lights flickering
 

OK so I had my Catalina on the road after dark for the first time and I noticed that the lights flicker constantly. The dash lights, head lights and tail lights all flicker. I also noticed the battery gage on the dash does not stay even. The gage seems to go up and down with the flicker. All the lights work like they should.
I am not really sure what to look at or how to test anything electrical. If I guessed I would guess that the voltage regulator is not working right or maybe the alternator isn't working as it should?
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

I would check to make sure your voltage regulator is well grounded to the firewall. It does sound like a VR problem though. Good ground, I would change it out. The new solid state regulators work great! Don't look exactly factory, but are much better then the old relay type regulators.
Stu

Another vote for regulator

VR - Agreed.

Also check ground straps. On one of my Judges years ago while driving at night I would notice the headlights get brighter every time I pressed the clutch pedal. Pressing the pedal made better metal to metal contact - better ground engine to frame.. I replaced all the ground straps and issue went away.

Sounds good! Thanks for the advice, I'll swap the VR out and check ground straps.
-Dan

I handled this problem in my car last week. Look at the back of your voltmeter and see if the nuts holding the wires are loose - if they are, tighten them up. This fixed the flickering for me.

As for the voltage regulator, I suggest upgrading to the solid state one (there's a few threads on here about them)

I also had this problem when I bought my GP. Someone had wired the electric choke into the regulator circuit. So check for wires take aren't supposed to be there if new regulator doesn't fix your problem.

I plan on ordering a new VR later this week and I have started going through checking my grounding straps. I plan on getting under the dash and checking out behind the voltmeter tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully by mid week next week I will have this issue squared away. Thanks again everyone!

I was dogged with this problem for years on my '66 Bonneville. Consider replacing the original ground straps with new ones. Despite shining them up with a wire brush etc. corrosion builds up under the crimp and you just don't get a good ground. Also make sure there's bare metal under the spot where they are bolted to the engine/firewall, a arm etc. I also replaced my battery cables which made my starter spin faster. I think what really solved my problem though was the fuseable link on the engine wiring harness. I routed a wire from the voltage regulator to the alternator bypassing the fuseable line and the problem was finally solved. I plan to add another fusable link in case of a short but I think you'll find your problem in one or more of these fixes.

Brad Kline