bacardy703

Maybe I'm paranoid, but lately I have been noticing quick power surges at random times whenever I am waiting at a stop light while my brakes are depressed. The lights on the console just go dim for a second and come right back to normal and I feel/hear a momentary buzzing sound from my brake pedal area at the same time this happens. Immediate reaction is that it could be an electrical problem? my car has 90k on it right now with a new battery as of 2 days ago. Suggestions?
Thanks.

rocko

Thanks for posting this! This also happens on my car with 87,000 on it...I wonder if it involves the voltage regulator? Im not sure.. thanks

[180]

what is the tachometer reading when this happens?

it could be a vacuum leak or bad idle valve.

bacardy703

Good question, to be honest, it happens so quickly, i never had time to see the tach reading. Next time I get the surge, I'll take a quick look at the tach. Given the randomness of the surges, it could be a vacuum leak somewhere, just don't know where! i'll post again when i have more details.

rocko

Mine just happened again last night...my tach was around 500-600 while I was waiting on a traffic light.

bacardy703

I just got back from work and noticed it happened to me twice on my drive back, both times while i was either stopped or moving very slowly. I did notice that my tach went up by 100 rpm each time it happened.... normally it's at about 600 rpm at idle and then it inched up to 700-800 during the "surge"... assuming this might be a vacuum leak, how can that be tested and diagnosed?
thanks.

gn3

I'm having the same problem, after driving for over 30 min, only notice it at night, all the dash lights and climate control dim randomly at any RPMs. Only stops if I restart the car. Has anyone had any luck with this?

insame1

Sorry to bring back this post from the dead but, I am having this same problem and dont want to just throw money at it. It seems like the alternator is going but I want to make sure. Any thoughts?

gn3

In my case it was a bad battery terminal connection. It's free to clean and re-tighten, just remember your radio code.