Intermittent engine ticking / Lights pulsating

[BNMD]

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! 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!!

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

[cboy2us]

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

[BNMD]

Originally Posted by cboy2us

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.

[cboy2us]

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?

[BNMD]

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?

[cboy2us]

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.