Headlights flickering

[xcrew229x]

Mine does this, and it seems to correspond with clutch activation when shifting........ perhaps the clutch solenoid/relay draws a bunch of power?

[Fredvon4]

xcrew229x

On yours I would suspect some loose ground then a weak battery. We see a relatively large reporting of loose connections and weak or dead batteries reported here.

I got a peek at the Intro Shop manual from my dealer...from what I saw briefly, the trany shift motors and clutch actuation motor are rather stout items. I assume they would have some momentary high amp draw initially that might lower system voltage and be visible by reduced headlight output on a weak system or a system with one or more grounds loose

Mine has a strong factory battery and all grounds and hots are tight. I see no pulsating, dip, or flicker in my headlights at night during shift events.

On day two I did a thorough "get to know the system" inspection on my car and found 4 loose fasteners, 2 loose ground wire to body bolts (both in the motor compartment), 4 electrical connectors that soundly "Clicked" when I pushed them together, and a bunch of those stupid push pins missing.

Over the years I have learned a Murphy's Law truism: The more inaccessible or hard to get to a electrical fasteners is...the more likely the assembly person did not get it completely keyed

[xcrew229x]

Thanx Fred, I'll have to look closer........

[smarticus]

"I got a peek at the Intro Shop manual from my dealer...from what I saw briefly, the trany shift motors and clutch actuation motor are rather stout items." Fredvon.

I wonder if a large capacitor would assist the shift and clutch motors enough to speed them up a bit?

[Boomer'sRock]

And, I noticed my lights flickering on my way home. The next morning my radio shut itself off then on again.

Something is up. I haven't driven it today but told my husband what I read on this posting and we will check the battery tomorrow. Hope that is it!

[Fredvon4]

smarticus

I doubt the mechanical or electromechanical actuation times are a source for any shift lag or clutch lag we experiance.... from what I see the engineers did a good job with the remote battery location and proper sized conductors to the heavy amp draw circuits

Off topic from the head light "flicker" but related

I think well over 90% of these reports will be traced to weak battery or loose connectors or both... some may actually be mechanical sloppiness of the head light Assembly/bulb holder

[Boomer'sRock]

I dropped off my car at the shop this morning. Both headlights and taillights flicker and it is not related to hitting the bumps. My husband drove home behind me last night in the dark and checked it out.

Will let you know status.

Wow! Asked about the oil change price ("Mobil One, some type of a European variety?") and they want $75. Guess I will wait till the 10,000 mile checkup ($289-Benz cost).

[Boomer'sRock]

Dealer tightened down the respective bolts/screws that was mentioned in this forum but couldn't duplicate my issue with the head/tail lights. Wait and see if it reoccurs.

[GPfeffermann]

My high beams flickered, and I had some other small electrical problems (radio cut off when high beam flash). 08 model, 15,000 miles. Turned out that the alternator put out less than 12 watt.