snapped a video of the noise. The camera makes the noise much louder, but it gives you an idea of what the noise is. It ticks constantly. I can run the car for an hr, and the noise is still there BUT I can park it, then come back the next day, get in, and there will be no ticking at all! :banghead: It is extremely strange. I immediately first thought of the rocker arms, but now I am not so sure. Then I thought of cold startup tick, but then sometimes I will get in, and on a cold startup, there is no tick at all like I previously said. The oil level is right on the full line, and its clean. There is not much more info I can give about the tick.


2. My lights (headlights, taillights, dome lights, indicator lights, glove box light) all pulsate, usually when I first start the car. Sometimes, the headlights will pulsate (bright then dim then bright) when I am driving down the road, and it looks like I am flicking my highbeams on and off. It will normally go away after a certain amount of time, but sometimes not. It also sounds like the engine is pulsating, and the engine pulsating and the light pulsating seem like they go together. I just got a new battery a few weeks ago. It was still doing the same thing before I got the new batt. I didnt check anything else out.

Any ideas for these problems will be GREATLY appreciated. Also, let me know if you need any other information. THANK YOU!! :smile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWPXDVy2bBk

does your tachometer move with this ticking/pulsating of electrical systems?

does your tachometer move with this ticking/pulsating of electrical systems?

Yes, the tach moves as normal with engine speed, although the tach gets stuck sometimes. Sometimes it will get stuck at the max rpm, then I rev the engine a little, and it usually gets unstuck.

To me it sounds like you have some major electrical issues. Does the engine rev when the lights get brighter or does it bog when the lights get brighter?

Ok, disregard that last message. What happens when the lights dim for a half a second, the engine bogs (tach goes down like 300 rpms) then the lights get brighter, then the engine speed increases. When the lights pulsate, the tach fluctuates.

Would a voltage reg do this?

So it appears that something is shorting out the electrical system intermittantly, it is possible that whatever this is, is causing the ticking. use a clamp on ampmeter to verify that the alternator is being overloaded when the lights dim, and you'll be off to a good start.