Ok folks, here's a couple of issues with my 03 Neon SE (77k miles), I think I have a good idea of what's wrong with it, but would welcome some input. First, and probably the most annoying is the flickering headlights and interior lights. Seems to me the alternator is going bad. 1 year old battery died on me, had it recharged, been working fine since (cells are good) and voltage is steady at 12. When load tested, it fluctuates from around 13 and jumps up to 15, bouncing up and down the whole time. However, this car has recently had p1681 no BUS message, and the instrument cluster has gone out intermittently (hasn't happened in a while.) So, could be a short... Next, I have an annoying creaking sound, primarily when turning left at times, though occasionally it is audible when simply driving down the street. This car has had the torque struts replaced a couple of times, so maybe it's one of the central mounts blown out. Or could it be the tie-rods? I think a minor shuddering and vibration issue when idling and engine warmed up could also be linked to a bad engine mount. Upper and lower torque mounts are new though. I'm not overly concerned about these issues, just trying to milk some more miles out before I dump this. Overall, still runs good, no problems starting, just annoyances.

 

I would check the battery terminals and cables / connections first.

They are known to have defective / high resistance battery terminals where the cable / wire is crimped.

 

Alright, I'll remove them and give them a thorough scrubbing with the ol' baking soda and water and brush. But, I've been good about keeping them clean, and they look good. Kind of a recent issue, and I can hear a slight whine with the engine running coming from the alternator. Plus, the fluctuations only happen while running, so my gut says alternator, but I'll check all avenues. Any thoughts on the creaking? Could be the struts aren't aligned properly, but new struts and same sound. Really does sound like lower right to me, ie control arm, spring, tie-rods, so on...

 

Hmm. News to me.

 

Not the wires or heads, totally fine and clean. BTW, found a pretty worn out control arm bushing, wonder if that's causing all this creaking.

 

I also have an issue with the driver's side door sensor, when hitting bumps or occasionally just turning, it seems to lose contact and signal the door ajar. I've looked into getting it fixed, but it would require an entirely new latch assembly. At over 70k miles, i just don't care enough to invest that kind of $

 

Make sure the positive lead on the alternator is tight, and the alternator is well grounded.

And then check with a volt meter and make sure you get the same voltage reading on the alternator as on the battery terminals with the engine off.

If all that checks good then the alternator could be bad.

Do the lights only flicker with the engine running?

 

Yep, only while running, most notably while accelerating

 

Ok, if the connections are good on the alternator.

Then it sounds like the alternator is bad.

 

It could very well be the ground wire going bad. Mine snapped and simply needed to be repaired.

I agree that it is sounding like an alternator on it's way out the door if all connections are good and corrosion-free.