flightform89

I've got pulsing lights>headlights,interior,voltage gauge.I assumed it was a bad voltage regulator in the alternator,but after searching some posts,I'm wondering if a bad fusible link/links could cause the same problem.When I unplug the connector on the top of the alternator,the pulsing voltage goes away.Thanks for any thoughts anyone has.Dee.

Trickster

Hello Dee,

I would pull the alternator off and have it tested. If the lights work just fine with the battery when you remove the alternator from the equation, it is the likely culprit.

The Trickster!!!!!!!!!!!!!

flightform89

Thanks Trickster.I've been reading more about fusible links,and read that visually inspecting them might not tell me if they're blown or not,especially if there's not enough light under the hood to see very well.That and some posts I read made me wonder about the possibility of them causing the problem.I'll just take the alternator in to test it.

dankhound

A fuseable link works just like a fuse. The only real way to check it is with an ohm meter(like 10 bucks at sears). The link couldnt cause your problem thou. Its definatly the alternator.

flightform89

Well,the reason I thought the fusible link might be it is a post that showed a partial engine compartment diagram of an '85(which I guess is the si-type,but the only diagram I could find).This diagram also showed where the wires connected to on the inside of the alternator(or does the si-type use a external regulator).Two fusible links coming off the alternator going to the battery,with one of them connecting to the voltage regulator.I've also read a lot more posts using the keyword "flicker",and that brought up posts saying the diode inside the alternator could have burned out and would cause this whole-system flicker.Near where I live there is an industrial and auto-electric service company(closed on the weekend,sad to say.stuck at home again).I'm hoping they can test it in a way to determine exactly what has gone wrong,and also have on hand the part(s) to repair it.

flightform89

As it turns out,it wasn't the alternator after all.I was checking all the connections under the hood,and the fuel pump relay connection wire's insulation had pulled down and two wires were making contact.After taping them up,no more flickering lights.I wish I understood why unplugging the alternator made them stop flickering,when the problem was a short somewhere else.Glad it's okay,regardless of why,though.Thanks for the hints,in any case.