1999 Cavalier flashing dash lights problem...

[$ilv3rado]

I'm writing this for someone else who's experiencing this problem but I'll try to be as specific as I can.

The person who owns this car attempted to put a 450 CCA (Cold Cracking Amps) battery that he thought was good in place of his seemingly growing weaker 550 CCA battery. After swapping the batteries out and starting the car with the 450 in, all the dash lights like the engine, battery, oil and driving light began blinking (off one second - on the other) continuously. (With the exception of a few lights such as airbag and E-brake light...these stay on) Even the cold/hot needle bounces back and forth. It also seemed to be making headlights dim when the brakes were applied. So with all this going on, he decided to put the 550 back in. Now all the lights are still blinking like they were (with a few staying on) and the hot/cold gauge still bouncing around. Other than that, everything seems to be running good and it sounds like the old 550 still starts it just fine.

Does anyone know what might be causing the lights to keep blinking like this? Could swapping the battery like this mess up something with the alternator? Any help, advice and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Schrade]

Problems started after the swap.

That's the first I heard of different 12 volt batteries causing problems, but what else ya' gonna' look at?

[$ilv3rado]

Never mind. He got it fixed. Apparently it was just the negative battery cable not properly grounded to the battery tray. Thanks for your time anyway.

[Jacfourteen]

I was gonna guess bad ground cable...