Driftboy

Well, as the topic says my 7 has hit another electrical problem. My warning cluster seems to flicker every so often when I hit the breaks, then its accompanied by a clicking noise located somewhere by the drivers side, seems almost like its coming from somewhere near the steering column. This just start today and its really got me bugged, cause to day my cooling system overheated and i couldn't find any cause for it (wasn't pushing the car that hard, and i have pushed it much harder before with out it overheating and i just did a coolant flush and fill earlier in the day), and after i cleaned up the coolant that spilt out from the radiator and put some in and it ran fine. Which makes me think that it may be possibly because of the same electric problem? Also when I was riding back, my battery voltage was really low, the safc showed it not going above 12v while driving but its usually at 14v or more. I have really no clue where this problem can be located, and any help would be appreciated.
thanks,
Ryan

alwayssideways

i would start with all your fuses
then check the charging system ,,
the popping could be a short somewhere. not sure but that is a funky problem

Icemark

Your alternator is dieing.

The clicking is from the warning relay in the CPU that switches on the idiot lights when voltage drops under 12 volts while the engine is running.

Look at your voltage gauge when it happens... while the engine is running it should never drop under 13.5 volts if the alt is in good shape.

Driftboy

Thanks guys, ill be sure to test that out icemark.

Sharpie_fc3s

When you refilled your raditor did you let it run for like 10 minutes with the rad. cap off? You do this to get the air bubbles out that are trapped in the line somewhere. If you dont do it (completly/properly) it will cause your car to over heat very easily.
To fix your overheating problem i would just leave the car running for about 10 minutes with the rad. cap off and the heater on full blast, NOT THE AC! Just keep an eye on the radiator and you will notice the coolant level slowly going down and a lot of bubbles coming out. After about ten minutes add more collant and then take it for a test drive, if it does it again then just start all over from the begining. it may take awhile but you'll get all the bubbles out.

Sharpie...

Driftboy

alright thanks, I did fix the overheating problem it was as you said, there were air bubbles in the system.