Hi Everyone,

Had an issue with flickering headlights, dash gauges, and interior lights for a while. Many had suggested the battery so I gave it a shot. A new battery immediately resolved the issue but I had concerns it would return as the battery I removed had a manufacture date of early 2017 and I replaced it in late 2018. Much to my dismay, the issue has in fact returned. I am experiencing flickering lights now 4 months or so after a battery replacement.

Thought I would see if anyone here had suggestions on where I should look next and on what might be the problem. I am surprised that a battery would degrade so quickly so I figured there must be something else going on.

Thanks for any help!

Best,

Corey

 

Sounds more like a bad connection than a battery issue to me. I'd start with checking that the earth lead from the battery is securely and cleanly attached to the body. When you fitted the new battery you may have inadvertantly improved the connection as you were manipulating the cables, and that could have gone back now.

 

Is the earth lead the negative cable? I remember reading somewhere that there is another wire that connects the battery to the body in the trunk. I do not recall seeing this wire, only the positive and negative cables. Perhaps this is the issue.

 

The negative battery cable is the earth lead. But I wouldn't stop there. Remove both cables and clean the connections at both ends. The is also a ground connection at the right rear of the engine that can suffer corrosion, for which you need to get under the car.

The battery cables can also suffer from poor crimps.