Anyone else having any trouble with the dash lights dimming while stopped at a red light? It seems to happen only when the car is warmed up after about 10 min of driving.

 

Hmmm I just noticed mine dim, or flicker a little bit this morning. I think it is probably due to the low RPM when idling. Mine's an auto, I don't know if they idle lower than a manual or not. Once I started driving I did not notice it again.

I guess if it happens to you on a regular basis you could have it checked out.

 

Actually I had it in yesterday and they said nothing showed up. Mine is doing the same thing as your's it sounds like, when I break I notice the RPM at its lowest mark and it moves constantly. I told the repair center this also. I do notice once I hit the gas it flicks back brighter. You described it well with a "FLICK"


Jason

 

ok, I'll try this again to see if anyone else is having the same...........not only do my dash lights dim down, but so do the head lights. I notice it when stopped and the lights shining on the car in front of me. They dim quite a bit, then flash back to normal when I hit the gas to go. I took it in again......and the service manager told me this is normal for the car <YEAH RIGHT> and that it is probably happening to everyone's car, but basically I'm being picky! He also said a fan kicks in when the engine hits 200 and somthing degrees, and that is when I'm probably noticing the lights fade. He also said if something was wrong that the car's computer would have told them..........my reply was computers **** up all the time! This is really annoying, and if I can't find an answer I'll trade the car in for another BMW.

 

In the good old days, it would have suggested a bad voltage regulator...I am not sure this car has one (computer controlled?). I've only had it a month. That would account for your problem. And, tell that not so bright service manager not all the cars do it and it's not normal. My car does not do it, and I do a lot of night driving in the morning going to work. Talk to the dealership owner, and tell him your going to Chrysler...there goes his 5 Star rating. I am going to bet he will get it sorted out. Good luck!

 

yea mine dosnt do that either it stays at a steady even flow of electricity and dosnt fade or anything and have any of you noticed your tire pressure indicator light up during the cold parts of the winter

 

I'm so glad mine don't have those problems yet ( knock on wood ) 'cause my biggest problem is on how to deal with the dealership in town who doesn't seem to know how to fix our Crossfire's problem. They're still working for their 5 star rating and I dunno if they'll ever get it after I slap their survey with a big " NO " to all their questions. I hope DC will realize how unhappy some Crossfire owners are and from that experience I'm not sure if I'll ever buy another DC car!

 

My lights do not dim at a stop. They also do not get dimmer when I kill the engine. This indicates a problem with the alternator or battery. It sounds like the battery is weak and doesn't have enough juice to keep the lights burning bright when the alternator slows down and isn't charging fully. Or it could be that the alternator isn't charging as much as it should be and isn't keeping the battery fully charged.

 

Isn't that a sign of a bad battery or one that is low on power. When you are driving your car generates electricity, when you stop it doesn't. So when you stop it draws from the battery harder as I understand it.

 

mine dosnt do that either it stays at a steady even flow of electricity and dosnt fade or anything and have any of you noticed your tire pressure indicator light up during the cold parts of the winter

The tire pressure indicator lighting up is normal, as it gets cold, the tire pressure will drop. once you drive at high speeds for a while, they should come up. My Jeep GC has the read out tire pressure moniter, with the actiual numbers, in the summer they read like 31-32 now that its been cold, they read 26-28..

 

I actually called Chrysler today and spoke to a rep................they scheduled me for an appointment at a different dealer, and they suspect it could be a serpentine belt, battery or the alternator. We shall see!

 

OK, just for an update. The second dealer I took the car to also could not find anything wrong either.......On the way to work today it not only happened at one red light, it happened at two! I love the car, but I'm thinking that trading in is looking better and better.

 

Why don't you take it to a mercedes dealer and just get there opinon. Chrysler is not the most experienced when it comes to this car. It usually doesn't cost anything for advice...get what you can from the mercedes dealer and the share it with the Chrysler dealer so they can fix it. I don't think things like flickering headlights have a code, so it may be hard to troubleshoot...I recall a while back that a few crossfire were shipped with bad or weak batteries. Good luck with it and hope you don't have to trade it in over some dimming lights.

 

Hmmm, I might take your advice. I'm wondering if you can do me a favor.......any way you can find out the "batch" of cars that had weak batteries, or build #'s? I'll try to remember to look and write down mine. I really do love the car, and actually still get heads that turn and people approaching me at stores and such about it. I Also might just buy a new battery and see what that does, cheap and easy and if it fixes my problem I'll be alot happier. Anyone else have an annoying squeek from the silver part that surrounds the radio? I've pin pointed where mine comes from....around the lighted passenger airbag notice thingy, and at the top left corner under the air vent....if I push on it it stops for awhile and then its back! <thought of super glue to fix it> Anyway thanks for your suggestion

 

I will try to find it...Also on the sqeak, check the passenger seatbelt part that is near the console. I held my cup holder and it stopped, so I went on thinking it was that. Actually it is the seatbelt (part the buckle locks in to) vibrating on the console. So any part you hold on the console can stop the noise. I live on a bumpy road though.

 

Hi,
I seem to recall an alternator issue with Mercedes, have them test the alternator, it could be defective.. the earlier issue was they werent powerful enough for all the electrics on the car.!
If the headlights dim, you must be draining too much electricity someplace.

 

The Crossfire battery appears to be a special NO MAINTENANCE type that looks quite different from most that I have seen, so be careful to get the correct number.

 

Every computer controled Corvette I have had (90 conv, 94 coupe, and the 01 I have now) have done this. And my Crossfire does the same thing. It's normal. These cars are always under the computer's watchful eye, so something will always pull power away. Even when parked in my garage, I have to keep a charger on my Vette or the batt. will die in about 2 weeks (seldom driven/garage queen)... These systems monitor so many emissions, saftey, and about 700 other features, that there is bound to be a "power surge". If I press my brakes, with the headlights on in my vette the heads up display will sometimes dim for a nanosecond. It's just part of the ghost in the machine...
Regards,
Jason

 

It's just weird that this didnt start until 4 mths after owning the car. If this were normal I would have suspected it would have been from the start.

 

You may find this recall from Mercedes relevant...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4398901.stm

Seems the batteries and alternators are defective...