Dash lights blinking and needles going crazy

[mdtuck0]

First a little background info:

A couple weeks ago, after a few days of rougher-than-normal starts (first start would usually die; second would take), I found the battery drained on my 2000 Intrigue (~85K miles). The battery seemed to be the factory original, so I replaced it and thought my problems were over.

After about a week with the new battery, I noticed one morning that it took a few extra turns of the starter to catch. That night, while driving home @ ~65mph, my instrument panel went nuts: the dash lights were flashing in unison at a very periodic rate (ironically, the SES light did NOT come on) and my speed, tach, temp, and gas needles were pegging out both hi and low. The car continued to run smoothly for the most part over the next couple miles except for a couple burps, and my turn signal, headlights, radio, AC, and power steering/brakes were fine. As I was slowing down to ~50mph, my instrument panel returned to normal and I had no problems from then on. I've since started it a couple times without so much as a hiccup.

I've checked the new battery: ~12.4V. The alternator is outputting ~14.8V when running. And the scanner shows no error codes. I'll be checking the battery cables tonight for any obvious problems.

Is there anything else I ought to take a look at?

[99intriguePA]

Mine did the same thing a couple of times and couldn't figure it out. At about that time I read about someone putting a grounding kit on their Intrigue. After doing a little research I made and installed my own kit. Hasn't acted up since - about 1 1/2 years ago.
I can't say whether this actually fixed the problem but I think it is worth the small investment of time and money to try it.
Good luck

[corning_d3]

That's an almost sure sign your alternator is failing.

[TommySS]

Originally Posted by 99intriguePA

Mine did the same thing a couple of times and couldn't figure it out. At about that time I read about someone putting a grounding kit on their Intrigue. After doing a little research I made and installed my own kit. Hasn't acted up since - about 1 1/2 years ago.
I can't say whether this actually fixed the problem but I think it is worth the small investment of time and money to try it.
Good luck

Any info on the grounding kit? How'd you rig yours up?

Thanks

[99intriguePA]

Since its been a while since I did the grounding I'll have to look under the hood and see exactly what I did. My wife has the car right now but as soon as she brings it home I'll take a look and let you know.
I tried doing a search on this and other Intrigue forums as I know this was a pretty hot topic but I didn't come up w/ anything - maybe the thread is too old.

[panzer dragoon]

the original Intrigue alternator's field collapses = your lights will dim, fan speed dies, etc. There is a new alternator part number that fixes this condition.

Nothing wrong with making a "grounding kit" either. (a possible solution before the alternator field was known to be collapsing)

My 2000 Intrigue originally suffered from the alternator problem, now at 95K miles doesn't have any problems. My Dad's 1999 has the same alternator problem only worse, but he just doesn't complain about it. (and I thought mine was bad)

Never had any crazy dash indicators like a UFO flew over.

Check those battery connections for corrosion. Your battery voltage should be 12.6V, =12.4V is low. Don't tighten the lead battery connections too tight either or you will strip the lead connection threads. Be careful working around batteries.

[99intriguePA]

I used heavy (#6 or #8) copper wire. On the drivers side I grounded the MAF and the strut tower bolt to the front motor mount. On the pass. side I grounded the strut tower bolt and the neg. bat. term. to the Alt. bolt. Basicly I made sure the engine, battery and body were well grounded. After making sure the connections were clean and tight I coated them with a sealer.
My '99' has 130,000 miles and did the same thing as yours at about 75,000 miles. Hasn't done it since I did the ground kit.
My headlights still dim occasionally in cold weather but I never had to replace the orig. alt. yet - once I realized that the lights wouldn't go out for good, I just live with it.

[TommySS]

Good info. Many Thanks.