Yup, mine flickers from time to time. Not a lot, and it does seem to be when I first set off. I wondered if it was something to do with voltage drops when various electrical things 'kick in'.

 

Did it on my previous 57 plate as well - it's a common problem apparently, and Ford do a kit to overcome the problem which is a slight change to the wiring loom at the alternator, but there's no need to buy the kit as it's just a bit of wire with a ring connector. If I can find a link I'll post it.

 

Yeh the flicker doesn't last long and I haven't been able to notice the flicker when looking at the headlights from outside the car. If you can post the link to this mod I would be grateful!

Posted Via The Free TalkFord.com App

 

Lifted from another forum:

The problem is well known to ford and the cause is that there is a high resistance in the battery wiring harness from the central junction box under the bonnet to the b+terminal of the alternator the high resistance from the 7.5amp fuse causes the alternator to pulse and this causes the flickering of the lights both insisde and out and on the dash fords technical service bulletin recommends an additional wire should be installed which takes a new feed direct from the main battery cable on the back of the alternator the bulletin number was TSB 053/2001 Part number for this cable - 1133503 from what i can gather people who have done it themselves say that you should unplug the multiplug from the alternator and pull it up to the top of the engine, splice into the red wire, then solder the new wire on and wrap it up in tape. Then drop it back down and put the ring connector on 'under' the thick red cable connector and reconnect the plug The multiplug is on the alternator, just around the side from where the thick red cable mounts.
The instructions say that the wire should be soldered on about 10cm from the plug, so you'll need at least a bit more than that.

This flickering has been blamed on alternators etc etc so as i said to many before it is common for the ford lights to flicker and this applies to all models basically its up to the person wether or not they do it yet ford never issued a recall just a technical service bulletin stating that should a customer show concern then they were to advise of this new wire otherwise say nothing.

More info from the same source:

After searching it found it covers ford focus including rs and st170 ford mondeo ford ka cougar etc almost every ford model as they are all set up the same way mondeo forums have known about it for a while the st170 forums have also been aware of the issue it seems to cover lots of models including the focus though there is no list of which exact years it refers to fords technical bulletin is generic in that any ford model showing these symptoms and with the customer concerned they are to make the customer aware of this wire and thats basically all it is an £18 piece of wire. i first found the info on the st170 focus forum then again on the mondeo forum in relation to the mk2 and 3 mondeo also on a ka forum ive found similar complaints on smax forums galaxy fiesta etc etc

 

Thread here:

http://www.talkford.com/topic/138990-alt-wiring-fix/

Hope it doesn't need spelling out, but disconnect the battery before trying this :lol:

 

Cheers Steve :L

 

Be careful. That's a very old TSB and was written long before your vehicle was made.

Applicable to Cougar 1999 - 2000 MY with 2.5L Duratec‐VE engine according to title.

 

Yeh I did notice that but will try and measure the resistance on the cable mentioned to see if appears to be a similar issue. Thanks for the heads up though.

Posted Via The Free TalkFord.com App

 

Be careful. That's a very old TSB and was written long before your vehicle was made.

Applicable to Cougar 1999 - 2000 MY with 2.5L Duratec‐VE engine according to title.

You're right that it's old but I have read a reference to it working on a Mk3 Mondy - obviously this is hearsay but it may be the cause of what was, and evidently still is, a fairly common problem across all models.

 

I did look at the diagrams for the alternator control and there are apparently subtle differences between the CD132 Mk3 and CD34x Mk4 vehicles.

On the Mk3 the alternator has the following connections:-

Stud - Charge output to battery.

Connector - AltMon

Connector - AltCon

Connector - +12v Feed

The +12v feed is fed from a 7.5A fuse in the fuse box. This feed powers the regulator circuit and is subject to a long run from battery to fuse box to alternator. This is the circuit the TSB addresses by locally linking the stud output to the +12V feed bypassing the fuse etc. This stops the alternator regulator from oscillating.

The two other connections (AltMon, AltCon) go to the engine control module where the output charge from the alternator is monitored and controlled to provide the best charge back to the battery given the current operating conditions and battery temperature.

On the Mk4 (2009) the diagram shows only the main power feed and a control line marked LIN. There doesn't appear to be a possibility of any modifications as previously. Not sure of the validity of the diagram for all variant though. For info the LIN in a bi directional control bus. Data is transferred between the alternator and the engine ECU.