Am I going mad?

[normski]

This has happened to me a few times now. 3 perhaps.

Lights on. I come off the motorway and take an exit which then sweeps under the motorway above and slow for a roundabout.

As i pass under the road above all the lights in and out of the car dim considerably for a second or so.

It has only happened on that same stretch of road, never anywhere else.

I notice the headlights dimming in the reflection on the car in front and all instruments dim.

just wondering whether its being affected by something electric running under the road, or the traffic passing at speed above me.

anyone witnessed anything similar?

i'm sure it's not a fault with the zed, just a bit odd...

 

[Taz]

yes, you are going mad

 

[jhbuining]

Going out on a limb here... Might be the efficient dynamics kicking in? On the newer Z4's, when the car is coasting down hill or under light braking, the alternator is driven by the cars forward momentum and your battery is charged free of charge . You can actually feel it doing this. When this happens and you drive slowly and you have to steer (electric steering pump), maybe the alternator delivers too little power and the voltage drops.

 

[04z4]

I can't seem to find the reservoir to add fluid to the power steering system. Could it be that electric power steering systems don't use any power steering fluid?

 

[Ewazix]

You are not alone; a similar phenomenon featured in the X-Files with cars electrics failing and the drivers being abducted by aliens. In fact something similar happened to a colleague, on pulling in the a local beauty spot car park a cars head and interior lights came on and dimmed again. He went to see if the occupants needed assistance, and like the X-File drivers found himself being tied up and subjected to some quite ghastly experiments by a creature in a rubber Mac'

That's his story but I'm not sure that 'I believe'.

 

[Greytay]

EMP!!!!!! terrorist attacks z4 driver on slip road. Yes they are after just you.

If not could be the sterring. Had similar thing happen on one of my old cars just going round one particulat bend on one road. Ended up taking the mechanic for a drive just to show him. He believed me after that.

 

[Ewazix]

On a serious note EMF can affect auto electrics, the central locking and interior lights activated and cycled on my golf when I parked under high voltage lines near a local power station. I came back to the car after dark and thought someone was breaking in to it, and the digital dash always played up afterwards.

However, your problem is more likely to something like a brake light switch (which caused no end of problems on my old SLK), an ABS or dynamics sensor, a lighting earth, lighting control unit (which went on my two-week-old Mini causing really weird stuff completely unrelated to lights) or an alternator/control module glitch..... Unfortunately intermittent electrical faults are THE most difficult to sort and usually involves lots of methodical time with a meter. A good auto electrician can be a worthwhile investment but your symptoms sound more of a curiosity than a real problem at the moment.

 

[RichardG]

I have noticed once or twice my dashboard lights dimming when driving, can't tie it down to a particular stretch of road or even if the headlights dipped, it's happened so infrequently so far I have paid it no more interest than 'oh that's odd, never mind everything seems Ok now'.

It did cross my mind if it was something time related, like you have been driving for 2 hours now take a break, but can't find anything to back it up.