Flickering lights - alternator?

[attorney]

Hey all,

'02 Tahoe LT 5.3L 2WD with 91k miles. Lately I've noticed that the PRNDL display, the radio display, the interior dome light and the headlights flicker. It'll happen for the first minute or two the car is started, and then it returns to normal.

My guess on this is that the alternator is crapping out. Could it be anything else?

Thanks for your help.

 

[rigo_jones]

does your volt gauge work? does it read low? maybe its your light control switch thing the part that turns the headlights and domes your interior lights.

 

[JKmotorsports]

A bad cell in your battery can cause that by not being able to completely filter out the ripple from the alternator. It may not be bad enough to cause starting problems, but just enough to cause what your experiencing. After a couple minutes of running, the bad cell gets recharged and then the battery can once again filter the ripple from rectification, which could explain why it only happens for a couple minutes after starting it. Another possible cause are the diodes going bad in the alternator, which meansa you'd have to replace your alternator.

 

[attorney]

Cool, thank you. I could start by dropping in a new battery and see if that changes anything. It's been a helluva long time since I've owned a GM product, but 2 things I know for sure about all of them - 1) alternators don't last for shit, and 2) light switches don't last for shit.

Actually, I know 3 things, the third is this: my Delco radio headunit says "THEFTLOCK" on it, but I don't know of a single thief that would ever attempt to steal one of this pieces of crap anyway